Your Best Piece

[Joash Boyton]

After the "Ugly turning thread" and the "How did you get started?" thread, I thought a "Your favourite/best piece" thread, might go down well as well.;)

So, What is your favourite piece? Does'nt matter if we've seen it before:)

Mine is the one below.
Details have been posted in another thread.
I had to replace the lid, and this one has a Mallee Burl:cool: lid, with a Cypress wood finial.
Below is another picture, with my photoshopped background:)

Anyway, lets see some:)

Joash

[Jim Young]

Simple form, but my first hollow form.
http://www.simoli.net/images/Woodworking/Turnings/wBoxElderCF1_20061006.jpg

[Curt Fuller]

Mine would undoubtably be my patented "Toilet Plunger Cozy". Form and function taken to a new level. I display it in my living room in between the Picasso and the Monet.

[John Hart]

I guess this is my favorite. It sits on my desk and I look at stuff with it.
558605586155862

[Joash Boyton]

WOW!!! That's great!! I've never thought of making one of them, neither heard, or seen (of) them either.

hmmm.......oh ohoo:D

Joash

[Jonathon Spafford]

Mine would undoubtably be my patented "Toilet Plunger Cozy". Form and function taken to a new level. I display it in my living room in between the Picasso and the Monet.

I imagine you get told this all the time, but that is just to beautiful to use :D :D

Here is my own favorite... right now at least!!!

[Neal Addy]

Sorry, can't post. I haven't turned my best yet! :D

[Jonathon Spafford]

Sorry, can't post. I haven't turned my best yet! :D

Awww, c'mon... I believe the idea is to post the best you have turned SO FAR!!! And we want to see it ;)

[Joash Boyton]

He posted it before, and then removed it:D:D

I saw it hehe!!

[Jonathon Spafford]

He posted it before, and then removed it:D:D

I saw it hehe!!
Bummer... I missed it!!! :rolleyes:

[Bill Boehme]

I guess this is my favorite. It sits on my desk and I look at stuff with it.
558605586155862

John,

It almost looks alive.

Bill

[John Hart]

John,

It almost looks alive.

Bill

Thanks. Kinda reminds me of that movie, "Short Circuit". Number 5 is alive. Need Input!!!:D A lot of people comment on how animated it looks. They give it names and everything.

[Bob Hallowell]

[quote=John Hart]I guess this is my favorite. It sits on my desk and I look at stuff with it.quote]

John,
I would have to say that is the absolute best sitting stuff looker at'er I have ever seen:D .

Curt,
I am glad you got a patent on that cause those would fly off the sevles at walmart:D

Bob

[Keith Burns]

I guess this is my favorite. It sits on my desk and I look at stuff with it.
558605586155862

John, I remember that piece, brings back a lot of good memories:)

[Keith Burns]

Mine would undoubtably be my patented "Toilet Plunger Cozy". Form and function taken to a new level. I display it in my living room in between the Picasso and the Monet.

Curt, I remember that one as well. It, too, brings back a lot of good memories.:)

[John Hart]

Curt, I remember that one as well. It, too, brings back a lot of good memories.:)

Yup....me too. :) Curt really broke the bank on innovation as I recall. I just love that thing!!

For those of you who don't know....we had a contest a while back.

[jeremy levine]

I guess this is my favorite. It sits on my desk and I look at stuff with it.


OK that is super cool !

[Neal Addy]

Hehe! You're quick Joash!

[Keith Burns]

Sorry, can't post. I haven't turned my best yet! :D

Neal, does the words "white top" come to mind.

[Kurt Rosenzweig]

It's on the lathe right now! I'm waiting on a delivery from the Spin Doctor so I can finish hollowing it. The only way I could see getting it done was to buy his hollowing rig. Darn it. :D

[Mark Pruitt]

This is a tough one to answer. It's a lot easier to say, what's my favorite HF, my favorite NE, my favorite "normal" bowl, favorite vase, favorite artsy piece, favorite finishing job, etc. But all-around favorite? I dunno. Maybe this one. But I'll probably change my mind in five minutes.:rolleyes:
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[Keith Burns]

I agree with Mark. It is difficult to pick one favorite from many types, etc. But today it would be this Coolibah Burl I did not long ago.

[Andy Hoyt]

I guess I'd have to pick this one.

55875

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=40695

[Nancy Laird]

Mark, Keith, and Andy - I would have to agree with all three of you that those pieces you picked are among my favorites too. Occasionally I bookmark a thread here just to be able to go back and look at some of the beautiful work that gets posted here without having to search, and these three are all bookmarked. Someday I hope to be able to turn something that is 1/10 as good as these. Yeah, I know - practice, practice, practice!

Nancy

[Neal Addy]

Great stuff here! I like all the pieces posted so far.

OK, I give.

"Best" and "favorite" are two different things. Since we're choosing "favorite" I guess I'd go with this. (Can't I choose two?)

White Top with Ebony
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[Ken Fitzgerald]

While I really don't belong running with this group yet.......Here's my favorite and possibly my best so far. A turned goblet stem for an engraved goblet I gave to my daughter for her wedding present in August.....wood is Goncale Alvo (sp?)....tigerwood.....

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[Keith Burns]

Neal, thats one of my favorites too ! :) :)

[Keith Burns]

Ken, seems longer than 6 months ago you did that goblet. Memories..............

[Keith Burns]

Andy, I'm glad you posted that piece. Another all time favorite of mine:) :)

[Michael Robertson]

Boy is there some beautiful work on this post!! You guys are great and I hope to be at least half that some day.....

While I've done a ton of pens and really have a few I love, the photos aren't all that good of them. I have just started doing stuff other than pens and these are my favorite finished piece and the one that may replace it.

Finished piece is BOW with a Sycamore lid and Myrtle finial

In-progress piece is a chunk of 3 crotched Sycamore that cracked while it was in the bag 'O chips drying after roughing out, so I filled the crack with turquoise and CA. Wall thickness is just a squeak under 3/8" in this pic.

Mike

[Ron Chamberlin]

Neat idea, Joash.
I don't know about "my best" , but here is one of my favorites. It has a sentimental attachment as well. The aged cherry was given to me by a good friend shortly before he died. Fortunately, he got to see the finished piece.
The piece is about 11"" (28 cm) diameter.
Sorry, this is the largest photo I have at the moment.

[Steve Schlumpf]

This is the only box I have ever turned and made it just a few weeks after starting to turn. Had no idea what I was doing but even today I can't imagine having one turn out any better. Box is 7 1/2" x 3" and 1/8" to 1/4" thick. Even after 2 years it still has a tight fit and makes a pop each time you open it.

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Oh, gots to tell you about the finish! Saw this style box in one of those project books, maybe Richard Raffin, and it said he used an oil/wax mix for a finish. Huh? So I rubbed in some mineral oil and then used a white candle held up to it while spinning on the lathe until it melted and I 'buffed' it in. Didn't think it looked as good as the one in the project book but pleased as punch just the same! Because it was one of my first turnings ever - I have left it alone as a reminder of my start in turning.

Comments are always welcome.

[Bill Wyko]

WELL, I was in the process of turning my best piece last night and I missplaced my thickness gauge and guess what happened.....I made it so thin I could see through it:( Good thing it's segmented, i cut the top off and made a new one. The glue should be dry tonight and I should have pics tomorrow. I was so ready to be done with it last night too.:mad:

[Christopher K. Hartley]

My best has little to do with me and a bunch to do with mother nature. I'm just not sure which it is.:confused:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=50808&d=1164308964

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=48739&d=1161303275

[Neal Addy]

I beg to differ. Mother nature's beauty has to be discovered and unlocked. That's what makes turning fun!

Those are beautiful, Christopher!

[Corey Hallagan]

This is my favorite piece to date I think. I loved the chunk of wood before I turned it into anything and was glad that I didn't ruin it. This was one of 8 or so pieces from my turnathon I had when the wife and daugher left for 4 days on a mom/daughter trip back in August. Anyway.... it's a spalted birch hollow form, my one and only to date. Thanks Joash!

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f288/challagan/SpalBeech1.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f288/challagan/SpalBeech3.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f288/challagan/SpalBeech2.jpg

[Curt Fuller]

I agree with Mark. It is difficult to pick one favorite from many types, etc. But today it would be this Coolibah Burl I did not long ago.

That's one of my favorites, both the bowl and the stand you made to display it.

[Raymond Overman]

John, that's still one of the coolest magnifying thingamabobs I've seen.

I'd have to say the following piece was my favorite. The nice thing about it is that a friend's mother owns it so I can go visit every once in a while.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=45496&d=1156390616

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=45497&d=1156390627

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/attachment.php?attachmentid=45498&d=1156390635

I thought there was something wrong with my html-foo this morning but it seems that SMC doesn't like you to deep link back into the archives while posting. I thought I had done that before.

[Bruce Boone]

This is one of my more favorite pens. I've done others that don't have anything to do with wood and not as much to do with the lathe as well. The metal is aerospace grade titanium and the wood parts are African Olivewood. The wood inlays were laser cut on a rotary axis from a turned tube of wood. The centerband has splines in the center that grip into the splined barrel, so the pen does a 360 when it gets placed into or pulled out of the base. The base is weighted with bronze so it's heavy enough to stay on a desk while the pen gets lifted out. The angled top has an insert of wood to match the inlay wood. The spirals line up from the barrel to the body, and when the pen is in the base, the spirals line up body to base. A couple of the challenges I had in making the pen are being able to orient the nib to match the cut angle in the barrel, having the splines line up, cutting the hemispherical wood plug that goes in the end and being able to laser engrave it, inlaying the wood where the grain appears continuous, and being able to polish the titanium to mirror finish when it was next to the wood. Other than that, it was a piece of cake. :D
http://www.boonerings.com/largepics/spyra.jpg

[Corey Hallagan]

That is a beauty Bruce! Excellent work!

Corey

[Joash Boyton]

WOW!!! Love that pen!! I'm a big fan of metal and timber combinations. Looks great!!
Congrats!!
Joash

[Bernie Weishapl]

Mine had to be one of my first HF made of Elm.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bruce.......I can't think of a word that would do justice in describing the beauty of that pen! Outstanding!

Bernie....Nice HF! I hope to do one that good some day!

[Jonathon Spafford]

That is probably the coolest most beautifully artistic pen that I have seen. The spiralling is beautiful... I can definitely see why that one might rank among your favorites!

[Bruce Boone]

Thanks guys. I had a hard time deciding between that one and this one. The other was my first really tough pen to make, so it's a sentimental favorite. This one had its own challenges. It's a trilobe shape that simultaneously curves, tapers, and twists. It's made to stand on a desk or be carried in a pocket. The body is acrylic and the clip is titanium to match. The inside is very tight to be able to get all the workings in. I had to come up with my own thread standards to secure the clip on firmly and allow the two halves to screw together while still allowing the cap to screw on. Looks strange, but fits in the hand nicely for writing.

http://www.boonerings.com/largepics/flameblue3.jpg

[Curt Fuller]

Those are some of the coolest pens I've ever seen!