Ambrosia Maple Hollow Form

[Don Fuss]

I recently discovered that there was a Woodcraft about 50 miles away from me. My poor bank account! While I was there drooling, I met Tom Sherman. Anyway, I've never had wood available in chunks this large until I found WC, so I've never been able to do anything like this before. Thus, this is my first attempt at a hollow form. I really enjoyed turning it - even more so than bowls. I almost lost it when my glue block split immediately when I introduced the scraper (?!) to the inside of the form and sent it rolling around the shop floor. After some cursing, I picked it up, dusted it off, and glued it right back on where it split. It held just fine until I was finished.

It's about 4 3/4" tall by 5 1/2" in diameter. Finish is BLO.

I'd appreciate any critiques. I think the biggest overall problem with the piece is the collar - I think I left it just a little too thick and it seems to detract rather than add visual interest. What do you guys think?

Thanks for looking!

[Keith Burns]

Don, I agree the collar is too thick. I think the form on the body is good though and the finish is good as well. For yor first HF you have done an exceptional job:) :)

[Jim Dunn]

Don I think you cut a piece outa the planet Jupiter and turned that instead of wood. A whole lot going on in that wood chunk. Real nice!

[Tom Sherman]

Don that chunck of wood looks quite a bit different than it did in the store. looks to me like you got the best of it.

[Barry Stratton]

First one?? You did great. I like the shape and agree about the collar.

[Lindsay Nelson]

Very nice job Don.............:D

Collar could be a little bit thinner, but hey, it still looks good, great effort

[Mark Cothren]

I like the shape, Don. Agreed on the collar being a bit too thick maybe. Did the BLO darken the Maple that much, or was it already pretty dark?

[Bernie Weishapl]

Don that is a beauty for your first one. I agree with the collar being a little thick. Nice job.

[George Conklin]

Don, I agree the collar is too thick. I think the form on the body is good though and the finish is good as well. For yor first HF you have done an exceptional job:) :)

Ditto:) .

I have yet to try a HF. I hope that when I do, it will turn out half as good as yours did.:)

[Don Fuss]

Thanks for the kind words everyone. I'll have to put a little more thought into the collar for my next one. The collar was more of an afterthought. I needed to have a large entry hole since I don't have any special hollowing tools. I used a forstner bit in the tailstock to hog out the center, and a 1/2" round nose scraper for the rest of the hollowing. I thought the opening looked too large for the piece, so I stuck a walnut collar on to reduce the size of the hole.

Mark: The piece was already pretty dark to begin with, but the BLO made it quite a bit darker -- more so than I expected.

[Ernie Nyvall]

I'd be very proud were this my first HF. I do agree about the collar. Also the transition from the sides to the top is a little sharp... for my eye anyway. The best way I know to explain what I'm talking about is to look at any one of Travis Stinson's pieces here on SMC.

[Corey Hallagan]

That is awesome Don. Hope my first HF is that nice!!

Corey

[Richard Madison]

Don,
What Ernie said. The "sides" could be rounded more smoothly into the "top", and just continue the smooth curve through the collar all the way to the opening. An alternative would be a sharp transition from the "side" to a concave (in profile) curve progressing smoothly to a small "neck".

An excellent first effort! Suggest getting some inexpensive "practice wood", if there is such a thing, and make three more nearly identical (but slightly different) pieces. Set them in a line on the kitchen table and stare at them a while. You will see what you like and dislike about the forms and proportions.

Just did that with five little weed pots, and actually learned some stuff. If you have artistic ability, just ignore this post. A rock has more "artistic vision" than I do, but sometimes simple things can help improve the situation. I gained a little bit on the rock this week.

[JOHN VITOSKY]

This is my first post here also. I hope Im not sounding too dumb but what is BLO finish?

[Jim Dunn]

Welcome John. It's boiled linseed oil.

[JOHN VITOSKY]

Where does one get this? And what is the process of boiling ? What does it do?

[Don Fuss]

Thanks for the advice all. I'm going to head to Woodcraft again this weekend to get some wood to try another HF. Looking at Travis' pieces, I see how a smoother transition to the top creates a beautiful form. I'm going to shoot for that type of transition on my next piece.

John: I get my boiled linseed oil from Lowe's. They have it in the solvents and chemicals area. It's always been my favorite finish for my flatwork, so I thought I'd try it on a turning. I like how it turned out. I did add two coats of wipe on poly to give it a little more shine, though. I'll have to let someone more knowledgable on the subject answer your other question, but I believe BLO has metallic "dryers" that allow the finish to cure faster than compared to just pure linseed oil. Hope that helps.

Don

[Ken Grunke]

Very nice, Don. I'm a bit late here, but if you take Ernie and Richard's advice about rounding that transition a bit more, the collar would have worked the way it is. Of course it can't be changed on this piece, but if you could bulge out the upper section just a bit, the shape would be perfect.
Don't you have any TREES growing over there in Forest, VA, so you don't have to buy wood? :))