Ambrosia Maple HF (Revised with Options)

[Baxter Smith]

This is the first and smallest of a half dozen maple hollowforms roughed out last winter. The top had snapped off 6 months before but I had not gotten around to cutting the stub since it was in the woods. Looked kind of interesting once I cut it! It has had a year to dry, so finishing one became an option.Because I had hollowed almost into the tenon, a small bottom and a stand to hold it was more or less a necessity. I wanted to keep it simple so the focus would be on the form. I tried a very short one to start( ¾”), but wasn’t convinced. My design rationale has no particular rhyme or reason but I then tried one that was about .616 of the width of the form. After setting it on the pedestal, a finial 2/3 the height of the pedestal seemed too small. Ended up choosing a finial height that was 1/3 taller. 221893221894221895221896After applying 2 coats of AO and starting to see scratches, I resanded last night and went with Keith Burns 10 minute finish. The holly is dyed with black transtint. Would have preferred a wood that matched the ambrosia stains, but couldn’t think of one that I had.22189710.5" x 5"Something seems off but short of just trying a few tweaks, I can't quite put my finger on it. When my wife saw the finished piece, her first words were, “I don’t like it, its too plain”. (Pedestal and finial). I think the problem is elsewhere:rolleyes:. I am most likely done with it and moving on, but would still be interested in your thoughts! You can’t be any more brutal:D than what I have already heard so let it fly! Comments and suggestions are always welcome!

[Harvey Ghesser]

It's beautiful, Baxter.

My only thought was that the pedestal might be a bit too tall. But the design, form and finish is exquisite!

[Dick Strauss]

Baxter,
You've done a beautiful job with this one. However, there is one thing that distracts me slightly at the bottom as Harvey mentioned. The bottom of the hf portion almost comes to a point visually. With the profile of the foot added, the two viewed together almost look triangular. If you shorten the height of the foot and make a continuous curve from bottom to top of the foot, then it will be more in harmony with the nice smooth curves you've created on the rest of this piece.

[Ken Glass]

Baxter,
That is spot on for form, proportion and finish. I really like the form of the HF as it flows very well from top to bottom. Well Done.

[Brian Effinger]

Very nice form Baxter, but I agree that something is a little off. It seems to me that it is the proportion of the pedistal. I'm not sure if shorter is the way to go though. I tried a quick little something in photoshop. Maybe my design sense has been tainted by all of the forms on a stick lately.
221911
At any rate, it is still a nice piece.

[Gary Chester]

I think the shape and workmanship are excellent!!! If the wife wants to spice it up... maybe some dye would do the trick, especially if she picks the color.

[Bill Bolen]

I know the wife can never be wrong but..........I love it Baxter. That ogee from shoulder to base is flowing just right. The from is just perfect and a great piece of wood. Afraid I can't offer any artistic advice though. Great piece.

[Roland Martin]

It sounds to me like you got trapped with the bottom of the form being too small to mellow out the bottom, I'm thinking that's what's not right, making it very hard to transition a pedestal into it. Since you can't curve the bottom of the form any more than it is, could you enlarge the top of the pedestal so it wraps up a bit higher onto the form, i.e. using the pedestal to soften that transition? Did I confuse you as much as I did myself?:D:confused: Nonetheless Baxter, I like this the way it is, I especially like the tall slender finial, you know, the plain one:D

[thomas prusak]

Baxter,
Great looking pc. I see nothing wrong with it.

[John Keeton]

Baxter, it works as is, but the form seems a bit large for the other elements, and I do agree the transition point )pedestal to form) seems diminutive given the mass of the form.

Great work, though! I like the flow, and I love the simple finial - excellent!

[David E Keller]

Looks good to me, Baxter! Sounds like your wife and mine may have attended the same school of woodturning critique! I'm stuck on a cell phone, so my impressions may be skewed due to the image size available... There seems to be a little flat area in the upper part of the pedestal that catches my eye otherwise it seems pretty solid.

[Allan Ferguson]

If there was room, that plain thing could go on my shelf.

[Nate Davey]

Lovely form Baxter, I like the simple pedestal and base. AM is one of the woods the gives me fits with scratches, too.

[Baxter Smith]

Thanks for the feedback. After looking at something long enough, I fail to sometimes see much at all. Hearing other perspectives helps.

.......... If you shorten the height of the foot and make a continuous curve from bottom to top of the foot, then it will be more in harmony with the nice smooth curves you've created on the rest of this piece.
Thanks Dick. I see your point.

...... I tried a quick little something in photoshop. Maybe my design sense has been tainted by all of the forms on a stick lately.
221911
......
Thanks for stretching Brian. I know that taller would be more in keeping with what has been posted lately, but given the shape of the form, I thought that would make it look topheavy. Your version looks ok though.


., I especially like the tall slender finial, you know, the plain one:D
That made me smile Roland! I get your point and your solution to the bottom of the form. It was something I considered but thought I would probably make it look like the patch job it was.:)

...... Sounds like your wife and mine may have attended the same school of woodturning critique! ...... There seems to be a little flat area in the upper part of the pedestal .......
The "Tell it Like it is School"?:) I think you are right about that flat area sticking out a bit.

..... form seems a bit large for the other elements, and I do agree the transition point )pedestal to form) seems diminutive given the mass of the form.

Agreed John!

Thanks for your thoughts. Much less painful than my first root canal this afternoon...and that was fine...... though the novacaine hasn't worn off yet.;) If I can avoid the vicodin tonight and tomorrow,(and resist the urge to try something new) perhaps I will give the pedestal another go tomorrow.

Thanks again!

[Jamie Donaldson]

My only suggestion regards proportions, and believe a shorter base would help unbalance the relationships of base to vessel to finial. I frequently use walnut for color coordinating my finials to the color scheme of Ambrosia, and I see that you have a consistant artifact on your camera image chip.

[Brian Effinger]

...and I see that you have a consistant artifact on your camera image chip.
Is it an artifact, or a smudge on the lens (either inside or outside)? I can never seem to get the dust off of my lenses.

[Kathy Marshall]

I like it as it is. Cool piece of wood too!

[Michelle Rich]

picture 4 seems the best..the ambrosia spots don't screw up the proportions..to my eye ( old & need new bifocals) it is the base. The bottom of the base could be shorter??? Or have a change of some kind.?? But in real life, I'm sure it looks different. Whatever it is, it's still a well done piece & you should put it on your shelf & enjoy.

[Baxter Smith]

My only suggestion regards proportions, and believe a shorter base would help unbalance the relationships of base to vessel to finial. I frequently use walnut for color coordinating my finials to the color scheme of Ambrosia, and I see that you have a consistant artifact on your camera image chip.
Thanks Jamie. I appreciate your thoughts and will try a piece of walnut on the next one. When I had been sorting through some boxes of scraps to use, I had picked up a piece of walnut but decided it didn't quite have the greenish cast of the ambrosia. It probably would have fit better than the black though. Any solutions to the camera problem short of sending it away? I don't believe it is something on the lens. It has been dropped a couple of times and no longer focuses accurately after about 150 using the 18-200VR lens. Used a 50 for these pics.


picture 4 seems the best..the ambrosia spots don't screw up the proportions..to my eye ( old & need new bifocals) it is the base. The bottom of the base could be shorter??? ......
Your eyes are still good enough Michele!

With most fingers pointing toward the base.... and the vicodin wearing off, I got out of bed and tried a revision. By 6 am I had this. I shortened the base and eliminated the straight spot. I didn't get the curve quite right under the form though and was still wondering about it being slightly shorter.
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The latest mod is this one.
222026
Here is the first base I tried yesterday. I didn't care for it but that was before I had added the finial.
222025
And what I posted yesterday.
222027
So.... is it whats behind door number 1, 2, 3, or 4? Left to right that is. 1/2, 1, 1 1/2, or 2 3/8 pedestal.
222028
I rarely (and I mean rarely!) ever bother to change anything but this was easy to do and I appreciated everyones input. (If you had said finial...on the other hand);)

If I was smart enough to set up a poll I would.

Thanks again for your thoughts!

[Dennis Ford]

I vote for #3

[David E Keller]

I like the 1.5" version the best I think... The 1" version would be my second choice, and I think either works.... Now, about that finial...:D

[philip labre]

I vote for #3 also. Great piece.

[Tim Rinehart]

Yep, I think now that I've seen variants...the 1.5" is my vote also. Just looks better proportionately...I'm sure it's a Fibonacci thing!

[Brian Effinger]

The inch and a half pedistal works well.