Walnut HF Second Attempt.

[Nate Davey]

After blowing out my first tall hollow form I had to give it a second try. I used my homemade hollowing tools and am very happy with them. I have found that I need to hone the edges occasionally to get better cuts. This HF is 7" tall and 4" in diameter. The hole is 1" diameter and the walls are fairly uniform at 3/16-1/4". I "sanded" the inside with broken tempered glass turning it on the lathe at about 50 rpm. Seemed to work pretty well. I've sanded to 400, then applied a coat of shellac, sanded it back with 300 then wet sanded with BLO and 400 grit wet/dry. I have a flood coat of WOP on and think I will do a high gloss finish, although I'm open to suggestions. Comments and criticism appreciated.

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[David DeCristoforo]

Nice looking form. The base could be a little smaller with more curve to the lower part of the form. But for a second attempt, this is really good. The wood has a lot going on and the form features it well. Most interested in the "sanding" technique! I would not try a high gloss finish on this unless you were up for filling all of the cracks and voids. They will look like hell under a gloss finish whereas they add a "rustic" touch with the matte finish.

[David E Keller]

Nicely done, Nate. That's a heck of a first(I don't count the one that committed suicide)! My only suggestion would be to put a small radius on the bottom of the next one... It'll give the piece some lift. Great job!

[Roger Chandler]

I would like to hear more on the sanding with broken glass on the inside.........care to elaborate on how you do it and how well it works?

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really a nice looking piece. I agree with the foot being smaller and a little more curve. I would like to know how the broken glass worked also.

[Nate Davey]

I saw a post on here some time ago about sanding the inside of HF's. One of the gentleman who replied said he filled his with a sanding media, plugged the hole and let it run all night. For the life of me I couldn't find the post to see what he used. I gave my dad a call and he said some of the guys in his turning club used tempered glass shards. We have some old cars at work with busted out window so swept up some glass, put it in the HF, used an old cone center on my tailstock and set the RPM for about 50. The biggest issue with that speed is the motor isn't spinning fast enough to cool itself so I stopped every hour or so to let the motor cool. I also changed directions after each stop. It isn't as fast as using sandpaper, but it works just fine. Kind of like a rock tumbler.

[John Keeton]

Nice work, Davey, and this one looks much more "complete" than did the last one!!;) I agree with DD on the gloss finish and the cracks. However, since you already have a coat of finish on, you could try filling the cracks before going further - perhaps some coffee grounds and CA or epoxy, or just some tinted epoxy would probably work on those cracks. That would give you a uniform surface and a better result for a gloss finish.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nate - nice work! You already received some valid suggestions as to the form - so I won't repeat! Have fun hollowing and I am looking forward to #3!

[Baxter Smith]

Congrats on the survival. It looks good too!

[Jon Prouty]

Tempered glass.... gotta try that one myself. There is a junkyard next to my office - I'm going to go get me some glass to give this a try. Thanks for the idea!

Nice job on the form... I agree with the comments about a smaller foot but wouldn't do anything to risk a finished form now that it is actually done. next time

Jon

[John Hart]

Seems like it would be worthwhile to set up a little motor and reduction pulley and spindle thingy just for tumbling all night. Cool idea. ;)

I like the form very much, and agree that a gloss finish might negatively enhance the voids. I've had very bad luck in the past with lacquer and that sort of thing.....so I'd just end up spraying more lacquer until it didn't bother me anymore. (hic!:o excuse me) :)

[John W Dixon]

I really like this one. Nice job and neat idea about sanding the inside.