Last Knight – a Curly Blue Hollow Form

[Steve Schlumpf]

I developed this piece along a duel theme of Knights and nights. While the actual turning took very little time – the finishing took me weeks! Something about the wet poly made the piece act like a dust magnet! No matter what I did – the problem continued to get worse. Finally after about 12 coats of poly – I sanded everything off and started again! About 10 days later and at least another dozen coats of poly – I sanded everything off again! OK… this is the LAST time!

Got to thinking about it and wondered if the poly I had was taking too long to dry and that allowed for more time for dust to settle. Went to Menards and picked up a fresh can of poly and it made a huge difference in dry time! Lesson learned! I also placed the turning in my photo tent to cut down on floating dust!

Curly Maple (from John Keeton), African Ebony finial, dyed with RIT Royal Blue clothing dye, sanded to 1200 grit and at least a dozen coats of Minwax gloss wipe-on poly! Will wait for a week or longer before lightly buffing and applying a coat of Renaissance wax.

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As always – comments, opinions and critiques are welcome!

Thanks for looking!

[Russell Eaton]

I can't think of a word that accurately describes this piece.... BEAUTIFUL thats the best I can do.

[David DeCristoforo]

Steve, your hollow forms are always so well done. This one is no exception. The color and very original treatment on the finial are simply icing on the cake!

[Scott Hackler]

The dye job is nice. I'm sure that the curl really shines in person. I like the new designed finial. It has a nice simplistic flow. The only critique might be to hone this finial shape a bit and maybe define the very tip of the finial with a more pronounced transition. Very nice as usual.

[Frank Van Atta]

It may have been a lot of work, but you certainly produced a beautiful piece.

[Dennis Ford]

Beautiful wood and the form is perfect.

[David DeCristoforo]

PS... My recent blue dyed piece created quite a stir. But it was purely serendipitous and the result could be attributed to pure dumb luck. This is way closer to the outcome I had envisioned when I slapped that dye on!

[George Guadiane]

It's hard to "critique" your work, for the most part, your lines/form and finish are almost always spot on.
I'm not a huge fan of color, most of the time, and in this case, I think I hear and see what you're trying to do, but I think the fantastic curl is TOO lost in the dye. I would have liked to see the curl be more prominent (I have to say, it might be, and the pictures just don't show it).
The finial is great too.

[Ron Stadler]

Looks really great Steve, form looks great and I really like your finial on this one.

[John Keeton]

Steve, I am very pleased with the final product!! The "in progress" pics were great, but the finish really brought out the best in the curly maple and the dye work - well done! The title of this piece is carried into the lance shaped finial quite well, and the overall feel of the piece is just superb. Makes me want to dig into a piece of that maple! It has a lot of different "faces" from the various views you offer.

[dan carter]

Very nice. The finish provides a nice depth. Well done.

[Roger Chandler]

Steve,

Well you executed a very well conceived, and elegant hollow form. The shape of the form is as another stated "spot on," and your finial is elegant with simple embellishments replicating the knights lance. A very unique one, but well done......I think your entire finial is right for this piece, not just a form adapted from others.......it truly fits your "Knights" theme. Great curl in the wood.

I also like the size of your opening........any larger and the base of the finial would need to have been bigger, which would have taken away from the "lance" form on it.

How many coats of blue dye? How much do you estimate you sanded the color back? You also gave us all a lesson about "old" WOP, and I think I had better pic up a new can myself for my anticipated arrival of my Monster rig. :D

[charlie knighton]

very nice.....

[Tony De Masi]

Really well executed piece Steve. Form and finial are really excellent. What I'm having trouble with is seeing any of the curl. Is it the pics? Is it me? Better in person?

[Michelle Rich]

Steve: you are a true master of the hollowform. they are always a delight to look at and to be inspired by. I have enjoyed everyone that you have posted

[Nate Davey]

A beautiful piece Steve. I love the shape and the finial is great, what with the Knight reference.

Having half of a one car garage, I have dust issues when finishing as well. I was thinking of ways to keep the piece covered but still allow air to move a bit to aid in drying. My mom use to have a tupperware cake box. One could place their piece on the lid, do the finishing then place the "bowl" portion over the top. Might work for smaller pieces??? A few holes drilled in it with clothe for a filter would allow air to move.

[David E Keller]

Very nice form and finish. I love the deep blue color, and the black is a perfect compliment to the main form. The lance finial is interesting and nicely proportioned... The shape is a bit different than the norm which is nice. Thanks for sharing.

[Rich Aldrich]

Steve - nice work. I really like the shape - the color really looks good.

[Pete Jordan]

Perfection Steve!

Nothing to improve on!

Keep warm my friend!

[Kieran Kammerer]

Very beautiful as always Steve. Continued inspiration for wanna be hollow form turner!

[Josh Bowman]

Gosh Steve! That looks great!

[Cathy Schaewe]

Beautiful, unsurprisingly. I love the blue color.

[Michael E. Thompson]

Really quite beautiful. I so enjoy your pieces. I did a commission lamp with the same blue RIT dye, didn't come out anywhere close the this. Just goes to show I need more patience with finishing.

[Clint Baxter]

Can't say anything more than what has already been said. Super job once again. The blue color with the black finial work extremely well together.

[Dick Mahany]

Steve,

This looks GREAT! I really like the dyed color and the way the finish finally came out. I would bet that this HF can take on a number of different appearances depending on lighting.

Regards

[Michael James]

Very beautiful piece! That finish looks worth fighting for. Thanks for posting.
mj

[Bob Bergstrom]

Beautiful shape Steve. I can understand your frustration with finishing. Lacquer, while drying quicker can go wrong also. One question I have on multiple layers of WOP is does it begin to yellow after a few years of exposer to the air. I can see that as both a plus or a minus. Will it turn those blues in your turning to a green tint. You also mention in John's thread that you would like to control the dye absorption. Furniture makers long a go learn to spray stains and dyes for good reason. By using light coats of transparent color you can control how dark the color will be.

[Doug W Swanson]

Steve,

You did an exceptional job on this. The dark color really makes wood grain stand out. The form is excellent, too!

Did you take any pictures before the dyeing? Just wondering if the grain stood out as much before you dyed it....

[Baxter Smith]

This may not be appropriate to admit to:o, but I must say I felt a faint touch of relief when I read that first paragraph about the number of times you started over. Helps me keep my finishing problems in perspective. I think I would have said good enough and time to move on, long before I achieved that flawless finish. Guess thats why I haven't.:)

Great color, great shape, great theme! Thanks for inspiring and showing the perseverence it sometimes takes to create something like this!

[Curt Fuller]

Steve, I envy your patience! This piece is so impressive with it's flawless finish and crisp details. But then to know the story behind it makes it even more beautiful. You mentioned a while back that you were shooting for an "arctic ice" color in this. I've never seen arctic ice but I think you certainly achieved a cold, crisp, winter look. The finial is perfect too. This has got to be one of your best so far.

[Alan Trout]

That is a great piece Excellent proportions and I really like the finial.

Alan

[Dale Bright]

Steve, you did a wonderful job on this one. A beautiful hollow form that was well worth all of the work to get the proper finish.

Dale

[Jeff Nicol]

Steve, I think this is one of my favorites that you have done, the dark and simple elegance of the piece is very appropriate for the name. Now if you had a small intricates sword somewhere on it, maybe like excalibur sticking out the side would give it the perfect Knight feel!

Great job,

Jeff

[Rob Cunningham]

A very impressive piece Steve. The form and finish are beautiful. I feel your pain with dust in the finish, it can be aggravating :mad:

[philip labre]

Great form and finial Steve!

[Cathy Schaewe]

Did I miss the dimensions somewhere???

[Steve Schlumpf]

Cathy - you are the first to notice!! It is 6" to the top of the finial and 5" in diameter and approx 1/8" thick.

Thanks for all the kind words everyone - I wasn't sure about how well it would be received!

For those of you wondering if the wood had any character before it was dyed - it did. Actually, it was one of the nicer pieces of curly I have ever turned - but- I wanted to try a blue dye on the next form I turned and this just happened to be next in line. It would have been nice without the dye - but have to admit that the dye added a lot of dimension to the piece that would not had existed if the color had not be added.

Thanks again for all the kind words! I do appreciate it!

[steven carter]

Steve,

This is a really nice HF. I think this is one that would be even more impressive is seen live, and this is no reflection on your photography, just don't think that any photo could live up to what it really looks like.

Steve

[Bernie Weishapl]

Steve that is one beautiful piece. I love the form, finial and finish. Well worth the extra effort.