Walnut HF

[Prashun Patel]

I am still trying to figure out photography, but this piece is 11". Finished with Waterlox Original Sealer Finish. I will buff it in a week or so.

I've yet to try the WTF, but this finish just levels so wonderfully. I applied it off the lathe with a 20cent foam brush. The flat worlders seem to use Waterlox a lot more than the turners who seem partial to poly as a wipeon varnish. However, I find the clarity and color of Waterlox better looking than poly, which can look like plastic on a built up finish.

[Tim Rinehart]

Nice work Prashun! That came out well. I've yet to try the Waterlox, but perhaps when I finish up the can of WTF I have, I may give a try.
Glad to see you got the 'bottom worries' resolved!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Really a beauty Prashun. Finish looks good. I do like waterlox but hate it when it gels up.

[John Keeton]

Great looking piece, Prashun! Waterlox is a superior finish, but I think it the short shelf life makes it more useful for flatwork where larger quanitities are being used. Unless you produce a lot of turnings, the finish is likely to go bad before you are able to use it - and, it is not cheap!

[Prashun Patel]

John-
I decant my quart of Waterlox into 4oz glass jars. Each one is about enough to cover one piece. If there is little oxygen in the container, Waterlox keeps for a good while. I do think it's worthwhile to keep on the lookout for alkyd or phenolic varnishes which (and I didn't believe it until I did my own tests) really have better clarity than even gloss poly.

[Bill Hensley]

That's a beauty, something very appealing about the shape and the small opening.

I've used Waterlox on some turnings and really like the results.

[Jon Nuckles]

Really nice form, Prashun, and that finish is killer! It looks as if it has already been buffed.

[Prashun Patel]

I think my tent is too small. It forces me to zoom in too close to avoid seeing the side walls of the tent. Also, it's shallow, which means the dark entrance reflects off the front edge.

I bought a Cowboy Studio which was a good buy...for very small objects.

I'm building a Bill Huber-style studio tonite.

I'm learning that the key to the right detail is in the aperture for me.

[Michelle Rich]

waterlox has been used by turners for ages...it just takes many coats, so most folks have tried new finishes...I prefer the waterlox look myself.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful HF Prashun! On the photography thing - the only way for us to get a feel for the form is if you include a profile shot. Other than that - play with your lighting and see what works to showcase the wood without adding headlights to the finish. Have fun!!

[Eric Holmquist]

Very nice piece

I've used Waterlox in the past and really liked the results, but found that it took too much discipline to keep the finish in the can from going bad on me so I switched to other methods. I also found that I could smell the offgassing Waterlox for months unlike other finishes which went odor free fairly quickly.

[Rick Markham]

Great now I need to order Waterlox too... We can have a WOP, WTF and Waterlox shoot out :D Really nice form Prashun, I've honestly abondoned my photo tent. If you want diffused light, go buy a cheap "frosted" (clear, of course) shower curtain and hang it over your light source. (it can be as simple as a window that the sun is coming in. It makes the most beautiful soft light.) Then you can just set your background up where you need it, and you don't have size restrictions. I've also noticed with the white photo tent, you get a lot of white glare on high gloss pieces. The shower curtain is a $5 solution, and works better than every "photo light diffuser" I have seen. (You can thank my photography professor for that.)

It's a very nice form, you need to back the camera up and get more of a side shot of it, I understand the photo tent restrictions. Yes, Aperture is your key to depth of field. The higher the f stop, the greater the depth of field. Play with your white balance settings too, simply going through all the "filters" available and taking a pic with each will give you an idea which white balance setting is going to give you the truest most saturated color. (Auto White Balance is usually wrong, but sometimes its the best one.) Then there are lots of simple photoshop tricks to color correct if you have too. (I like getting it right from the camera, then I don't have to do any more work.) I hope this helps! Keep up the turning, they are looking really nice!


Edited to fix rampant grammatical user generated errors :eek:

[David DeCristoforo]

This looks to be a great form. I especially like the hint of flair at the rim.

A few amateur photo tips. Zoom out on your piece a bit. The close cropping makes it hard to read. You need to leave a bit of "air" around it. Unless you have pink sheets, your color balance is off. That can be corrected "in camera" if you know how but easier in an image editing program. The camera angle is a bit too high. From that angle, it's hard to see the full form. The "best" angle for this kind of image is with the lens "centerline" a few degrees above the horizon. I'm not even going to get into the lighting because I am a hack when it comes to that and only use diffused natural daylight for my pics.

[Rick Markham]

I'm not even going to get into the lighting because I am a hack when it comes to that and only use diffused natural daylight for my pics.

Ha! You are just "in the know"... ;)

[Baxter Smith]

Nice form Prashun and the finish looks great. I am in the DD camp when it comes to lighting! The sun going in and out from behind the clouds can be a drawback to that method though.:rolleyes::)

[Kathy Marshall]

Very nice piece Prashun! Great job on the finish too!