My First Hollow Form

[Ed Morgano]

This is about 6" diameter x 2 3/4 high made from maple. It is NOT actually a hollow form in the truest sense of the word....it's two bowls glued together after being hollowed. I sort of took the form from Steve Schlumpf but not exactly. After looking at it completed, I think the pedistal is too high and the finial is too fat after the ball. Your comments and critisims are welcome and needed. BTW, I did some experimenting with my camera without the flash and it worked great. Thanks for looking.

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[Steve Schlumpf]

Ed - this may come as a surprise - but I like the form! The dark color hides the seam - so your bowl combination works well! Finials and pedestals come with time and lots of practice! You have already noted some changes for the next time and one key thing to remember is that the finial always looks thinner while it is on the lathe than it does once you remove it! So turn it down to the shape you want - then make it just a touch thinner - and you'll be happier with the results.

Looking forward to seeing your next one!

[Tim Rinehart]

Ed, I think you've nailed the Schlumpf-blue in it's truest form!! Can I assume it's Rit as Steve so ably uses?
Watch out Steve, Ed shows very good form for first HF...

[Ed Morgano]

Steve, thanks for your comments. I don't know why, but your absolutely right about things looking thinner in the lathe. I never would have believed it.

Tim, I used Rit dye right out of the bottle but after I did some sanding, I wasn't happy with the color any more so I put a coat of Alcohol based blue dye on it and then wiped it with an alcohol soaked rag to even it out. Not sure it that helped, but the alcohol fumes made me happy!!!

[Bill Wyko]

A very nice piece. Your critique of yourself draws the same conclusions I did. Your style also follows along the lines of Cindy Drozda, she has several DVD's about finial boxes and star shaped boxes as well. Here's a link to her instructional dvd's. I think you would really enjoy them and take away a lot of great info, I know I did. Something else to study is the Fibonacci formula better known as the golden ratio. It make curves and shapes known to be the most appealing to the human eye.
http://www.cindydrozda.com/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio All in all though, you did a fantastic job. Keep up the good work.

[John Keeton]

Ed, excellent work on the form! I do agree that both the pedestal and finial are a bit heavy, but then I am sure most all finial/pedestal "firsts" are a little on the heavy side. As Steve said - time will quickly change that. My recollection is that it took about 4-5 before I got them down to where I felt they were about right.

[David E Keller]

Nicely done, Ed. I think that's a heck of a first! I like my pedestals and finials a bit on the skinny side, but much of that is a matter of personal taste. I think you did a nice job blending the transitions from pedestal to form and form to lid. For me, the deliniation between elements on the spindle parts could be a little crisper, but I think you've done a whale of a job with this one. I like the color combo, too.

[Ed Morgano]

A very nice piece. Your critique of yourself draws the same conclusions I did. Your style also follows along the lines of Cindy Drozda, she has several DVD's about finial boxes and star shaped boxes as well. Here's a link to her instructional dvd's. I think you would really enjoy them and take away a lot of great info, I know I did. Something else to study is the Fibonacci formula better known as the golden ratio. It make curves and shapes known to be the most appealing to the human eye.
http://www.cindydrozda.com/, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Golden_ratio All in all though, you did a fantastic job. Keep up the good work.

Bill,
I went to Cindy's site and watched the 3 minute trailer to one of her video's. I learned more in 3 minutes than the price of the DVD. I ordered it! Thanks for the link.

[Baxter Smith]

Nice job Ed! I like the color combo and overall shape. The Drozda DVD will help a lot on seeing the techniques used to turn things thinner. Good luck with your next one.

[Curt Fuller]

;)"My First Hollow Form" and on a pedestal and with a finial to boot! It looks really good. But be careful not to let that Schlumph character pull into the dark side of coloring all your work.

[David DeCristoforo]

Form is spot on. Coloring and finish look really good. Finial and pedestal are, as you have said and many have seconded, a bit on the "fat" side. But for many, the first attempt at anything ends up in the scrap bin.

[Michael James]

Nice job on this....blue is good! I think it would look great without the pedestal, and perhaps a little smaller, thinner finial to my eye. Just my .02

[bob svoboda]

Very nice, Ed. I agree the base and finial are a bit thick for the form, but the form itself is a knock-out. I absolutely love the color you achieved. Nicely done!

[Ed Morgano]

Curt Fuller ;)"My First Hollow Form" and on a pedestal and with a finial to boot! It looks really good. But be careful not to let that Schlumph character pull into the dark side of coloring all your work. Curt, I definately won't color everything. Right now, it's a learning process and a lot of fun. After some more practice pieces, I plan on ordering some "high dollar" burls to make some pieces with. Not quite ready for that yet but hopefully soon.

Well, I've spent the morning practicing with the gouge that I ground yesterday evening thanks to Cindy Drozda. The gouge makes a huge difference in the amount of detail that I was able to get. Here are some pictures.

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[David DeCristoforo]

Ah Haaaa! Now he's getting the idea.....

[Kurt Misner]

Very nice. I really like the blue tint. This was a very popular color style for high end electric guitars and basses which can easily be prices in the several thousands. In fact, my 80's G&L L2000 bass guitar is just this color (over ash, however).