short Video for form design

[Todd Bin]

Hey all,

I have been a fan of David Marks work for a while and find it really inspirational. I have taken some classes from him and they were great in pushing me along in my woodworking journey. Anyway. I say all that to say that he has posted a video on a method of designing a form for the lathe. This is not necessarily a new idea but it is probably new to somebody.

http://www.djmarks.com/stories/djm/David_Discussing_Form_In_Woodturning_Video_Added_t o_YouTube_Channel_141298.asp

~Todd

PS. I have no business affiliation with David or get no special consideration from him for posting this. Just an FYI.

[John Keeton]

Todd, David does some beautiful work, and that is a good clip. The catenary curve, is inherent in a lot of forms - even those that combine it with a shoulder and a return curve on top. The bottom of most all vase forms look much better if they approach a catenary.

Thanks for posting!

[Wayne Kuhn]

The Catenary curve is my favorite design tool. It works for any size bowl blank. The best part is no math is involved.

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

Todd, thanks for the video link - I had not seen David's video. I taught a three-day segmented turning class quite a few years ago at David's studio and one of the things I alway share is the use of a rope or chain to produce a catenary curve. During demos, I always hold up a piece of rope to demonstrate the technique. Calling it simply a "gravity-produced" curve keeps the concept very understandable. I was surprised (and pleased) to hear David mention me, but I hardly deserve any credit. I first stumbled upon this concept many years ago when visiting the Sagrada Familia in Barcelona. While there I saw a large hanging model created by the famous Spanish builder Antoni Gaudi. I found this photo on the internet: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tillnm/3209875667/ For anyone really interested in this subject, here is another link: http://oa.upm.es/703/1/Huerta_Art_002.pdf