Walnut "Platter" Critique Welcomed

[Jim Underwood]

This is a platter that I did on commission. A friend of mine picked out the blank and the shape before Christmas, and since I missed the deadline on that and the subsequent birthday, he allowed it would be a good Valentine's day present. Finally finished it this week, and he picked it up.

It was a nice piece of wood, and the shape was nice. It was a little tricky getting that foot turned since the Cole Jaws were too big for my lathe. It forced me to finish that Longworth Chuck I've been working on.:)

The shape is adapted from Mark Baker's book Woodturning Projects: A Workshop Guide to Shapes, but this is quite a bit smaller than the 16" platter he pictured.

Approx 9 x 2
Black Walnut Crotch
Gel Poly finish

[Jim Underwood]

And one more to grow on. This shows the true profile, which you really don't notice until you look at the side view. I'm not sure it matters because you almost NEVER look at it from this angle.

[Pete Jordan]

Looks Great Jim!

I'm sure your friend will be thrilled!

[Ben Gastfriend]

I agree. Beautiful wood and finish. I personally am not crazy about the form, but it's on commission, so, whatever makes the customer happy!:)

[Maylon Harvey]

In a word, Beautiful. Just carried 2 walnut crotch blanks in the house tonight for rough turning in the next couple of days. Now I know how I'm going to rough out at least one of them. Hope it turns out as good as yours.

[Greg Just]

love the grain pattern, but personally I would have made the foot smaller - nice finish job.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Jim - very nice platter! Love the wood - the grain and all that curl - just beautiful! Unique shape makes it different than the rest - that is a GOOD thing! Great finish -very nice work - looking forward to seeing more!

[Bill Embrey]

Jim... the wood (and finish) is beautiful and I really like the design, but I have to agree with Greg... the foot is out of proportion to the rest of it. Needs to be a bit smaller (shorter... diameter is fine)

[Richard Madison]

Jim,
Might want to try the Wimberley Foot next time. Tenon for the chuck may be somewhat recessed into the bottom. When reversed, the tenon is cleaned up to smaller diameter and trimmed to lift the piece 1/8" to maybe 3/16" max. above the surface. The intention is for the foot to be invisible from usual viewing angle, but make the piece seem to "float" slightly above the surface. Will post a picture when photography skills improve.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful Jim. Well done.

[robert hainstock]

very nice piece. It is nice to hear how a turner solves an interesting chucking problem. Good job!:):)
Bob

[Tom Sherman]

A real nice piece Jim.

[TYLER WOOD]

Nice work. I personally, like others, don't like the foot. But what the customer wants is what the customer gets. Design change opportunities not withstanding!!!:D

Good use of the wood. The form is really pleasing to my eye.

[Jim Underwood]

I can see how a shorter foot would possibly improve the appearance. This is the feedback I'm getting from everyone. It seems the foot doesn't "flow" with the curve of the "bowl".

What I don't know is whether it would "feel" right since the rest of the piece is rather heavy. It's got a heavy rim and an almost 1/2 thick "bowl".

I just stopped where it seemed right for the piece. :confused:

What I'd change is the thickness of the piece. But then it was on the Longworth chuck at the time, and it was impossible to tell how thick it was. And if I took it off and tried to remount, (which I did once) it was near impossible to get to run true after that. So I guessed at the thickness and still got it too thick.

I'll try to learn from this experience. I've got the other half of this crotch (I think) at home, and I'll see if I can capitalize on the advice and experience. I'll have to crop the foot off in the photo to see where it would look best. When I get around to turning this other piece, I'll post back.

Thanks for all your advice and compliments.

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

Very lovely, Jim. The form is "Different", but that's what makes horse races--- a difference of opinion. Persinally, I like a foot that just raises the piese so that it appears to float.

Bruce