Finally finished, Critique requested

[Brian Brown]

Here is my third segmented piece. It is bloodwood, and Yellowheart. 7.5"w, 10.5"h, and sanded to 1200. It has 20 rings, and 301 pieces. It has no finish on the outside yet, but it will be tung oil finish like the inside. The finish does not change the look at all. I would like a critique, especially on the form. Please be honest in the critique, because that is the only way I will learn. This is a slight change from the original plan, because one segment had some strange cracking inside (11th ring from the top) that didn't show until I had turned it down quite a bit. The more I cut it down, the worse it got, so I stopped.

I really like the look of the bloodwood, but it is hard to cut. More scraping than cutting I think. I broke 2 tool rests, and shattered the waste block once on this one. I'm glad it's off the lathe, I still need to do 2 more before Christmas. Thanks for looking.

Brian

[Raymond Overman]

Brian,

I think you've done a wonderful job on the vase. It's a real beauty. I noticed that you did a good job of keeping the bloodwood from bleeding into the yellowheart while sanding. I think the proportions look good and you made an excellent choice in the wood to show of the design.

If there's one thing to improve about it, I would say work on the transitions in the piece and try to maintain the curves. The transition between the body and the neck would be better if it was a continuous curve as well as the neck itself just below the rings.

Even still, I'd give this piece an A in my book. If it's going to be a Christmas present, whoever receives it is going to be very happy. If it's for me, make sure you package it well. My mailman is a little heavy handed some time. Nice work.

[Steve Mawson]

Looks very nice to me. I would be proud to have it on my shelf. Hopefully Santa will find his way to my house with books on this turning application. Want to try but never have found the time. I like the wood used very much, colors blend very nicely. Great job, wish you were close so I could watch.

[Bob Hallowell]

Brian I am not a segmenter but I think it look wonderful. you joints look tight and the flow of the peice looks good!

Bob

[Bernie Weishapl]

Brian I am not a segmenter but I really like it. It is beautiful. Well done.

[Mike Golka]

Beautiful work, I wish my third one looked half as good.

[Walt Nollan]

Brian, Beautiful! Great joints and choices of wood. I would agree with other comments about the transitions and the flatness of the feature ring. Keep the curves flowing however slight. I like the piece and I am positive that who receive it will treasure it.

Happy Holidays
Walt

[Brian McInturff]

Brian, I like it. I actually like the shape too. I'm not a big fan of all turnings that have the same shape. This one is different and reminds me of an antique vase I had in a shop for awhile(I dabble in buying and selling antiques also). It also has an indian vase shape to it too.
Great Job!!!!
Brian

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very nice work Brian! Excellant joints, great color combination and love the finish even without the oil! As far as critique - agree with some of the others about continuous curves and smooth transition between neck and body. You got time to make 2 more before Christmas? Looking forward to seeing them as well!

[Bill Bolen]

Wow! Purdeee..I really like the long neck with your color choices and ring placement. The bulbous body I find quite appealing. Very nice.
Bill

[Bill Wyko]

Brian, that is stunning! Very pleasing to the eye. Nice choice of wood and pattern. Good going.:)

[Nancy Laird]

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

That was my first response when I saw this Brian. It's just gorgeous!!

Nancy

[John Shuk]

Very nice. I'm not always a fan of segmented work but you really nailed it.

[Dan Forman]

nice job on a difficult project. Hope the toolrest situation is just a learning curve thing!

Dan

[Jim Becker]

Beautiful work on that piece, Brian!

My only comment revolves around the neck and top rim...I'd feel more comfortable with the neck being lighter and narrower as well as exhibiting a continuous curve off the base element rather than the break that is there now. Accordingly, the rim would be a little smaller and "lighter" feeling too. But this is personal preference.

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

Brian, for a relatively new segmenter, this is outstanding. It's already been said, but to repeat, the biggest area for improvement is the curve transitions. Don't let the positioning of your rings dictate your profile. Also, I might have made the base diameter smaller. Having both the top and base diameters close to the same is usually not a good idea. You better get busy on those other two. Only a few days until Santa's visit.

[Ben Gastfriend]

I haven't done any segmented turning and probably won't in the near future... but this looks great. I've always heard people complaining about visible glue joints, but this doesn't seem to be a problem here.

I'd have to agree with Raymond, though. If I was turning this one, I would have used a more flowing curve for the neck, but, it's your piece.

Great job!

[robert hainstock]

Brian, somewhere in the world there is a piece of pottery with that exact shape. all I can add is that it works for me. :)
Bob

[Andy Livingston]

Beautiful! I really like it! Nice job!!!

[Brian Brown]

Thanks for the comments. I wasn't crazy about the abrupt curve transitions myself, but one ring slid a bit to one side after I glued it, and I didn't notice in time to fix it before the glue set. I didn't have enough bloodwood to cut out the ring and replace it. Some how I need to get better at aligning my rings. I think this is what Malcolm means by letting the ring position determine the profile. When I get more practice on controlling the form, I can work more on the accent rings to make them more interesting. As for the 2 new pieces for Christmas, they are much simpler (and identical), and I am getting close to finishing them. While I was waiting for glue to dry on the redheart vase I was furiously cutting and gluing segments for the new pieces.:eek: Regardless, I'm sure I will be turning right down to the wire. Right now, I'm curious to see which one gives up the ghost first, me or the belt on my lathe (it's looking bad). Did I mention that SWMBO has 22 tree ornaments that need to be done by Tuesday. Who needs sleep anyway? Well, back to the grind..errrr turn.

Brian

[Skip Spaulding]

Beautiful piece! Might inspire me to try a segmented turning.

[Brodie Brickey]

Brian,

You really did a great job controlling the bleeding from the bloodwood. I certainly didn't do as well with my almost finished piece. As before, the transitions are an issue, but very nice overall.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Brian....I don't do segmented work so I don't feel comfortable critiquing it. However, I looked at it a long time. I really like it but as others have said, the neck transition disturbed me. Over all it's a beautiful piece.

About the 22 ornaments......my wife hit me up with one for an ornament exchange with other staff members at her school. Don't you just love it when they do that? How do you function under pressure?

[Brian Brown]

Brodie,

I found that the bleeding wasn't as big of a problem with the bloodwood, as it is with with some other strongly colored woods like Pauduak. I commonly wash a piece well with acetone after sanding to remove the dust before finishing. BIG MISTAKE with bloodwood. That caused severe bleeding, and I had to resand the entire piece starting with 100 grit. It worked best to tack cloth with a Norton dry tackcloth. After sanding to 1200, this was easy. This piece is going to my BIL and his wife for Christmas. The colors were chosen to work well with the decor in their home. I'll have to find some more bloodwood, because I like the look, not because it is so easy to work with.

Brian