Osage Orange Hollow Form

[Roger Chandler]

I began this last week, and this form has a few "firsts" for me. It was the first time I have done a DNA soak, but this one still cracked a little on me, but I managed to keep it in check [and glue my fingers to it with CA glue :eek:]

This is also my first attempt at this style of form. I have done a few vases, and one lidded HF that was not up to my standards [ a good bit of the reason is all I had was a sorby hollowmaster at the time, and no instruction on how to use it properly]

This Osage Orange [bois'd-arc] was hollowed with my Ellsworth hand held tools, and I also used my shop built steady rest, which worked like a charm.

The finial is Appalachian Ebony, and the finish is WOP. I thought about doing another finial with just a tad thinner bulb on the onion, but this one seemed, at least to my eye, to be proportional with the form.

Opening is 1-7/8' and it stand 11" tall and is approximately 6" wide. I had left wood and turned a pedestal/ foot for it before the soak in DNA, but as it dried, the pith area in the foot really cracked and opened up, so I parted the foot off and went with a more traditional form.

This is also my first picture with a photo gradient background.........a much better picture quality!

Comments are welcome!

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[Jim Burr]

Great chunk of wood Roger! Couple of things...JMHO...the bottom flair could be taken down to the foot. The lip and lid look complicated. I'm thinking the lid w/o the lip would be really cool. I am impressed with the size...the bigger HF are really impressive and with that finish...very nice!!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Roger - congrats on all your firsts! Really like your new backdrop! Sure makes a difference, eh?

Also, congrats on the form - may it be the first of many! There are always opinions when it comes to form - so I will offer a couple of mine - but remember that they are only opinions and probably worth less than you paid for them!

I feel the piece would look even nicer if the lid would sit flush with the top of the form. So either the lip would have to have a sloped edge to it or not be there at all to allow the lid to sit flush. Other opinion is that the finial could benefit by having more of a taper from the onion to the top - effectively slimming the finial.

Overall - very nice work - especially the finish! Looking forward to seeing what you turn next!

[Brian Libby]

Very nice! I like it the way it is but maybe a slightly taller, thinner finial might also work.

[John Keeton]

Roger, congrats!!! You did some very nice work for all the firsts!! In fact, pretty good work all around. I would agree with the comments by both Jim and Steve, but you did a very good job on this.

What is Appalachian Ebony!!?? Has to be a poor man's ebony - dyed walnut???

[Bill Hensley]

Roger, well done on the form and photos!

[Roger Chandler]

Steve,

I happen to agree with you.........I almost turned another finial, because I thought this one was a little on the beefy side, however, my thinking was this was my "first" of this type form, and the finial was the first one of this type I have done also, so it looked "okay" but it was not perfect in any way. I was going for a simple finial with not a lot going on as to embellishments on it, so I think I did get that one alright.

the lid on the bottom of the finial.........do you think it should have been simply inset inside the opening? Or, should I have eliminated the lip on the top of the form and made a finial with a collar type lid to fit the opening?

I value your opinion, and I am glad you took the time to look. I hope I will get better at these things..........Randy said my Monster rig will ship sometime this week [yea!!! :D] Having a great tool like that should make it easier to achieve good results, I would think.

I really wanted the foot/pedestal to be a part of this form, but that crack that developed was just too much, and when I parted it off, the flow of the curve was affected just a little.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger, congrats!!! You did some very nice work for all the firsts!! In fact, pretty good work all around. I would agree with the comments by both Jim and Steve, but you did a very good job on this.

What is Appalachian Ebony!!?? Has to be a poor man's ebony - dyed walnut???

Appalachian Ebony............[blackus mapleous] ........yep! poor man's ebony, or ebonized because one has no ebony in stock.......[KIWI shoe dye - :eek::D]

[Roger Chandler]

I forgot to mention, this Osage Orange log was somewhat elbow shaped, which made the pith run through it in an odd angle, and had to be contended with, so it affected the original intentions I had for this piece.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Roger - there are always options when turning - this is only my opinion of one of them. Sorry for the crude example but I hope it gets the idea across.

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[Kieran Kammerer]

Very nice Roger. I am still waiting to attempt soemthing like this. The comments form the "masters" of hollow forms are very helpful and I always learn something form them. I agree with the suggestions and it is nice to see what a small change like Steve suggested can do for a piece. Keep up the nice work.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger - there are always options when turning - this is only my opinion of one of them. Sorry for the crude example but I hope it gets the idea across.

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Steve, I do see what you mean......the picture does help explain it........thank you again! How is it that a finial looks a lot thinner when it is still on the lathe, and when you put it on the HF, all of a sudden, it looks too fat? :eek:

[Roger Chandler]

Very nice! I like it the way it is but maybe a slightly taller, thinner finial might also work.

thank you Brian.........I think I agree with you. :)

[Steve Schlumpf]

How is it that a finial looks a lot thinner when it is still on the lathe, and when you put it on the HF, all of a sudden, it looks too fat?

Roger - there is a lesson in that statement! Keep it in mind the next time you turn a finial and if possible, remove the finial from the lathe and check it out. When in doubt - turn it thinner! Just be aware of all the curves and try to keep everything in proportion.

Have fun with it!

[Tony De Masi]

Looking good Roger. As it's your first I wouldn't change it at all. Just leave it and learn from it if it doesn't really tickle your fancy. Just like your first bowl right? Always lots to learn and improve on.

Not a sermon, just a thought.;)

[Tim Thiebaut]

This is very nice, I love turning OO, the colors are so vibrant.

[Steve Vaughan]

Yup, I'm with Tony. I think it's a really neat looking piece. Love the color of that orange. I've got a 4 X 4 chunk of it laying around, but I'm not very well prepared yet to do hollow forms. But, you're taking me closer and closer.

[Fred Belknap]

Roger I think it is a great piece. The finish is great and the pictures are great. Everyone has a shape they like and things they don't like but it is mostly about are you pleased with it. I see a lot to be pleased with.:)

[David E Keller]

Nicely done, Roger. That looks like a fair bit of work with handheld tools especially given that the piece was frozen solid if I recall correctly.

I agree with the previous thoughts about continuing the curves near the bottom and at the lid. Finial proportions are so subjective, but I tend to favor slightly more delicate styles.

All in all, it's a nice piece, and I hope it's only the first of many to come.

[Roger Chandler]

Thank you to everyone for your encouragement, and your comments, many of which were constructive criticism, which is helpful............also, thanks to those who gave me advice on the DNA soak, and how to go about doing it. Hopefully, more and better pieces will follow in the upcoming weeks.

[Roger Chandler]

I have been thinking about the comments on the form [the little small flare at the foot, and the finial being a bit too thick.] That brought up a question I would like to pose for some of you more experienced turners.

How many forms did you do on average, before you felt like you hit perfection? I realize that all judgments are somewhat subjective, and we each are our own worst critics..........that being said, how many forms of a certain type under your belt, before you felt like you could not have done it any better?

The flare at the base on this one was because of having to part off the foot/pedestal, because of a large crack, and it was so slight, I did not take the extra time to work out a method of remounting it with specially made jam chucks, etc............but the finial.....well I just missed that by a little, so I will have something to shoot for next time for sure!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Roger as a first that is a nice looking HF. I would sign it, date it and use it to learn from.

[Roger Chandler]

Roger as a first that is a nice looking HF. I would sign it, date it and use it to learn from.

Thank you Bernie.......I appreciate all you said both here and on AAW! Along the way, you have been helpful and encouraging in many ways, and it means a lot to me! :)

[Curt Fuller]

I have been thinking about the comments on the form [the little small flare at the foot, and the finial being a bit too thick.] That brought up a question I would like to pose for some of you more experienced turners.

How many forms did you do on average, before you felt like you hit perfection? I realize that all judgments are somewhat subjective, and we each are our own worst critics..........that being said, how many forms of a certain type under your belt, before you felt like you could not have done it any better?

The flare at the base on this one was because of having to part off the foot/pedestal, because of a large crack, and it was so slight, I did not take the extra time to work out a method of remounting it with specially made jam chucks, etc............but the finial.....well I just missed that by a little, so I will have something to shoot for next time for sure!

I'm definitely not an expert, but your question is one I ask myself often. I've yet to turn anything that I didn't feel I could have done something better. And I'm not sure I would want to repeat a form over and over until I felt it was beyond improvement. There's a famous turner that once said something like 'as turners we tend to turn for other turners'. I'm sure I misquoted that but what I think he meant was that we tend to try to please other turners with the things we turn rather than please ourselves. But I've found that when you put your work out for display it's pretty rare to get a consensus on what is right or wrong about it. So you take the good and bad comments, weigh them over from you own perspective, and work on the next piece. With each new piece you gain a little confidence, getting bolder with your tools, while remembering the good and bad comments made about your last effort, and moving a little closer to the "perfection in a form" that you're striving for.

[Baxter Smith]

Congrats on all the firsts. Another step forward.:)

[Tony Wheeler]

how long did it soak in the DNA? I have yet to DNA soak any OO but I was thinking that since the wood is so dense and hard does it need to soak longer to get the same benfit as a piece of maple. I have turn hundred year old fence post and sometimes they still find anew cracking place after all those years

[Roger Chandler]

how long did it soak in the DNA? I have yet to DNA soak any OO but I was thinking that since the wood is so dense and hard does it need to soak longer to get the same benfit as a piece of maple. I have turn hundred year old fence post and sometimes they still find anew cracking place after all those years

Tony,

I let it soak 2 full days. I think that was long enough with the rough out being only 1/2 " thick. That log blank was an elbow shape, and the pith could not be completely turned out of it, so some of the pith was in the foot/pedestal I left, but alas, it had to be parted off to save the main part of the form.

It was completely submersed in the DNA.