Finials

[Brian McInturff]

Well,
I thought I'd make a couple of the HF's like Neal's, Travis's, and others' You know. The bulb in the middle, a base, and a nice finial to match the form of the base. So knock out the bulb part. No big deal. Figured I'd do the finial top next and then the base. Those sure look easier than they are. Figured I'd use the Skew. First one got it down to almost where I wanted it then snap. To much pressure and broke it. Next try and got it almost where I wanted it. Chuck was in the way so switch hands and direction. Bad move, catch, snap. Let's try it again. Same thing.

Ok, you guys just gained 10 times more respect from me. Those little dainty finial tops are hard to do. Any pointers. I had the speed cranked up. Glaser skew good and sharp. Do you guys use a skew for those? Do you use your regular tools or a smaller set like a micro set. Do you use one hand on the piece while using the tool with the other? How often do you move the rest. As the piece get's smaller in diameter do you move it closer and down a little?

Boy, bigger is so much easier to do. More room for small errors and the corrections for them. Small diameter leaves no room for any error.

No pics as I got too frustrated. Will try again tomorrow and hopefully have some success.
Brian

[Bernie Weishapl]

Brian I just ordered Cindy Drozda DVD on finials. I do use my hand to brace the piece when it starts getting thin and still use my big 1 1/4" skew. Alan Lacer shows you how to do that. He also used his skew to make a 3/4" top. So I am hoping between the two DVD's I can figure these things out. I did some fair finials on christmas ornaments but sure would like to get better.

[Keith Burns]

Good luck Brian. Finials are the hardest thing there is to turn IMHO. Anyway I use a 1/4" round skew, a 1/4" spindle gouge, a skewigouge, a detail gouge, a 3/4" roughing gouge, it just depends. The main thing is starting at the tip of the finial and working your way back towards the chuck, sanding and finishing as you go working in short sections. Remember when sanding start at as high a grit as you posibily can.

[Brian McInturff]

Ah, don't you hate it when someone points out the obvious. I was working from the tip to teh base but didn't think athing about going back to try and touchup an area. On one I made the base out of proportion to the tip so went back to try and thin the ball area close to the tip. So when something like this happens how do you fix it. Guess I either live with it or aquire more finesse. Another one did break during sanding. Guess I need to spend yet more money. Cindy's dvd and an oval skew(I had planned on this purchase).

Wow Bernie, an 1 1/4" on finials. Do you just work with the tip? I can't see how you could rub a bevel on a small finial with something that big. I've got so much to learn:eek: . At least I had fun:D .

Oh yeah, Bernie, I tried holding the piece with one hand and guiding the tool with the other. That will definitely take some practice for this left hander.

Brian

[Travis Stinson]

"Those sure look easier than they are." That is an understatement! :eek:
Brian, I like to work from the top down and finish sanding before I go to the next section. As far as tools, I use a 1/4" skewchy-gouge for the majority of the work, along with a 1/4" round nosed scraper. A relaxed, light touch is necessary. The hardest thing for me is to stay relaxed and not get too tensed up when it gets down thin. ;)

[Brian McInturff]

Skewchie-gouge. Hmmm. Never had my hands on one. Is that like that 3 sided pointed tool that the AAW had directions on how to make last year? I'll do a search on google. Thanks, Brian

[Neal Addy]

Brian, I've never seen Drozda's DVD but I've studied her work a lot. With her talent for finials the DVD has to be worth it. Her's are the best IMO.

My method is to start by turning the base/pedestal first then move to the lid/finial. You can get a better sense of proportion by starting with the biggest piece (the base). Overall balance is the hardest part to pulling these things off, IMO. My biggest challenge is always getting a 'flow' going. The whole thing should taper gracefully from the bottom to the top, regardless of how many elements are in between. This is where Cindy excels. Her eye for balance and proportion are as near perfect as it gets.

Like Keith and Travis said, turn the top of the piece first and work your way down. Beads, coves, or anything requiring heavy wood removal should be done while you have lots of support wood. Super thin areas should be thinned out after everything else is turned close to final thickness. Plan each move ahead.

I use a Crown 1/4" skew (from a mini set) for the bulk of the spindle work. It gets used for planing, beading, coving, and scraping. The 1/4" round-nose scraper sees some action to smooth out the curves in the 'trumpet' elements but the skew does most of the work.

Also, as Travis pointed out, a VERY relaxed touch is important when doing final thinning. Don't get in any hurry or use any force. Just lightly shave the area you are working. My biggest problem is letting my concentration wander and allowing the tool to slip under the piece. Snap!

The best tool for the thinning process is an 80-grit gouge.

I'm no expert on finials but I love doing them and occassionally I get lucky. They can be tedious, nerve-wracking, frustrating, and a HECK of a lot of fun.

[Jim Becker]

Yea, small finials not only require you to relax and turn carefully, they require you to have everything visualized so you can work your way back from the small end to maintain strength and support as you go.