Buckeye burl HF (Please critique)

[Travis Stinson]

Buckeye burl HF. 6" diameter by 3" tall. Ebony collar. Buffed Seal-a-cell finish.
Please critique.

[Dennis Peacock]

Very nice piece there Travis.

Critique? Well.....it won't hold any Moxie! :p :D

[Bernie Weishapl]

Or Ice Cream unless you eat it fast.:p Travis that is a beauty. One of these days............maybe. Nice job.

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

HOLY OHIO STATE BUCKEYE, Batman. Keepin' that in one piece is awesome. The look is, too.

Bruce

[Don Baer]

Now I never studied art nor did I saty in a holiday Inn express and I've only been realy turning for about a year but here's my honest crtique.


Form well you coulda ... no I guess you coundn't
The colar would hve been better ... no I gues it wouldn't
The bottom you shudda... no I guess that you couldn't
The finish of about the finish, you shouda, well you shouda no I gues you did what the wood wanted. Over all i'd say.
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I LIKE IT

[Cecil Arnold]

I agree with Don. Don't know how you kept it together.

[Corey Hallagan]

Very cool piece Travis. I like the shape and some awesome wood! Nice job as always!

Corey

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Critique it ?...........Okay..........It won't hold water worth a .......you fill in the blank........Overall I like the wood....the form..........I'm jealous of your wood and your talent..........I think you should send it to me for disposal (snicker...snicker)

Nicely done Travis!

[Andy Hoyt]

Send it back to Walmart - It looks defective.

Honestly? I haven't a clue by looking at the pics. It really needs to be sitting in front of me for a proper analysis and - with your permission - I'd want to pick it up and put my tactile senses to work.

Failing that. I note that it conforms to my understanding of conventional form parameters, but the shoulder appears to rounded just a tad wrong. Knowing you, I'm sure it's just the picture angles that cause me to sense this.

The collar contrasts nicely with the body in terms of color and the shape seems appropriate. But I'm not sure about where the edge of the collar is visible within the void of the body. To me this tends to reveal some of the secret magic inherent with collared hollow forms.

Photographically speaking it is quite well done and I like the linen background. But I don't think it's color is correct. A darker color - even black - would have really set the piece on fire; as well as allowing a better view of the exterior form since there's a bit of blur there.

Holding this piece on the lathe must have been a challenge, too. Well done.

And lastly? Why hasn't UPS delivered it to my door yet?

[Bill Boehme]

I like the smooth oblate spheriod shape. It looks like it was made perfectly for the spiraling void that works its way perfectly to the opening. My guess is that you have x-ray vision that allowed you to see what was inside before removing the wood. I also like the crisp edges of the voids that do not show any signs of being rounded over from sanding. Personally, I like the collar -- it give the piece just the right mojo.

I have a bunch of workers over at my house these days doing some remodeling and I know that they would love to patch those gaps and holes with caulk -- it is their favorite tool.

Bill

[Gary Max]

Show off----------
Sorry I just can't say anything bad about that HF.
I will try hard on the next one you post.

[Raymond Overman]

Excellent choice of wood and good execution in keeping it together. The form is pleasing. Your transitions are smooth and you have a nice continuous curve from the top through the sides to the bottom as I can see in the picture. The largest diameter seems to be about two-thirds up the side of the piece right where it's supposed to be. The collar is shaped nicely and fits with the piece. I might have suggested a little smaller opening but it's nice as it is. It looks like you have a uniform wall thickness at the edges of the inclusions. I like the curve of the piece flowing into the small foot. The finish looks even and nice. It looks like it came right out of the textbook, "How To Turn A Proper Hollow Form"

Overall a very nice hollow form and a very technical piece. Good job.

[Jim Becker]

Beautiful piece, Travis. I certainly don't see much to change...maybe take the base in just a little more and extend the collar upward slightly. Maybe not. Great piece!

45107

[Henry C. Gernhardt, III]

Travis, I quite honestly can't find anything about this piece I would change while leaving the basic form intact. You've done, IMHO, a great job of blending the curve of the collar into the curve of the form. From what I can see in the pictures, the wall thickness seems to be uniform. It seems that you've allowed the wood to tell its own story, which is all we can ask from a piece made from a wood this busy.

It is my opinion that you have done a superb job, based upon the pictures you've posted.

Keep it up, Travis!

[Keith Burns]

Travis, I probably have an unfair advantage having seen you turn in person and having seen and held your work. By that I mean I know what to expect from your pieces. I know the walls are an even thickness, the inside is smooth, the finish is great and that there are no tool or sanding marks. So what can I critique? Only the form and any enhancements you might have made. I think the form on this one is spot on and the collar is perfect. The curves flow and there are no flat spots. :)

[George Conklin]

Or Ice Cream unless you eat it fast.:p Travis that is a beauty. One of these days............maybe. Nice job.

That's just what I was thinking, Bernie:)

I'd like to know where you find all the gorgeous wood, Travis?:)

[Travis Stinson]

I want to Thank you guys for the well thought out responses.:cool: I think most people are under the impression that a critique should focus on the negative aspects of a piece, instead of looking over all the details with a critical eye, which I think you guys did a very thorough job of. These are tough to do, especially with only a few pictures to go by, but I believe it helps everyone out in the end to see/hear comments on things that might get overlooked otherwise. Who said we didn't have people in here that could give an objective critique???

Oh yea Jim, the base is only 1 1/4", mostly obscured by the shadow. Any smaller and it might not be able to stay upright!:eek: ;)

[Jim Becker]

Oh yea Jim, the base is only 1 1/4", mostly obscured by the shadow. Any smaller and it might not be able to stay upright!

Ah...the killer shadow! (Only the shadow knows?? LOL)

[Tom Sherman]

Travis, I first have to say this is pretty cool. I do not yet feel qualified to comment on changes to make to your work...shoot I am in awe of it...The first thing I thought of when I saw this was that it was the collar that was holding it all together. Great wood and excellent work on a difficult piece.

[Curt Fuller]

It's pretty hard to critique you work, Travis, when it's so danged nice. I guess compliments are as much a part of a critique as criticism though. You can see from the voids that this is turned very thin, very consistent, and it had to be hard to do it without it shattering. The only thing I can suggest is more of a personal preference but the foot looks to be just a slight indent in the bottom. I personally prefer a small raised foot, even if it's only 1/16th or so, just to lift it off of whatever it's sitting on. A small foot seems to make them look like they float a little.

It sure is a pretty though, beautiful wood, shape and finish and nice photos too.