Need some advice on a Platter Pedestal

[John Hart]

Howdy,

Hey...I was wondering if I could get some advice on the height and configuration of a platter pedestal. You see...I have no taste, and I rely on others to come up with a decent design for things....and I only have one shot at this. I'll be turning this today so it'll be ready as a gift on Thanksgiving for my Brother-in-law and his family.

I'll be turning a 13" recessed platter, dished from the center, up to a 1.5" flat along the lip. Made from figured walnut. Total height will be 1".

Now the problem is, I don't want this to topple and I'm not sure what's an appropriate height for the pedestal. I have walnut, cherry, quilted maple and regular old maple as wood choices.

Any input on wood choice, base diameter, and pedestal height would be greatly appreciated!!

Thanks.:)

[Bob Justin]

John, I would fall back to the "Golden Rectangle" as a rough guide for my design. 13" diameter top would become (roughly) 8" tall and have a 5" diameter base if the intended load on top is light, 6" to 7" if a heaver load is expected. With the choices you have on-hand for material, any would be a winner, I think the finish you plan to use may have more influence over the wood type for the desired finished color and look.:)

[Rich Stewart]

Eyeball it.

[Paul Engle]

John, Rich has a good idea and I like Bob's sound judgement, I did some compotes and the base height was 3 inches and the base foot was 60% of the max width of the compote, to keep from tipping. I narrowed the pedistal to 1/3 the dia of the foot of the base and the tennon on the base for the bottom of the bowl was 2/3 the foots dia. boy is that cornfusing:confused:, or I might have to take a day off to think about that one.... draw it out on a piece of card board, cut it out, and have a look see.

[John Hart]

Paul....I read your post 4 times and couldn't understand a word you said.....and then, just for kicks, I read it a 5th time... and I got it!!!

Mamma says 8" would be too high for this platter's purpose. So 3" sounds about right. She also said that I should eyeball it. But I told her that she sounded like Rich. After she hit me....I went back to the shop.;)

The war does not go well. The wood has some major hidden cracks so I'm modifying it a bit. There's an 80% chance this is going to be a total loss. We'll see, I reckon.:)

[John Hart]

Here's how it's going so far. Did the platter, but had to make some alterations due to some cracks and inclusions. Also...it got too thin to cut a mortise for the pedestal, so I left the glue block there to give a tenon for the pedestal to snuggle up to. Have to defer the pedestal to tomorrow...which might mean a late night.....but these are the challenges that have taxed mankind for billions of years....or something like that.:rolleyes:

75402

75403

[Paul Engle]

Looks good John, I do mostly recesses ( yeah... time for recess..:rolleyes:.) so the top of my pedistal's have the tennon,that way I make a flange on the top ( of the base) to match the curve of the bottom of the bowl etc , to cover the joint but either way should work.And if I mess it up , part off the tennon , glue on another piece and start again.The flange will hide my mistake/s ...:eek: and the flange makes a nice transistion to the bottom of the bowl. I sold the compotes so I cant post a pic.... i know I know , no pic didnt happen .... sheesh ... tough audience huh....:D