Taking the Bad with the Good

[Kathy Marshall]

So I'll start with the good....
Made a new HF tool the other day, for minis :D Turned a handle and ground a 3/32" allen wrench for the business end. Tried it out on a mesquite scrap. It's .66" tall x .74" wide and hollowed as uniformly as I could make it (can't stick my finger in to check wall thickness lol, now I'm going to have to make some micro calipers).
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The bowl and platter are Cherry. Can't tell in the pics (forgot to take a profile shot) but I turned a bead on the rim of the bowl. The signature on the platter was a challenge. Took a very light touch to just skim the surface to get a fine enough line. I need to get another pen for my burner, the kind where you can make your own tips and change them out. My current pen has a permanent tip.
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Now for the bad...
Another piece from Emory Oak Burl. Lost a chunk of the bark while turning, but I'm ok with that. Turned a pedestal out of Mesquite and used India Ink to dye it black (worked great), then turned a lid from the same piece of burl, then turned a finial from Mesquite (also dyed with india ink).
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So for the last couple of days I've been working on the finish. Today I was giving it the quick once over with some 0000 steel wool before applying another coat of WOP. I was working on the lid (which already had the finial glued in) and my grip slipped :mad: I didn't even drop the piece, it just pivoted in my hand and the tip of the finial bumped the workbench and the top 1/3 of the finial said goodbye to the bottom 2/3. I glued it back together for the pic, but the finial is not salvageable. The place where it broke was .092" diameter.
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So, since I'm going to need to turn a new finial, I thought I'd get some suggestions based on the old finial. Is it too tall? Should I turn different details on it? etc??
Also, what's the best way to remove the broken finial from the lid? I've tried using some CA debonder, but it doesn't seem able to work it's way into the joint. Am I just going to need to cut the finial as close to the lid as possible and just re-drill for the new finial tenon?

[Curt Fuller]

Oh, what a heartbreaker.

I really like the finial you made. I think I would try and do another just like it. If you're like me, you'll change it anyway but I think the broken one looked great.

I think you'll probably have to drill the broken one out. Be careful, don't mess up that nice lid.

[Tim Thiebaut]

Those mini's you make are very nice, I am going to have to give that a go one of these days. I love this HF Kathy very nice! To me the height of the finial looks fine, but someone with more experience may think different.

[John Keeton]

Kathy, these minis are a neat diversion for you and you do a nice job on them. On signing your name, I use a Micron archival pen from Michaels - .2mm - you may want to try one. It is a very fine (small) point.
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41wjpY4%2B5tL._SL500_AA300_.jpg (http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/images/B001CRI6O2/ref=dp_image_0?ie=UTF8&n=2617941011&s=arts-crafts)

Nice work on the oak goblet, and such a shame on the finial!:(

Without a straight on shot, it is hard to see the relative dimension of the finial with the form and pedestal. The finial and pedestal appear to be about the same height, and if so, I would avoid that. Perhaps make the finial either longer or shorter - again, depending on the straight on appearance.

Drilling into the mesquite end grain, and getting it straight, is going to be a challenge.

Do you use a Nova chuck? If so, do you have the soft jaws? One suggestion would be to grasp the lid in the soft jaws, and turn the finial base to a very short tenon. Then, take a piece of mesquite, and turn a small finial base/cap to pick up on the base of the pedestal. It would need to be about twice the size of the base of the finial you have now. You can drill and turn the underside (the concave part that would sit on the existing finial tenon) and test the fit before parting it off.

Then, I would dye the edges, and glue it on the lid. Grasp the lid again in the soft jaws, and contour the top face of the base/cap, and drill a tenon hole for the new finial.

I think this would improve the look of the lid, as I think the finial needs a little bit of a base. It would also avoid messing up the lid.

FWIW, I never assemble a piece until all finishing and buffing are done. Experience is a wicked teacher, and I have been its student too many times!:D;)

[Darren Jamieson]

Great job Kathy, although I don't see myself turning the miniture pieces I do appreciate the skill level it takes to do that kind of work. The Goblet is beautiful, I didn't even notice the bark missing until a read later that you had lost a peice. IMO the finial needs to be shorter and I think right where the break is would be perfect. So with that, just put the lid in the soft jaws and redue the finial while it is attached to the lid.

[Roland Martin]

Nice little hollowing tool Kathy. The mini turnings are great, and I can see measuring the HF is a challenge:eek:. I love the goblet, and a real bummer the finial broke. I would lean towards John's suggestion on increasing the diameter of the finial base with the height about 2/3 of the height of the pedestal/base, only my opinion, still a rookie:). Really nice work and a design opportunity.

[Mark Hubl]

Kathy,

Those little minis are cute. I know they are more work then they look like! Ouch, busting the finial really can bring out special words! Followed by the wonderful internal question "Why did you do that?". I can also tell you not to steel wool finials with the lathe running, don't ask me how I know.

I think the finial that you made looked good. John made some good points about height. It is hard to tell, but it may have been a bit tall. Also, you may want to add a detail element from the base to the finial, like one of the beads. This can also pull the two together.

If you don't have soft jaws, just make a little jam chuck to work on the lid. Remember to drill a hole in the chuck so you can knock the lid back out with a rod or dowel. Again, don't ask me how I know. Using the jam chuck will let you clean up the lid and re drill.

And, since you like to make your own tools, you may consider making a pen for your burner. They are pretty easy to make and work better than what you can buy. A trip to Radio Shack and a couple of bucks will set you up then you can make your own tips.

Good Luck.

[Michael James]

Great work on the minis and the hollowing tool! I'm still avoiding anything as delicate as finials, so I can't help you there, but OUCH that must have been a heartbreaker that close to the finish line. Hang in there on this piece as it's certainly worth the effort. Best of luck.
mj

[Andrew Kertesz]

I have a question about the hollowing tool. Did you just heat that with a torch to bend it?

[Bernie Weishapl]

Kathy those are really cool mini's. That is a bummer on the finial and will echo what John said.

[Bernie Weishapl]

I have a question about the hollowing tool. Did you just heat that with a torch to bend it?

Andrew she used a allen wrench which already has the 90 deg bend. She just sharpened the end. I have made several of these for mini birdhouses and ornaments.

[Kathy Marshall]

I have a question about the hollowing tool. Did you just heat that with a torch to bend it?

Andrew, since it was such a small allen wrench I just put it in my vice and used a pair of plyers to reduce the angle to about 45deg.

[Jim Burr]

Ha!!!! I know the feeling. I had a base for my first HF like that and it did a klaplowey on me. Great looking goblet..stem loks a litle thin, but from a guy who can't make 'em yet..it looks good

[Cathy Schaewe]

I'm sorry. That's a bummer. The tool is neat, though, as are the minis. Whatever advice you decide to follow, I wish you luck! I find that once I have bad luck with a piece, it seems to keep on ...