Not just a Sphere

[Kathy Marshall]

I haven't turned a thing all week, until Saturday. I've been busy with some household chores, including a broken water main which required me to dig a 4' deep hole to get to it :mad:, and cutting and sealing lots of blanks. By Saturday, I couldn't take it anymore and had to get a turning fix :D.

I've been thinking about turning one of these for a couple weeks and yesterday just seemed like a good time to give it a whirl.

Mesquite sphere box, 3 1/4". Finish is 1 coat of Antique oil so far. I just picked up the AO last weekend and I really like it on mesquite. It pops the grain nicely and dries fast (at least it does here where the humidity is in the single digits).
Instead of turning a flat on the bottom (I wanted it to stay a full sphere), I turned a little "donut" for it to sit on.
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Thanks for looking!
Comments and critiques are welcome.

[John Keeton]

Now, that is an accomplishment!!! Extremely well done, Kathy, and great idea with the donut.

[Russell Eaton]

Well done Kathy. The box is a nice touch. I can relate to the water line, only mine was 6 1/2' down.

[Steve Schlumpf]

I like it! Great job on keeping the grain aligned!! Looks pretty cool!

[charlie knighton]

great piece, good idea for the donut

water main----what a mess, had to redo gravel driveway, then had to add dirt from backyard....by wheelbarrrel.....at least the grass grew back ok

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Outstanding, Kathy.

[David DeCristoforo]

Great looking "sphere box". I had to look twice to see the line between the two halves. The "donut" is a good idea but I think it's too big. I have been messing with making clear bases out of plexi that would keep the sphere from rolling around but not be so conspicuous.

[Doug Herzberg]

Dang, Kathy, that's really nice.

[Roland Martin]

Excellent job, Kathy and the AO does seem to do the mesquite justice. Thanks for posting this beauty!

[Scott Lux]

Wow. That's some fine grain-matching work. Very nice.

[Nate Davey]

Awesome "sphox" Kathy. Beautifully done.

[John Kent]

Great job Kathy, Looks to a perfect "sphere". I can't even see the line on the two halves in the first picture. Also the grain alignment is excellent, and the donut is a nice touch.

Sorry about the broken water line, the last one I had was in the winter in the middle of an ice storm.:mad:

[Dale Bright]

Kathy, the sphere is very well done and the box is very well done, the combination is excellent. Great Job!!!!

Dale

[Scott Hackler]

Thank is super cool Kathy. When the two pieces are assembled you can hardly see the joint line! I like the ring base idea, but agree with David that I would like to see a thinner ring. Awesome!

[ray hampton]

when you dig for the water line, did you remove the dirt, all sand or rocks? sand are the easier to remove but will fill the ditch with the worker in it, nice donuts but I doubt that I could eat one

[Bob Bergstrom]

The first pic is so good it looks like the seam has been photoshopped out. Beautiful workmanship and the grain is awesome!

[Alan Trout]

Kathy,

That is pretty dang cool. Love it.

Alan

[Doug Wolf]

The first pic is so good it looks like the seam has been photoshopped out.

If you look closer at the grain in first picture I think you will notice the seam runs around the perimeter of the box. Therefore there is no seam to photoshop out. You would have to be looking down from above to see the seam.

Great job Kathy!! Very well executed.

[Jon Nuckles]

As someone who can't turn a solid sphere, I can only admire those who can make a sphere box. Neat!

[Bernie Weishapl]

That is cool Kathy and like the donut idea.

[Mike Golka]

Nice work Kathy, neat idea.

[Ted Evans]

Exceptional workmanship and creativity Kathy, you should be proud!

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks guys!
This was fun to do and I think I'll be doing more of them. I have some ideas for some little embellishments to jazz them up.

Great looking "sphere box". I had to look twice to see the line between the two halves. The "donut" is a good idea but I think it's too big. I have been messing with making clear bases out of plexi that would keep the sphere from rolling around but not be so conspicuous.
Thanks David, and now that you mention it, I agree, the donut would look better and less conspicuous if it was thinner. I've also got some ideas for some different bases that would look more like they belong.

Awesome "sphox" Kathy. Beautifully done.
Thanks Nate, I like the name you came up with and I just might have to steal it! :eek:


Great job Kathy, Looks to a perfect "sphere". I can't even see the line on the two halves in the first picture. Also the grain alignment is excellent, and the donut is a nice touch.

Sorry about the broken water line, the last one I had was in the winter in the middle of an ice storm.:mad:
Thanks John, I cheated a little bit on the 1st pic and Doug saw right through that one! He's right, the opening goes around the perimeter in the 1st pic. The seam was almost invisible when it was finished, but it moved just a hair and that was enough to allow a tiny gap. It looks to be stabilizing and moving back to where it was.

when you dig for the water line, did you remove the dirt, all sand or rocks? sand are the easier to remove but will fill the ditch with the worker in it, nice donuts but I doubt that I could eat one
Ray, I removed the dirt. It was all heavy clay with a few rocks thrown in. It was wet, sticky and heavy and didn't want to come off the shovel. I hope it's a long time before I need to do that again! On the bright side, I found a good use for some of my shavings, I lined the hole with a generous amount so I wouldn't be slipping and sliding around in the hole. Worked like a charm.

If you look closer at the grain in first picture I think you will notice the seam runs around the perimeter of the box. Therefore there is no seam to photoshop out. You would have to be looking down from above to see the seam.

Great job Kathy!! Very well executed.
Thanks Doug! You've got a sharp eye, you caught me out on that 1st pic! :D

[Pete Gray]

Kathy I'd love to see a dozen or so viewers have a go at this one & see how good they get that sphere, & then have a go at that match up, looks easy eh, have a go.
Great job Kathy.
Pete :cool:

[Michelle Rich]

I like your donut concept...& great" almost can't see centerline"

[ray hampton]

Thanks guys!
This was fun to do and I think I'll be doing more of them. I have some ideas for some little embellishments to jazz them up.

Thanks David, and now that you mention it, I agree, the donut would look better and less conspicuous if it was thinner. I've also got some ideas for some different bases that would look more like they belong.

Thanks Nate, I like the name you came up with and I just might have to steal it! :eek:


Thanks John, I cheated a little bit on the 1st pic and Doug saw right through that one! He's right, the opening goes around the perimeter in the 1st pic. The seam was almost invisible when it was finished, but it moved just a hair and that was enough to allow a tiny gap. It looks to be stabilizing and moving back to where it was.

Ray, I removed the dirt. It was all heavy clay with a few rocks thrown in. It was wet, sticky and heavy and didn't want to come off the shovel. I hope it's a long time before I need to do that again! On the bright side, I found a good use for some of my shavings, I lined the hole with a generous amount so I wouldn't be slipping and sliding around in the hole. Worked like a charm.

Thanks Doug! You've got a sharp eye, you caught me out on that 1st pic! :D

I hope that the clay were replaced with sand

[Hayes Rutherford]

Kathy, great job on your sphere box. I'm only guessing that after you create a sphere you parted it in two, hollowed each half, joined it, then went through the sphere forming all over again?

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks Hayes! Actually, I started out by turning a cylinder then turning a tenon on both ends (about 2" longer than the sphere diameter). I then parted it in half and then hollowed each half about to what I thought might be close to the inside of the sphere, being sure to leave enough that the outside wouldn't meet the inside when I turned the sphere form.
After both halves were hollowed, I put them together using the tailstock to hold them together and marked for length. I 1st measured the diameter of the cylinder and that would be the size of the sphere. The joint would be the center line (I drew a pencil line all the way around the joint), then I measured half the diameter from the center line in each direction to get the length, then added about 1/16th to each end. I used a parting tool to cut the ends down to about 1" diameter, then started shaping the sphere by eye. I didn't try to get it perfect at this point, just close enough to fit in a jam chuck. When I got down to the parting line, I continued shaping until it was down to about 1/4" then used a saw to free each half sphere.
Then I mounted it in a jamb chuck with the center joint running parallel to the ways. I centered it using the live center in the tailstock to line up with the pencil line around the joint. Then I used a little pen blank cutoff between the sphere and the live center so I could use some pressure to hold the sphere in the jamb chuck (with a solid sphere and a good fit in the jamb chuck, it can be done without pressure from the tailstock). The sphere will fit into the jamb chuck to just a little less than half way. Next, I used my parting tool to cut down in the center until it almost took out the pencil mark (which is perpendicular to the parting cut). The parting cut establishes the length to exactly the diameter of the sphere. Then the sphere was remounted in the jamb chuck so the joint was perpendicular to the ways and the parting cut was parallel to the ways. Then it's just a matter of turning it down to the bottom of the parting cut, then sanding through all the grits, moving the sphere randomly so the entire surface is sanded.
For completing the hollowing I used another jamb chuck that I had cut about 8 slots down the sides, then using a large hose clamp I was able to squeeze the jamb chuck tightly around each half sphere to hold it securely for final hollowing.

I had planned on taking pics during the process, but we all know about best intentions :eek:. Maybe I'll remember pics on the next one!

[Hayes Rutherford]

Kathy, thanks so much for taking the time to explain. I read through this a number of times this morning and took note on how this differs from your tutorial on solid sphere turning. I will try this when I get some time in the shop. Thanks again!!

[Pete Jordan]

Sorry about your troubles but I sure do like this piece!