WIP - "Acero Dolce" or "Sweet Maple" now finished!

[John Keeton]

When I posted "A burly gloat (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?173927-A-burly-gloat%21/page2)" on some box elder burl I bought from Northwoods, I noted that Les threw in a piece of spalted BLM burl. Steve Schlumpf really liked the BLM piece, as did I. I decided it would be the subject of my next turning.

Jon Prouty asked if I would post some pics of the work in progress, so, here goes. This will take a few days, as my shop time has been a little spotty. It will also take some space and several posts.

David Reed observed that this piece might be a little soft - and, it was. It didn't feel that way when I first got the wood, and it passed my "fingernail" test for punkiness. When I got into it, there was a fair amount of "crumbly" wood. But, we will make the best of it!

This is the chunk of BLM - about 6" x 8" x 3" thick. I band sawed it to a 6" round.
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This is the sketch of the turning.
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I am quite sure my methods lack a lot, but just some general comments about how I go about this. I keep a sketch pad by my easy chair, and when I am feeling creative, I will make several quick sketches and I leave them there to be pondered over the next few days. Some just don't work for me, and others do. If they "make the grade" then I will convert them to 1/4" grid paper. I wish I could use Illustrator like David D. does - would be so neat. He has provided me some other technical ideas that include a digital "sketch pad" that will save a file in format compatible with Illustrator and other programs. That is on the "someday" list!

I try to do something different with each turning - a little different form, or a different style finial, etc. Generally, I do not have in mind the wood to use for it until after the sketch is done. However, I did this sketch specifically for this piece of wood.

The rule of thirds is used as much as possible, and in this case, the thinnest part of the pedestal is at the 2/3 point. Likewise, the widest diameter of the form is at the 2/3 point.

Usually, a pedestal just doesn't look right being the same height as the form, but with this shape, it seemed to look OK. You all may differ on that, and that is OK. I have found that folks really view these things differently. Seems the shape of the form can really play games with the rule of thirds - requiring one to account for the shifted mass of the form.

I also try to make sure the protruding elements of the finial touch a fair curve coming off the shoulder of the piece, and that is the faint curved line drawn on the top. The thought on this one was to have a black pedestal/finial to pick up on the spalt lines.

The first step, in order to preserve as much thickness as possible, was to glue on a waste block. I keep on my bench several 2+" disks of poplar, maple, or whatever scrap wood I have around. I marked the center of the BLM, and with a compass, marked a circle a little larger than the waste block. I marked the center of the waste block, and with Titebond, I clamped the block on the BLM and left it overnight. By the time I decided to do this thread, I had already roughed out the form.

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When I am getting the shape of the form, I have the sketch lying on my lathe for reference. I also use a set of calipers for various dimensions on the piece in critical locations or transition points.

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Here the piece is generally shaped - leaving plenty of "meat" at the base for hollowing. I already know the final shape and dimensions, so when I hollow, I will hollow to the "imaginary" final form.

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Before hollowing, I use a 3/8" electrician's bit to drill out the center to final depth. This gets rid of the center nub.

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I use a Monster hollowing rig, and I didn't document that process. It is rather mundane - kind of like watching grass grow!

This is the hollowed form - sanded to 400 and with several coats of lacquer thinned with acetone. I had a very difficult time getting a clean cut for the finial shelf. This is where the punkiness really created issues. A lot of the inside of this form came out in granules the size of instant coffee, and the area around the opening was really soft and wanted to break out on me.

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And, this is the hollowed form from the side.

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More to come.....

[David DeCristoforo]

I'm hearing Miyagi... "Make lika picha..."

This is looking like another Keeton "classic". Unmistakable form and knockout material. I love seeing these things come to life step by step...

[charlie knighton]

just wondering, is your sketch done full size so you can take measurements off the sketch with the caliper?

[John Keeton]

After hollowing, I bring the form to final shape, leaving a 3/8" tenon on the bottom. It is completely sanded, and then I apply several coats of thinned lacquer to the remainder of the form. When applying the lacquer, I let it soak in for a few seconds, and wipe off the excess. This was a method I picked up from Jamie Donaldson, and it works very well with lacquer. Most of my forms are finished with WOP, however, I wanted to preserve the color of this wood as much as possible, and I also want to end up with a satin finish that appears "in the wood". The form will be sawed off at this point - note that the stub tenon that is to be glued into the pedestal is actually part of the waste wood.

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"Waste not - want not!" I leveled off the remainder of the waste block and will reuse it at some point.

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I chose holly for the pedestal and finial - mostly because I have a lot of it, and the base on this piece is 2" in diameter. I have limited stock of Blackwood that is 2" or better. The stock is rounded, and a tenon is made for the chuck - in this case, I will use a chuck with 25 mm jaws that are serrated - not dovetailed.

It doesn't show in this pic, but I am using a drive center held in the chuck jaws.

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Since accessing the bottom of the pedestal will be difficult once it is done, I do most of the detailing at this point - leaving an area for the chuck to snug up against. The tenon and center area will be removed later.

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The piece is then flipped and chucked in the smaller chuck jaws. I only need 3" of this piece, but I have a use for the remainder later on, and a tenon is cut on the waste portion, and the waste is parted off.

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Then, I turn a smooth face on the surface of the piece. This is the top, and I want to have it very slightly concave to assure that it closes up tight on the bottom of the form. A 3/8" hole is drilled for the stub tenon on the form.

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I check the fit of the form to make sure I will get a tight glue line, and then I mark the diameter of the base of the form on the pedestal stock.

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The tailstock is pulled up to the holly with medium pressure. The pedestal is then taken down to final dimensions with the exception of leaving just a very slight "fudge factor" on the top where it mates to the form.

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More to come....

[John Keeton]

just wondering, is your sketch done full size so you can take measurements off the sketch with the caliper?Yes, Charlie, the sketch is actual size, on 1/4" grid paper. I do use calipers for fractional dimensions straight from the sketch.

[James Combs]

John, as some previous commenter said that looks to be a Keaton classic. Can't wait to see it finished and love that BLM coloring.



This is the hollowed form - sanded to 400 and with several coats of lacquer thinned with acetone. I had a very difficult time getting a clean cut for the finial shelf. This is where the punkiness really created issues. A lot of the inside of this form came out in granules the size of instant coffee, and the area around the opening was really soft and wanted to break out on me...

I can relate to "granules". That is exactly how my spalted maple turns. With this one (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?139575-No.-5-Spalted-Maple-w-Walnut-Finial&highlight=) and this one (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?159108-No.-26-Spalted-Maple-HF-w-BlkWalnut-quot-Critique-Requested-quot&highlight=) I used a lot of CA to spot stabilize and with this one (http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?168157-No.-38-Spalted-Maple-HF-w-BlkWalnut-Burl&highlight=) I treated it with heat activated stabilizing resin (Cactus Juice). For being able to turn the wood the resin treatment is my prefered method but CA still has it's place. The difference between CA and resin is the resin turns ok but very "dusty" where as the CA turns more like plastic.

[David DeCristoforo]

OMG... OMG!!! In the second pic... Is that.... no, no... it can't be... there on the lathe bed... look... see it? Is that a little pile of sawdust???
It can't be.... Noooooo!!!!

[charlie knighton]

David, i see the sawdust, but look in photo #8; there appears to be scratches on the revolving center, i thought i was the only one who had scratched their revolving center

[John Keeton]

The form is then placed on the tenon and held with light tailstock pressure. This form is hollowed to less than 1/8" and has marginal integrity because of the nature of the spalted wood.

210215

I turn the piece at about 600rpm at this point and "marry" the two into an homogenous form with a flowing curve. The "union" - both the bottom of the form and the pedestal are sanded to 400 and an index mark is made on the form and pedestal. This will come in handy later as these things seem to never be truly concentric due to the hole or tenon not being exactly true. A millimeter goes a long way when one has a joint like this.

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Then, that waste portion from the holly mentioned earlier is chucked.

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And, a 3/8" drive tenon is turned on the end. This will be used to drive the pedestal to finish the bottom. Much of the "process" of doing things like this come from making mistakes - I try not to repeat them if I can avoid it!

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Then, the pedestal is flipped and the drive tenon is inserted into the top of the pedestal and the tailstock is brought up to the previous center mark on the bottom. The small of the pedestal is just under 1/4" and is fairly solid, but one only needs light tailstock pressure here - just enough to create enough friction to drive the piece.

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More to come.......

[David DeCristoforo]

Oh yes... this is gonna be a beaut! Light tailstock pressure indeed! I've managed to break more than a few pieces with that setup!

[John Keeton]

The bottom of the pedestal is finished as much as possible and sanded. It isn't shown in the pic, but the tenon is taken as far down as I dare take it keeping in mind the only thing holding the other end is friction against the drive tenon. If the nub under the tailstock breaks off at this point, the piece will break.

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A little plug here for the neat stuff I get from Vince - this is a little 1" sanding mandrel which works like a charm to sand the bottoms of pieces. I have 1" disks at 80, 120 and 180. One can hand sand from there.

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This is the finished bottom of the pedestal.

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And, at this point, there was a change of plans!!! I consulted with 1/3 of my design team - Ms. Keeton (Schlumpf is the other third, but I didn't want to bother him with this one!), and decided that I would leave the holly natural, so here it is glued up to the form, and another coat of lacquer on everything.

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Tomorrow is another day....

[John Keeton]

Guys, believe it or not, I actually do not sweep up DURING a turning. It is a difficult call, but I normally wait until I am done!:D

David, thanks for the comments. It will be different, but then, most of them are these days! Some work, some don't.

And, Charlie, I really do not like the aluminum cone on the Jet live center - I would love to have a new setup and will eventually get one, I suspect. There are a couple of options out there that have a chuck adapter so that a chuck can be mounted on the live center. I had that before with the Delta and it comes in handy.

JD, this wood turned OK, but getting the clean cut at the mouth was troublesome. If it had spalted another month, I think it would have been too far gone.

[Nate Davey]

This is without a doubt the greatest thread ever. Already you've answered about 8 "How do they do that questions?" Thanks for taking the time to do this John.

[charlie knighton]

very nice, thanks for the process pictures, i know how much of a pain it is to take pictures when you are concentrating on the form

i assume the finial will also be left natural?

[David E Keller]

Looks pretty cool so far, John! It reminds me a bit of an atomic cloud at this point. Bold move keeping the holly au natural, but I like where you're headed with this one.

[Donny Lawson]

Great looking piece. I'm awaiting the final pictures. I love that spalted wood. I really like the play by play.

[charlie knighton]

I really do not like the aluminum cone on the Jet live center

John, after watching David Ellsworth turn, i followed his example and unscrewed the cone, now i almost always use the small point with tip underneath the cone on the jet revolving center. before i had mainly only used the tip underneath the cone on finials and such

[Hayes Rutherford]

John, I sure appreciate you taking the time to post all this. The drawing process is important but I rarely get past a rough sketch. This is a good reminder for me or anyone to take the time.

[Rich Aldrich]

Great post John. I really appreciate the information because over the next few months, I plan to get into this type of turning. Thanks for sharing the process.

[Jon Nuckles]

Very informative series, sir. Thanks for taking the time and sharing your techniques. SMC is a great place!

[Wally Dickerman]

Great tutorial John. This will be very helpful for a lot folks.

You mentioned having a problem getting a smooth cut for the finial shelf. A tip: Make a "sanding stick", using a 1 inch wide x 4 or 5 inches long piece of wood. Glue on some 320 sandpaper. Do it on both sides while you're at it. After carefully getting the surface fairly true with a tool, finish the job with the sanding stick. Just press it against the spinning piece for a few seconds. It'll be true and flat. I use a sanding stick with 80 grit to true up the bottom of a piece before attaching a glue block....It's fast and simple.

Everyone should have a sketch book. I have one that's years old. Sometimes it's just a sketch of some detail that looks interesting for a future piece. My memory tends to be short, but if it's down in the book I have it for future reference.

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is going to be a great looking piece when finished John.

[Joe Watson]

Thank you very much for the time you invested in writing this.

_

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks John!! Watching this all unfold on my cellphone as I was listening to "The Greaseband" at the Apple Scrapple Festival was both entertaining and informative! Tomorrow I'm going fishing but I shall try and stay tuned!:D

[Curt Fuller]

John, I'm looking forward to seeing where you go with this. And it's always fascinating to see the process that different turners go through to get to their finished product. I was with you all the way until you took that detour and left the pedestal natural. But then I realized that the Keeton mind always has something interesting in store so I'm at the edge of my seat waiting to see what tomorrow brings.

[Kathy Marshall]

Great thread John! I really enjoy seeing other turner's progression pics and the process they go through, especially when it's such a nice piece!

[Allan Ferguson]

great. now can I remember this.

[John Keeton]

It is time to start on the finial. This part is the most tedious, and in some turnings can take longer than the form. The pedestal style on this one was really simple, and so far, the time invested has been minimal. I would estimate (taking out the taking of pics) that I have about 4 hours in the turning to this point.

I have a G3 chuck with 25mm jaws that are serrated - not sure of the exact name of the jaws, but I like these much better than the small dovetail jaws. With the jaws closed to a near circle, the perfect size for a tenon is about 1/2". So, I will use a 1/2" open end wrench for my guide.

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With a drive center in the chuck (50mm jaws) I roughed out a 1.5" diameter cylinder of holly. Using a bedan, I begin reducing a long tenon. The small jaws do not require a shoulder to face up against, and the turning from here out consists of very light cuts. I have an intended use for the remainder of the tenon at the end of the process.

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After the tenon is done, I create another on the headstock end so I can chuck this piece from that end.

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A saw is used to remove the piece by cutting to the left of the bedan cut and the piece is chucked in the small jaws.

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With the tailstock engaged, and using digital calipers, I form the stepped portion that will fit in the opening on the form. This is a "sneak up on it" process with very light cuts. I use the bedan to enter a "skew" cut from the edge of the shoulder and moving left. However, there are many ways, and tools, to do this. The key is a LIGHT cut!

One needs to keep in mind that there will be a few coats of lacquer on both the finial/lid, and on the opening of the form. A tight fit is nice, but at this point, one needs just a "smidge" of room. Notice the finished bead in what will be the underside of the lid. This is a good time to do that if desired, as you have good support at this point.

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The fit is checked with the form - good to go!

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And, a mark is made indicating the beginning of the sloping cut for the lid so it will fit flush with the form.

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[John Keeton]

Most of the work at this stage is done with a 1/4" Thompson detail gouge. I have two, and one has a more rounded nose. That is the one I will use for most of the finial work until I get to the fine detailing of the top stem.

However, entering a plunge cut on a cylinder can be tricky with a gouge. It is easy to get a skate, and there is NO room for that here. We do not have any extra stock to clean off and start over. A skate at this point and I would have to start with another piece of holly.

So, I will use my vortex tool. It permits me to make a very clean entry cut with no chance of a skate - if it is held properly! The first cut is done for a check - knowing it will not be dead on.

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I check the fit after making the first cut, and get a feel for how far to go with the next cut. Again, keep in mind the "build" from coats of lacquer. You will want the lid to sit just shy of flush at this point. It is easy to add another coat of lacquer to get it flush, but it is not easy to sand everything away later to get a flush fit.

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Then, I start to establish the slope of the cut with the detail gouge. I can enter the vortex cut easily without fear of a skate.

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Pretty pleased with this look - I do have a little bit to remove in order to have a nice, flowing curve coming off the shoulder of the form, but that will happen later. Time to mark the height of the finial base and part off this piece to be reversed in the chuck. Leave a little extra length - you can't glue it back on, but you can take it off!

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The piece is reversed, and the end is reduced in size and the face of the end squared off. This is where a piece of the burl will be glued, and a good glue surface is needed.

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A scrap of the original blank is chucked up in the 50mm jaws and rounded. A piece is parted off to be used for the replication of the form in the finial. The face to be glued is squared by rubbing it on 150 grit sandpaper lying on the table saw surface. That gives me a good, flat surface.

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Titebond is applied, and the tailstock used to "clamp" the piece. The burl piece is a little longer than needed, but it will be reduced later.

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Time for a lunch break!

[Jim Burr]

I may have missed it from an earlier post, but are you leaving the holly white? Gonna look cool either way!!

[David DeCristoforo]

geez... i'm holding my breath here waiting to see this finished!

[John Keeton]

I may have missed it from an earlier post, but are you leaving the holly white? Gonna look cool either way!!Jim, originally, it was to be black, but along the way a decision was made to leave it white. I will take on a little bit of color with lacquer, but not much.

[John Keeton]

After the glue set for about 1.5 hours, I trued up the burl, marked the top of where the replicated form would be and drilled a 1/8" hole. At this point, I still have enough material and glue joint to support drilling. I drill to about 1/8+" past the top level of the mark.

210320

Now to shape the form into the cove of the base and fully sand this area to 400 grit. The form is 1/2" in diameter per the scaled sketch. To have it proportionate to the main form, I must calculate the height - relying on "eyeballing" at this level is difficult. The main form is 4" wide, and just under 3" tall - or a 3:4 (75%) height to width ratio. With the small form being .5" wide, it should be .375" tall.

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I turn away as much as I can of the waste on the top with tailstock pressure (very light!), but I do not want to turn it away completely and risk getting the waste jammed against the tailstock and breaking the finial. The vortex tool is used to get a clean cut to remove the waste, leaving the form replication.

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I remove this chuck from the lathe, with the finial base still chucked. Then spin on another chuck with 50mm jaws, and round over a piece of holly that is a little over 3/4" square. This top portion of the finial is about 1.75" long, including the 1/8" tenon that will glue into the top of the replicated form. Here, the tip is being brought down to size, leaving as much stock as possible behind it.

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This is the embellishment at the tip, located at the 1/3 point given the overall height of the complete finial. The deep under cut into the embellishment has not yet been done, but will be quickly done with the vortex tool. This portion will be finish sanded before proceeding further.

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This is just a pic of my setup when doing finials

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More to come......

[John Keeton]

The remainder of the finial is brought to size, and final sanded to 400 grit. The shaft tapers from the 1/8" tenon portion at the left to the neck of the finial, which it .065". Using the vortex tool, and lightly enclosing the finial with the fingers of my left hand, the shaft is parted off.

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A little Titebond is added to the tip and it is glued into the finial base - while on the lathe. I want to spin it by hand to assure it is aligned properly. Much easier here, than setting the chuck upright and trying to get it plumb.

Recall at this point, that I had a use for the additional tenon under the lid.

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Using a 1/4" detail gouge and the vortex tool, I replicate the form again, and add a little sphere embellishment to top it. This will be parted off with the vortex, and hand sanded lightly to clean up the sphere to final shape.

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And, this is what it looks like when done - no lacquer on this yet.
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And, this is the completed piece!!

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It will get several coats of lacquer, and rubbed out by hand to achieve a satin/matte finish. I don't care for gloss on holly, and this piece of wood really "wants" to be touched!

Once it is out of the "finishing department", I will come up with some sort of semi-sophisticated title for this one :rolleyes: and post "proper" pics. Any thoughts on a title????

For most of you, this has been a redundant thread. Many of you can do a much better job with this sort of thing than can I, but hopefully, this will provide some guidance to those just getting into hollow forms, finials and such. I apologize for the mundane details provided along the way, and I appreciate you bearing with me to the end!

Feel free to comment, or to ask questions. I realize this form may not appeal to some, but it was a good one to use for this thread - and, different from the others I have done.

[Jim Burr]

Glad you kept the wood "pure". It would look good either way, but holly is so amazing to begin with! I'm gonna have to try the step by step like that...Since DD and I are in close proximity...maybe I can buy a couple lessons on thin!

[David DeCristoforo]

It's been a lot of fun watching this emerge. Not redundant at all. A classic "step by step" and a classic JK piece! Now that you have revealed all of your secrets, everyone will be making these! But that "background" has gotta go!!!

PS Your workmanship is absolutely meticulous! Maybe even enough to offset the not sweeping up as you go....

[Wally Dickerman]

A wonderful and very informative thread to watch. Your narrative is clear and your technique is right on.

It's interesting for me to watch someone do things that I have done and sometimes using different techniques. There is always something new to learn. Thank you John.

[charlie knighton]

thanks John, i really enjoyed the "saturday night live show"

for a name, how about Igor, it seems to have come to life before our eyes

thanks for sharing

[Nate Davey]

Thanks John, you could have charged admission for this and I would have paid, gladly.:D

[David DeCristoforo]

I would call this "Acero Dolce" or "Sweet Maple", partly because the wood itself is sweet but more because the curves of this piece are soooo. sweet!

[Bill Bolen]

John I do believe this is the most interesting thread I have followed (turning wise). Clear step by step and easily understood for someone who has not tackled one of these. I know I picked up several tips here. Thanks for the time and effort you invested in this and once again another beautiful piece to display!

[Roger Chandler]

Very nice tutorial, John....................thanks for sharing your process...........educational to say the least...........affirms some of my own techniques, that have been developed by trial and error.........mostly error! :D

[Jon Prouty]

John - thank you so much for taking the time and effort to document your process. This has been a very informative thread and the best step by step I have ever seen. Your effort is greatly appreciated and one day I hope to create something as beautiful. I learned so many things in this thread I don't even know where to begin! Thanks John!!!

Jon

[Paul Williams]

Thank you John. A great tutorial and a great piece. DD is correct tehat background has to go, it takes away from your work.

[Curt Fuller]

Standing Ovation! That was a great presentation!

[Baxter Smith]

Very thorough and well done John. The benefits to others will probably go far beyond what you can presently imagine. Thank you!

[John Keeton]

Thanks, all! Even with the extra work in doing one of these threads, they are kind of fun. It also forces me to think about how and why I do certain processes. I think we all "fall into" a kind of auto pilot sometimes, and if we are going to attempt to help others, we must learn to visually and verbally convey our methods. Not as easy sometimes as one might think - especially for me!

David, I kind of like the suggested name! "Acero Dolce" or "Sweet Maple" it is!

Also, I do apologize for that background - it was about the only dark background I could quickly find in the shop to show the piece for a final shot. I promise I will take some decent pics of this one when it is finished.

BTW, the form has already moved slightly, and I will need to do some very light sanding adjustment on the lid - notwithstanding that I left a little wiggle room. It is just so hard to know on these things. In my limited experience, spalted wood often remains more damp than other wood, that combined with the swirly figure of the burl in this piece makes for lack of stability. I should be able to correct the problem, but I am going to wait a few days to assure it has reached equilibrium.

[Paul Heely]

John, the tutorial was great. Thank you for taking the time to put it together. I always pick up a few new ideas and tips from thread like this.

[Roger Turnbough]

John,

Wonderful piece and very nicely done. Thanks for taking the extra time in producing this tutorial. I have never heard of a Vortex tool. Can you point me to somewhere so that I may learn more about it? Much appreciated.

Roger

[John Beaver]

John,
I really enjoyed following this tutorial. Starting off with the design thoughts and then seeing how much work goes into one of your pieces really makes one appreciate the art. There are many ways to "skin a cat" and it's always interesting to see how someone else approaches things. Since I don't do many finials, I was very intrigued to see how much time you spend on yours. I love the way your replicate the form in the finial, and it was interesting to see how you do it.

Overall a wonderful tutorial.
Thanks for doing it!!!

John

[Russell Eaton]

Very good read John. I learned a couple of tricks that will come in handy. Thanks.

[John Keeton]

Thanks, guys!! John B. - if I had your skills, I could have/would have ended up with a much nicer result!!;)
John,

Wonderful piece and very nicely done. Thanks for taking the extra time in producing this tutorial. I have never heard of a Vortex tool. Can you point me to somewhere so that I may learn more about it? Much appreciated.

RogerRoger, the term, I believe, came from Cindy Drozda, and while I have never really had one of her tools in my hand, there is a picture (http://www.cindydrozda.com/Assets/html/Portal/Tool_Info.html) of one on her website, as well as a video on how she sharpens hers. I think mine is ground a little differently from hers. I use a re-purposed spindle gouge that has a rounded and a very acute angle on the bottom, with a flat on top that is ground to about a 10-15* angle. I sharpen my tool only on the top surface by rubbing on 600 grit sandpaper, and then 1200. It has to be very sharp, and if using the point, it MUST be presented to the wood at or below center. Should you engage the wood above center, you will learn that lesson in a dramatic fashion!

The tool in the pic below is my vortex tool, and I believe I have posted other pics of it in the past. David D. also uses one that is somewhat similar, and he has posted pics of his, as well.

[steven carter]

John,

Really nice in-progress information. I like the au natural finial and base. This is one time that it is good to pay attention to the man "behind the curtain".

[Scott Hackler]

I don't know how I missed this thread but John, that was very nice of you do post and the end result turned out very good. Thanks for sharing.

[John Keeton]

Rather than start a new thread, I thought I would just rename this thread and post the finished pics here. I was somewhat limited on taking pics - I usually use ambient light, but today it was raining and very dark. In order to get half decent pics, I had to use some work lights, so I am not really pleased with these. But, they will convey the idea - sorry for the glare on the sides.

This wood really moved a lot. It started as soon the turning was finished, so I left it for a couple of days before working with the finish as I knew I was going to have issues with the lid. Although I usually leave enough room for a few coats of finish, one cannot anticipate dimensions on moving wood. It is very difficult to do pieces like this with anything less than bone dry wood.

There was noticeably more spalt on one side of the turning, and that side was holding more moisture than was the other. It seems that has been a common situation in the few spalted pieces I have done. In any event, I had to do a considerable amount of sanding and tweaking to get the lid to re-fit properly, and to get a decent surface on the top of the form.

The dimensions are about just shy of 8.5" x 4", and the finish is satin lacquer, rubbed out with 0000 and hand buffed with a shop towel. I hope this thread has been of help to others. As always, all comments are welcome.

[Alan Trout]

Very nice piece I really like the form of the vase carried to the finial.

Alan

[Jamie Donaldson]

John, I just marvel at your finishes! You say you hand buffed with a shop towel, but did you use any kind of buffing compound or polish to achieve that wonderous gloss?

[John Keeton]

Thanks, Alan! Jamie, I leveled the lacquer very quickly (15 minutes, or so) with 1200 grit, and then buffed with the 0000. At that point, it was still pretty green, so getting the sheen with the paper shop towel was quick and easy. It is a rather low gloss - the lights gave it a little more shine than it actually has.

[Scott Hackler]

Turned out pretty good John. I wasn't so sure about the color of the holly but it has grown on me and looks nice. I like the flow of the bottom finial that supports the feature piece and the fact that it mirrors the pedestal. My only minor critique is that the bottom of the top finial piece should have had a flair on the top of the feature bead. At least to turn an A into an A+! :)

[John Keeton]

Interesting observation, Scott! If you look at the sketch, it is drawn that way. However, while doing the finial, it became apparent that if I made the spire large enough to get the flare, the white portion (symbolic of the actual bottom/lid of the finial) would have been much larger proportionately and it seemed that it would not have looked right. Perhaps I should have done that anyway and chosen "flow" over proportions - probably would have worked better.

[David DeCristoforo]

Now that's even sweeter than I had imagined. I'm not sure if I would call it your "best piece" but it is definitely the best one in this style. As always, one could "pick nits". I would agree with Scott in that I would have liked a small flair at the bottom of the "spire" to emulate the lid fitted into the main form. Also the color transition between the pedestal and the form is somewhat abrupt and perhaps accentuated by the strong color contrast. But these are very small personal preferences and do not detract in any significant way from the overall impact of this which is exceptional. As usual, your finish and precise detailing are impeccable!

[Baxter Smith]

Very very nice John! A great example of what careful planning can result in. Thanks again for sharing that!

[Lupe Duncan]

Awesome work John.

Thank you very much for putting this together. Many questions were answered.

Your a great guy and do great work.......

[Curt Fuller]

John, first I have to say that this is beautiful. It has everything we've all come to expect in a Keeton turning. But I'm still not 100% on the natural holly, at least not in combination with the maple burl. You mentioned that you weren't satisfied with the photo, the hot spots in particular. Something that I think would make this piece really jump out, at least in the photo, would be a black or a very dark background. To me the holly gets lost against the light background and something darker behind it would add a nice contrast.

[Kathy Marshall]

Beautiful piece John! That burl is gorgeous as is the form!

[Doug W Swanson]

Excellent job, John. The wood choices go very well together and the light colored finial looks great! It's a nice change from the black/darker colors....

[charlie knighton]

very nice John, enjoyed your process of saturday night live

[Russell Eaton]

Another beauty John, glad to see the finished photo. I like the way you replicated the form in the finial. Great job.

[Tim Rinehart]

Not surprising to see this come out better than even anticipated. Very fluid piece in design, and enough JK style to know it's yours.
Well put together WIP on this too...I like seeing your steps/approach. More than one way, and nice to now some options when needed.
Thanks John...wonderful piece.

[John Keeton]

Thanks, guys (and gal!!), for all the comments on the finished piece!!