Choices

[Kathy Marshall]

Came home from work tonight and had a choice to make between 2 options.
1st option was to replace the radiator in the truck.
2nd option was to hit the shop for some turning.
Well, the radiator just has a slow leak, so I'm sure it will make it till the weekend :eek:
So I went with the obvious choice and hit the lathe :D.

Turned this little lidded vessel from one of the curly maple blocks that JK sent and made the lid from the scrap that was left from the little ambrosia maple piece I did last week. It's about 4" tall x 2" wide or thereabouts. BLO on the lid and Royal Blue Rit dye on the vessel. Just has the 1st coat of WOP so far.

Now I have another choice to make. What to do for the lid? I left a small tenon to add a handle/knob or finial of some type, but nothings coming to mind. Any thoughts? :confused:

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Thanks for looking!
As always comments and critiques are welcome.

[Norm Zax]

Lovely vessel. Somewhat resembles an eggplant. I may prefer a lighter wood for the lid. Not sure.
Want an irregular suggestion for a knob? Check out Mark Sanger's highly interesting solutions - http://www.marksanger.co.uk/

[John Keeton]

Great color, Kathy!! What dye did you use?

I agree on the eggplant look, so one might consider a takeoff on the Keith Burns exclamation point, such that it appears as a stem. Excellent use of that piece of maple, BTW!

[John Hart]

Beautiful, Ma'am!! I like it and agree with Norm, that it resembles an eggplant. My first inclination on a finial was an exaggerated Keith Burns exclamation point....small base...large slanted flare.

[Michelle Rich]

I love it when women have their priorities straight...turning vs. leak in radiator? :-) eggplant or water balloon?? Pretty whatever...I'm terrible with lid lifters, so I decline to make myself seem sillier than I already appear...

[Tim Thiebaut]

I think you made the right choice to turn last night, this is a very cool piece, and I love the color! For some reason when I was thinking about finials for this a multi-axis one popped into my head...might be cool.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very pretty! Love the rich color and curl!

For a finial/top - I would like to see something with a small fan or seashell shape! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!

[Doug W Swanson]

Nice looking piece, Kathy!

My suggestion for the top/finial would be to mimic the shape of the vase. JMO....

[charlie knighton]

very nice taper

[Roger Chandler]

Maybe dye the final and lid green to resemble the stem on a real eggplant..........and you could also paint a leaf or two or somehow incorporate a leaf in the stem..........that would certainly make for a standout turning............some gallery would snap that one up!

[John Hart]

Here's a pic of Carol Valentine's Treasure Keeper. That leaf is carved then gold leafed

Just a little inspiration in case you feel like gettin' out the carving tools :)

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[Bob Bergstrom]

Awesome curve from top to bottom. You certainly like a challenge. It is not easy to get the top and bottom hemispheres equal. Beautiful blues always work so great on curly maple.

[Jon Nuckles]

Very pretty piece, Kathy; really like that color!

[Roland Martin]

Very nice form and color, Kathy. I also think a Keith Burns finial, lid & finial dyed green. Whatever you do, you can't ruin this piece.

[Jim Underwood]

My thoughts? Any time turning is far better than working on a vehicle.... I Let someone else do that junk, and I even have a Rollaway box full of tools and 14 years experience working on cars.

And see? You have something nice to show for your efforts... instead of greasy clothes, black fingernails and busted knuckles.

[John Hart]

My thoughts? Any time turning is far better than working on a vehicle.... I Let someone else do that junk, and I even have a Rollaway box full of tools and 14 years experience working on cars. And see? You have something nice to show for your efforts... instead of greasy clothes, black fingernails and busted knuckles.

I enthusiastically second that motion!!!!! Here here!! :)

[Michael James]

That is beautiful. I love blue...blue anything. Blue is beautiful and this piece is very well done. No opinions on lids since I haven't done any. Keep em coming!
mj

[David DeCristoforo]

While it might resemble an eggplant, the color is all wrong. Needs some red to get into a really strong purple. Then a carved stem with some green dyed leaves and you will have a great eggplant. Might as well go all the way...

[David E Keller]

Maybe it's just me, but I think I'd like this piece without a lid and finial. It's got plenty going for it, so I think it could stand on its own. Lovely work.

[Dick Wilson]

Kathy, Turn a Curley Maple lid the same shape as the top in pic. Leave the lid natural. Use a branch on the lid horizontal to the table.

[Mark Hix]

Beautiful blue! Match the shape of the bowl on the handle on the lid and dye it a contrasting color. Whatever you decide, it is a wonderful piece and turning ALWAYS trumps car repair!

[Don Alexander]

turning pretty much trumps almost everything else :D:D:D............................. IMO that piece doesn't need a lid it looks very good all by itself

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks for the great comments everyone!


Great color, Kathy!! What dye did you use?

I agree on the eggplant look, so one might consider a takeoff on the Keith Burns exclamation point, such that it appears as a stem. Excellent use of that piece of maple, BTW!
Thanks John! I used Royal Blue Rit dye. The exclamation point is one I tried tonight (pics below).


I love it when women have their priorities straight...turning vs. leak in radiator? :-) eggplant or water balloon?? Pretty whatever...I'm terrible with lid lifters, so I decline to make myself seem sillier than I already appear...
Thanks Michelle! You mean there are women that don't have their priorities straight? :eek:


Very pretty! Love the rich color and curl!

For a finial/top - I would like to see something with a small fan or seashell shape! Looking forward to seeing what you come up with!
Thanks Steve! Giving the seashell shape a try (pics below).


Nice looking piece, Kathy!

My suggestion for the top/finial would be to mimic the shape of the vase. JMO....
Thanks Doug! Tomorrow is another day and I may just try a few more finial shapes.


Here's a pic of Carol Valentine's Treasure Keeper. That leaf is carved then gold leafed

Just a little inspiration in case you feel like gettin' out the carving tools :)

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Thanks John! Now that looks cool! But just a little above my carving level!


Awesome curve from top to bottom. You certainly like a challenge. It is not easy to get the top and bottom hemispheres equal. Beautiful blues always work so great on curly maple.
Thanks Bob! This one was a little tough just because of the curl. As it was spinning the curl made it look like I was carving ridges lol. Finally gave up looking at the profile and just used my fingers to tell me if I had a smooth curve lol.


My thoughts? Any time turning is far better than working on a vehicle.... I Let someone else do that junk, and I even have a Rollaway box full of tools and 14 years experience working on cars.

And see? You have something nice to show for your efforts... instead of greasy clothes, black fingernails and busted knuckles.
I have to say I like your thoughts Jim, the only problem is someone else would probably want something (like cash) in return for their efforts lol.

So here are tonights efforts. The 1st is an exclamation point. I think this one works, but I'm not real happy with the ball at the bottom. I was trying more to mimic the shape of the vessel but I didn't leave myself quite enough room to play with it, as you can see by the scrap left after parting it off. I was working REALLY close to the jaws (that little scrap is probably 1/32 out from the jaws :eek: Still need to decide if I want to leave it natural or dye it but I'm wondering if dyeing it might make it a little too busy.

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The 2nd effort was to go for a seashell type shape. I think this one works also, but this one needs a little more work. The ball at the bottom could be a little bit smaller and I should have "hollowed" out the inside a little deeper. The way I did this one was to turn a big bead, then I used one of the new carving bits I got for my Dremel tool at the Desert Woodturners Roundup to shape the inside and outside. It worked well, I just need a little more practice with it. I'm wondering how it might look with just a hint of the blue dye. I may try to clean it up a bit tomorrow.
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[John Keeton]

Kathy, you don't indicate a desire for "votes", but my preference is the exclamation mark sans the bead underneath. And, I would suggest matte black spray paint on both the lid and finial, followed with a little WOP (satin) to seal it and create a contrast in texture as well as color. I think the black would pick up on the dark tones in the form, and be less pronounced than the existing lid, and having three colors (form, lid, and finial) is a little much for my tastes - at least with this particular piece.