A Vase for Cindy - progression

[Kathy Marshall]

My sister's birthday was on Wednesday and I told her I would turn something for her and she requested a vase. Well that fit nicely with my plan since it would be a good project to try out my new JN steady rest. :D
So today after I got to a stopping point in another project I'm working on, I got out the chainsaw and cut a blank from a mesquite log.
I'm thinking something along the lines of the pierced vase I did but larger. The last one I did is about 6" tall and for this one I'm thinking something in the 9-10" range.
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Here's part one:
The blank is mounted and ready to be roughed to a cylinder. At this point the blank is abou 13" long and about 7" diameter
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It's roughed to a cylinder just over 6" diameter and is ready to be mounted on a face plate. I've put it in some plastic bags to hold until tomorrow.
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I'll start shaping the outside tomorrow and then move on to hollowing. I'm open to comments and suggestions!

[ray hampton]

your sister will receive a pretty vase if the pictures are any indicater

[Bob Bergstrom]

Boy, I really like the piercing on the top. Beautiful work. You are a talented and prolific turner. Thanks for sharing.

[mike ash]

Kathy - I really like the vase and the art work at the top!! Great job.

Thanks for sharing

Mike Ash

[John Keeton]

Hey guys, the vase Kathy has shown is the one she did previously and posted in this thread (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?168801-1st-Piercing/page2)! She is doing a progression thread on a similar turning and is sharing that process. I think she is asking for input and suggestions as relates to things to try on this one vs. the previous one.

[Doug W Swanson]

Kathy,
I would think something similar to the previous vase would be good. If I would change anything on the new one, it might be to add a little more curve to the top and the bottom of the vase part. Leave the base alone for stability.

JMO....

[David E Keller]

Looking forward to seeing your steady in action. It's hard to make suggestions at this point, but I do notice a small split still on the edge near the tailstock end of the lathe that you'll need to consider. Looks like a gorgeous piece of wood that you're starting with.

[Betty Fox]

Wow that's gorgeous!
I think for a larger vase you could add a wider piercing on the top or if it isn't going to hold water, you could pierce randomly down the body of the vase. Kinda make it look lighter. The dark brown color with the piercing on the top makes the delicate shape look heavy.
Keep in mind I haven't ever turned a vase and have NO experience with piercing. I'm just visualizing a contrast of heavy coloring and piercing for a lighter appearance.

[Kathy Marshall]

So here's where I'm at now, and I have a decision to make. I'm thinking of doing without a base and have it just sit on a foot like a HF would.
I'm also thinking I need to turn a little more curve into the top portion which would then allow me to narrow the bottom portion a little and still keep a nice flowing curve. The section just below the bottom curve is what I had reserved to do the base, but if I go with no base then I think I might have enough diameter still to lengthen the curves and utilize that section (or a portion of it), which would give me another 1 1/2" in height. The foot will probably end up about 1 1/2" or so, but I wont turn that down until the end as I need the mass for strength during hollowing. At this point its about 8" from the rim to the bottom of the curved section and the rim is about 5 1/2" diameter.
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Any thoughts or suggestions? I'm open to input.

[Roger Chandler]

Kathy,

I like the idea of taking the curve further down to near the bottom of the base, and giving it a smaller footprint, and a small pedestal/foot.......you have a pleasing form, and I think that would set it off..........that grain and color will make for a real looker.........Cindy will love it I am sure!

I actually like a solid vase vs. one that is pierced........but that is just my personal tastes........most would probably love a pierced look.

[Mark Hubl]

Looking good Kathy.

[philip labre]

Great looking piece, Kathy! I'm sure your sister is happy.

[Kathy Marshall]

I added a little more curve to the upper portion and narrowed the bottom portion, then turned away some of the waste to make it easier to visualize how the bottom should flo.

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Then I drilled out the center and set up my steady rest and hollowing system.
I've hollowed down about 1/3 of the way then went ahead and sanded that section.

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The hollowing is complete and I finished shaping the bottom. Next I cut away most of the waste area (the black mark shows me where the faceplate screws end and where not to cut). When most of the waste was turned away, I used my Easy Detailer to start parting off and at the same time turn the bottom concave.

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I stopped parting off here when I started seeing some wobble in the vase. Then I just used a coping saw to cut the nub close to the base. I used a small carving gouge to finish up the bottom.

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[Kathy Marshall]

Here is the final piece with just a coat of BLO, I'll finish it up with some WOP in a few days. It's 9" tall x 5 1/4" wide.
I decided not to do any piercing (it has a few of it's own, nature made). I kinda got ahead of myself and had already started hollowing, I could have moved the steady out of the way so I could turn some border lines, but then I got to thinking I would prefer the walls to be thinner for piercing and I didn't want to go to thin on this one. I also considered doing a band of texturing, but the mesquite was green and my texturing tool does much better on dry wood. I do think an embelishment of some sort would have helped, although I still think my sister will like it (she won't miss what she hasn't seen :eek: and she hasn't seen any of my piercings yet)
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I'm pretty happy with it although I think the bottom section could have been a little narrower and maybe a little more flare at the top. This vase challenged the limits of my Jamieson system. I had to take light cuts when nearing the bottom to reduce chatter. With care I could probably go a little deeper.

I am in love with my new steady rest! Previously, hollowing anything endgrain of any length, resulted in alot of vibration unless very light cuts were taken (it was better once I got a ways in). One of the reasons I switched to a faceplate for HFs was because sometimes the vibrations were enough to loosen the chuck. Even with 13" of wood hanging off the faceplate, this was a pleasure to hollow.

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

[Roger Chandler]

Nice one Kathy! That mesquite really has a natural beauty to it.

[Doug W Swanson]

Well done! I'm sure your sister will be pleased!

[Mark Hubl]

Well done Kathy. Thanks for the progress pics. I am sure your sister will love it!

[ray hampton]

Kathy, I agree with Roger

[Baxter Smith]

Looks good Kathy! I am sure your sister will love it!

[charlie knighton]

very nice, your sister is lucky to receive this, i like the way you sanded before finishing, i have not done it that way but i think i will try that

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks everyone!
I put a light base coat of shellac on it tonight and it already looks better, should improve more after the finish coats of WOP. I think she'll like it just because of the size and mesquite is her favorite wood.

Charlie, I often sand as I go. Turning mostly green wood in a hot dry climate, I've learned (at least for me) that if I sand each section as I finish turning it, then get some oil on it, it reduces (and sometimes prevents) surface cracking. It also breaks up the sanding which with bigger pieces can be a little hard on my hands which cramp and stiffen up gripping the sandpaper. I know I can get sanding pads that would be easier on my hands, but I like the feel of just the sandpaper, it lets me feel any ridges or flats spots, and I know right away if I'm using too much pressure by the heat.

[David E Keller]

That's a beauty, Kathy! I think it turned out great!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Kathy that is a beauty. Gotta love mesquite.

[Cathy Schaewe]

I like it a lot. I had missed the earlier thread with the pierced vase, which I absolutely love. I agree with your assessment about letting the top flare more, but I think those are personal preferences. I haven't made a vase taller than 7 1/2", and I think this will inspire me!