Mesquite HF - WIP

[Kathy Marshall]

I decided to start on a hollow form tonight, so I went to the blank pile and found a chunk of mesquite that looked promising.
It looks like it was part of a half log that had a big branch coming out of it. I believe that the pith running through it is the branch pith and not the trunk pith.
I put it between centers to rough it into round.
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Then mounted it in the chuck to start shaping. It looked like it's going to have some nice grain and I decided to go with an egg shape, something I haven't really done in a HF before. I filled the pith with CA and I wanted to let it set overnight, so I'll clean up the outside tomorrow and then do the hollowing. I've also got an idea for a finish, so we'll see how that turns out.
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Hopefully I'll have finished pics to post tomorrow.

[Harry Robinette]

Kathy
When I first looked I thought more of WJS (work just starting) but I guess WIP is right. Looking good so far hope it keeps going smooth,it's going to be a beautiful piece.

[Alan Trout]

Kathy,

Looks like that is going to be a pretty piece. Very nice. I look forward to seeing it done.

Alan

[Ron Crosby]

What do people use hollow forms for?

[Hayes Rutherford]

Kathy, looks like you will have a fairly large void, should add interest and make for easy chip removal.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Kathy,
Turn it really thin so the pith section doesn't crack. It will be very pretty if it holds up.

What do people use hollow forms for?
They're too heavy if you leave them solid :) Mostly just as decorative objects. Depending on the size and weight they can be a weed pot. No, not that kind of weed.
faust

[Fred Belknap]

I like what I see so far.

[Thomas Canfield]

Looks like you are getting down to the "heart" of the matter. Perfect time for Valentine. It is always interesting if one should take off a little more and reduce the potential void area or go go with thicker walls when later hollowing. Look forward to where you take this.

[Kathy Marshall]

Thanks for the comments everyone!

Tonight I cleaned up the outside form and did a little power sanding with 120 grit (I'll finish sanding after hollowing). Then I drilled out the center and started hollowing. The inside walls are finished down to a little past the half way mark and are about 1/8", I removed the bulk of the bottom section before I stopped for the night so it shouldn't take long to finish up tomorrow.
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Sorry for the crappy phone pics.

[Tim Rinehart]

Kathy, this is looking really good. I like the shape and all the movement in the grain. It's gonna be one of those "oh yeah" moments when you get the finish on this piece! :)

[Kathy Marshall]

Tonight I finished the hollowing and sanding, then reversed it in a jam chuck to finish turn the bottom except for the base.
I'm going to do all the finishing on the lathe, so I left the nub until the finish is done.

These pics are before I started applying any finish (crappy phone pics again). I rotated one of the pics just to make it easier to see what the final form is.
I have started my little experiment with the finish, but I'll wait on pics of that until the finish is complete. So far, I think the experiment will be a success. It should be done in a couple of days.

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[Brian Kent]

I think the contrast is going to be profound - between your polished sides and the void. Wonderful piece of wood there Kathy.

[Rob Boesem]

That's a beautiful piece of wood, and you're making it look it's best!!

[neil mackay]

Kathy this one has the look of a real winner, love the form and swirling grain should really come alive with just about any finish you apply to it.

[Eric Gourieux]

Can't wait to see more!

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Kathy that wood as some real nice swirling grain and color variations in it, even now without any finish on it it looks great.

Me, I would use a polymerizing oil on it to bring out all this color and grain even better, I'm waiting to find out what you will be using on it and see the final look of it.

Have fun and take care .

[Thomas Canfield]

That is a nice looking piece. It is going to have a large window for inspecting the interior and checking the wall thickness. Sure to get a lot of comments.

[Kathy Marshall]

It's looking pretty good. I've applied some finish and hopefully it will be dry enough to buff tomorrow.