My latest project

[Ron Ainge]

I haven't posted a picture of my work in a while so I thought that I might post this one and see what you all thought. It is about 10 inches tall with a wall thickness of about 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch. The hollow portion is 3 3/4 inches wide. the base and the hollow portion is made of Aspen and the finials are ebonized Silver Maple. Please give me your honest opinion because I am thinking about entering it in a contest and I need the input to see if it is worthy. Thanks for looking

[Keith Burns]

Ron, I think it is a great piece !! The only thing I see (and it may just be the photo) is the finial looks a little large (diameter) and the teardrop looks to large. Other that that it looks really good.:) :)

[David Walser]

Ron,

The turning is impressive. Much better work than I've ever done and may ever do. However, the piece just seems out of balance to me. I'm not sure if the finial is too large for the rest of the piece or what, but it just does not work for me. My impression might different if I saw the turning in person so it might be a result of the angle the photo is taken from.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Ron to me it is a beauty. I guess because I wish I could turn something that nice. I like it. Nice job.

[John Hart]

Personally?....I think it should win in a contest. 'Course, that's subjective, since I don't know what else will be entered. The finial is a tad large, so with the scrutiny you've requested, I would say that it looks a bit top heavy. My initial reaction was "Dropdead Gorgeous". Nicely done!! :)

[Kurt Rosenzweig]

I like it! As the others said I would make the top of the finial smaller in diameter. It would balance the piece out a lot. You do beautiful work.

[Ron Ainge]

Thanks for the comments from the four of you so far. To me the piece has two problems, one is the ball on the lower finial need to be a little above mid way up the finial (that is why it looks out of balance I think) second the size of the top finial should be smaller in diameter and a tiny bit shorter. The finials on the next one I make will be made out of either ebony or blackwood and they will be thinner that this one.

[Bob Hallowell]

Ron,
i like it just the way it is I Think it is a winner!

Bob

[Gary DeWitt]

It may be the photo, there is a severe highlight on the top finial, but the thin part of the finial looks larger in diameter than the stem diameter, perhaps this is contributing to the out of balance look.
My first impression was, what a great piece. So I really like the overall design, and hate to nit pick it to death.
Some very small refinements, and I think you'll have a contest winner!
Please keep us posted.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Ron.....Beautiful piece! I think Gary nailed the minor changes that would make it more pleasing. The finial diameter is larger than the base and the teardrop appears too large. I'm with him...a minor adjustment in size and you've got a winner! Please repost when you're finished with it. It's gorgeous.

[Neal Addy]

Ron, this is wonderful work. :cool: The color contrast of the woods works really well together and the overall balance of the piece is quite nice. I assume you've studied the work of Cindy Drozda for inspiration. She would be proud!

OK, folks... I'm going to go into verbose mode again (<groans>... "here he goes again!"). Ron asked for honest opinions and I think this piece deserves some detailed critique!

<verbose on>

I don't agree that moving the lower bead higher up the stem would significantly change the balance. The size and placement of that bead actually work very well in proportion to the rest of the work. It could go either way. The two spots that appear off to me are 1) the top finial bead diameter, as others have said; and 2) the size of the base platform is nearly as wide as the bowl itself. It would be more balanced if it followed the "Golden Rule" of no more than 2/3rd the size of the bowl.

My only other thoughts are that the raised lip of the lid breaks up the curvature of the bowl. Would it have been possible to make the lid flush to the top? Also, the bowl's visible foot seems to say that the pedestal base was an afterthought. It would flow better if it had been recessed into the top cone of the base (or even removed). The bowl in this thread ( http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=49710 ) shows what I'm talking about. That piece has a small 3/4" foot but it is recessed into the base and acts as a tenon to give the joint strength.

<verbose off>

Please take these thoughts for what they are worth. Just one man's opinion, and offered as nit-picking constructive criticism. I think your wonderful work is a winner as-is and wouldn't hesitate to enter it into a contest myself. Thanks for posting!

[Mark Pruitt]

Ron, I agree with what Keith said about the finial and "teardrop;" otherwise I think this piece is :eek: :eek: :eek: beautiful.

[TYLER WOOD]

I agree with Neall. Other than how beautiful it is my second thought was how nice it would have been to have the lip be flush with the bowl rather than a lip. The only other thin i saw was the bottom finial I would have liked see flow into the base rather than have a recess. I am giong to disagree with the others on the top finial being to large. I rather like the size of the tear drop, but would have made the shart a little thiner, giving the tear drop a little more center stage with the bowls. I like the idea of having three focal points on a pice this tall, but the tear drop just doesn't wuite make it there with the thicker shaft.

I still love the peice and would enter it with the way it is now and it woul be fine. A little tweak here and there and it's probably a winner!

[Skip Spaulding]

Ron, was the pic taken with wide angle lens from above a little and angled down? This might make the finial look a little large in the picture. Sure nice work!

[Bill Wyko]

Being a newbie I don't know what a finial is so my opinion is that it's one beautiful piece. 1st place in my book.:D

[John Hart]

I goofed around with Photoshop on your pic Ron. If you mind....please let me know and I'll delete it. This is not meant to be a suggestion in any way....just floating some of the ideas that people are bringing up.....Plus, I have no life so...you know.;)

56099

And if John can mess with it, so can I! This should make comparing easier. Andy

[Steve Schlumpf]

Ron, first off - Beautiful work! Great contrasting woods!

As far as minor changes, I agree with Keith and Neil.

Overall, beautiful piece! Please let us know how it fairs with your contest!

[Ron Ainge]

Let me see if I can answer some of the comments and suggestions that have been raised here.

John: you can play with my pictures any way you want to try to show the other creekers what we are talking about.

Gary: the photo does show that the tear drop on the top finial is a bit to large but that is how I made it, if I do another one it will be smaller.

Neal: Cindy Drozda and I belong to the same woodturning club and I think that I did get some inspiration from her. I don't know if she would be happy with my work but I may ask her at our next meeting.
I left the base on this piece as large as it is because or the height, I wanted it to be stable and I was worried that if I made the base smaller it would be adpt to fall over and break. I agree it would look better if it were smaller.
making the lid flush with the flush fit would have been impossible because the hollow form was turned first and it is only about 1/8 inch thick at the opening.
I did put a little foot on the base because I did not have enough wood left there to drill the hole for the finial without it. this piece was so thin that I worried about sanding throug it before I got it off of the lathe.

Bill: the finials are the top piece on the lid and the piece between the foot and the hollow form.


Thanks everyone for the comments

[Jonathon Spafford]

That is simply beautiful... I don't expect to be able to turn something that lovely too soon. That is really a piece of art. When I first saw it, I did see some small changes that could be made, but they are basically the same as everyone elses. It is beautiful though and those small details don't take away from the beauty of the piece. Hey, I would be proud to display it in my home!