Walnut Hollow Vase

[John Hart]

A long time ago, Ernie Nyvall sent me a large chunk of Walnut. Thanks Ernie!:) I took very good care of it, and finally got a chance to do something with it. Got it turned into a cylinder and found myself wondering whether to do one tall vase or two short ones. Flipped a coin....short won. So I turned a tenon into the end and parted it in half. This is the first of two attempts. This wood was WONDERFUL to work with.

6" Tall, 5" diameter...Walnut Oil base -- Shellac sealed -- Lacquer finish

sorry about the pics...still working out my lighting in the new shop.

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[Ron Journeau]

yup, ya gotta love that walnut..sure turns nice. Excellent form, john, and nice figure in there as well

[John Miliunas]

Yup, I'd say you're right back up to speed, John! :) Sheeeesh...the guy takes an extended "vacation" from turning and doesn't miss a beat. :D Well done, my friend. Nice form and that finish is kickin'! :) :cool:

[Mark Pruitt]

John, it sure didn't take you very long to get back in full swing! That's an excellent form & finish.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

You nailed the whole banana John! For someone away from turning for 6 or more months it didn't take you long to get back in the saddle and ride that bronc! The finish on that vase looks like it's been shined by a horse tail for about 5 months.....Nicely done, my friend!

[Andy Hoyt]

I see glare on the shoulder, dust on the backdrop, and lint near the lip.

Oh, sorry. I just figured this was another Tarzan Stinson thread.






Nice one, John!

[Bob Noles]

John,

How come your "weed pots" always look better than mine :p

[Bernie Weishapl]

John that is a wonderful piece. Love the form and finish. Great job.

[Ernie Nyvall]

John, I thought we'd worked something out on this deal... I send you wood, you turn something great, and send it back to me to post as my own. Oh wait a minute... you sent me wood first.

Nice job on the vase.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nice form, beautiful wood and your finish makes it look like it was dipped in glass. Very nice work!

[Jim Becker]

Very nice piece, John...I really like the walnut in that end-grain orientation for this form.

[Keith Burns]

Great piece John Hart !:) :)

[Barry Stratton]

JOHN HART IS BACK!!!!! Great looking vase John, perfect finish!

[John Hart]

Thanks y'all. You are waaay too kind. I'd like to point out something that we discussed a long time ago....dealing with proportion of base-to-top. In that discussion, we pretty much agreed that the base should be smaller than the top.....a maximum of equal to the top. In this case, the base is slightly smaller....and I feel it is still too fat looking at the pictures. It looked fine on the lathe. I think I'll go for much narrower on the next one.

Thanks again!:)

[David Fried]

Still stealing forms from the Chineese I see.

Nice job!

[Mark Pruitt]

One question--what did you sand it to? And how did you sand it (power or all hand-sanding)? OK that's two questions. Dang. I'm gonna get sent to the principal's office again.:eek: :o :p

[John Hart]

Still stealing forms from the Chineese I see...

hey...if they don't want their forms stolen, they shouldn't leave their stuff laying around for thousands of years.;)



Mark...I sanded to 1200....using Naptha which is fairly new to me. The Naptha served two purposes that I could tell...first, it helped with the cutting of the sandpaper...secondly, it highlights the places that need sanded, then evaporates. I did a little power sanding with this...but just in stubborn spots. Mostly did it by hand, in circular motion while turning the piece by hand.

[Paul Engle]

Nice vase John, but if ya think it needs some work send it on down and I can clean it up fer ya...:eek: :D , actually me thinks you protest too much it looks good. was the lacquer brush or spray?

[John Hart]

....actually me thinks you protest too much it looks good. was the lacquer brush or spray?

It was spray. I've been experimenting with a number of spray lacquers and my favorite is Rustoleum's High Lustre stuff. My wife hates the smell....but I sorta don't mind....after a while.;) :)

The Science Channel has a show called "Understanding"....really good program. Anyway, one day they had an episode called Understanding Beauty. In that show, they discussed the mathematical equations involved in what the human mind considers to be beautiful. The fundamental ratio is 1:1.62.
This ratio.."The Golden Ratio", has been known for eons....but it was new to me.

Anyway...I thought last night that maybe I ought to apply it when turning. If I have a lip that is 1.5" in diameter...then the base should be .925".....or if the diameter is 6"...then the height should either be 3.7" or 9.3"

On a form with a shoulder...if the distance from the shoulder to the top is 2"....then the distance from the shoulder to the bottom should be 3.25

Sorry...I'm rambling. But I know that I have no sense of form....just like I have no sense of fashion. I'm clueless.....So I figured that math would lend a hand.

Here's a drawing I created that uses only rectangles and elipses that conform to the Golden Ratio.
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I know....I have too much time on my hands.:o

[John Miliunas]

I know....I have too much time on my hands.:o

You need a horse or two to help occupy your time! :D :D :D :cool:

[John Hart]

You need a horse or two to help occupy your time! :D :D :D :cool:

Hmmmmm......The TOS clearly states that I can't call you any names. I wonder how I can let you know that I'm calling you names without actually committing the act within the forum. Hmmmm...most perplexing.:rolleyes:

[Barry Stratton]

You need a horse or two to help occupy your time! :D :D :D :cool:

John H........the knives are sharp and I've got a slug of airline miles.......just let me know when you need some butchering help...... I can even bring the grinder if you need some burger or breakfaast sausage...........:D

Oh yeah, NICE vase!!!!

[John Miliunas]

John H........the knives are sharp and I've got a slug of airline miles.......just let me know when you need some butchering help...... I can even bring the grinder if you need some burger or breakfaast sausage...........:D



:eek: :eek: :eek: Hey Hoyt, how 'bout a little help here, buddy! :D :cool:

[Andy Hoyt]

Ummm. You could try contacting PETA (http://www.mainewoodturners.org/).

You know - People for the Ethical Treatment of Abysserators.

[John Hart]

Nah...that won't work. Not with Barry in the woods. Dyed-in-the-wool Natural born killer. Go get 'em Barry.:D

Now....lets discuss the frumpy old crodgity guy.
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That is clearly Andy singing

Just wanted to make that picture a permanent part of SMC.;) :)

[Andy Hoyt]

Which one? There's a whole gaggle of 'em in that photo:eek:

[John Hart]

Ok. Fine. Force my hand.:rolleyes:
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This is Andy singing. Happily I might add :)

[Andy Hoyt]

Yeah - well them guys next to me weren't too happy. I do okay in the shower; in the car; and with Mitch - but in public? Oy! Fuhgeddaboudit :D

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

I'm SPEECHLESS, JOHN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!

Drop Dead Gorgeous!

Bruce

[Ed Scolforo]

Skuze me, John: Are you the guy that was all akimbo, about a week ago, not being able to keep a piece of wood in your chuck? Well, Mister, you had us all fooled! Great turnaround!!
Ed

[Corey Hallagan]

Glad to see yah back and turning John. This is a beauty. I got me some nice dry cherry 4 x 4 chunks that I want to give a try at something like these. Nice job, it's a beauty!

Corey

[Mark Cothren]

Nice work, John! I'm startin' to actually like turning Walnut now (just don't tell anybody).

[Glenn Hodges]

Beautiful form, finish, and wood....nice job.

[Mark Pruitt]

John, I keep coming back again and again to look at this vase. Just thinking about the fact that you were away for so long and then you come back and turn something like this. My goodness. I hope I can get to where you are someday.

[Christopher K. Hartley]

John, I really like the form of this one and the wood is gorgeous. I hope I can make my Ernie walnut look half as good.:)

[John Hart]

.....My goodness. I hope I can get to where you are someday.

You mean "lost in the middle of buggy country without a horse?" :D (and happy about the "without a horse" part.;) :p

[Mike Ramsey]

That's a beautiful Vase John! Shines like a new penny!

[Rich Stewart]

I think you are on to something here John. I think I did see something about a Golden Ratio one time pertaining to faces. Had this girl who was rather plain looking at first but the more I looked at her I realized she was actually very beautiful. Try it out on some other stuff and post the results. I would be very interested. I would do it myself but I stink at math. Lots of other stuff too.

Rich

[Doug Collins]

Beautiful piece.

Now that I've got a whole bunch of walnut, I'd love to try turning some type of vase or HF.

Which brings up a couple questions.

1) When turning a HF like these, what's the ideal wall thickness that you try to turn/hollow to?

2) Can I turn my wet walnut down to a rough vase shape and then dry it like I would a bowl before doing the final turning? (soaking in DNA, boiling, or one of the other methods I've read about)

3) Should I try to hollow out the center of the roughed form some, leaving the walls thick to dry it? How thick?

4) Or should I cut the walnut logs down to suitable size blocks, seal the ends and just let them dry for a few months (a year?) in the shop before I do anything with them?

[Andy Livingston]

Beaurtiful! Love that deep dark walnut! Wonderful finish!

[John Hart]

Thanks y'all. It was pretty fun to make.

Doug...Most pieces, I'll leave some wall thickness to allow some movement while drying....but with walnut, it's usually pretty stable, unless there's some knots or tight burly figure or something. I shoot for 1/4" thickness when done. I rarely hit that...but that's what I shoot for. Vases love to pop out of the chuck while hollowing, unless you have some additional support....but they can be done without support if you make light cuts and pay attention to the radial address of the tool to the wall. I'd suggest some practice pieces of wood that you don't care about first.;)

But really...I'm not an expert at this sort of thing...I' new at it and still got lots to learn. There are much more talented people here who could weigh in and offer more insight.:)