My First Hollow Form

[Alan Trout]

I have not been doing much creative turning lately. I have been turning a few pens etc. Just have not had much time. However this last Thursday evening I had a chunk of Mesquite that has been calling to me. I decided to try my first hollow form. Well I should say this is my first successful hollow form because on the first try I was almost done and was turning the tennon off of the piece when I had a little catch and slung it off the chuck onto the floor. It is always amazing I don't have a catch for hours and then at the most inopportune time have a catch. I cut off another chunk and got back to it and had a success on the next try.

I wanted to start this piece between centers but being the center of the wood had checks from the pith I was scared of splitting the piece. I used my little face plate so that is what dictated the size of the hole. Just slightly larger than the screw pattern. The lid was a piece of eucalyptus which was a hole saw blank that was left over from another project but was the right size for the lid. Of course I would preffered not to have a hole through the top but the tennon from the Gaboon Ebony finial filled the hole nicely and does not look to bad.

The finish is Danish Oil with a coat of Carnauba Wax. I wanted a gloss but not a hard gloss. I have never tried this before and I like the results. It was the effect I was looking for. By the way it is about 9" from the bottom of the piece to the top of the finial and about 5" in diameter.

Let me know what ya think.

Thanks,

Alan

[curtis rosche]

i think it looks great for a first, (second), if you want to get technical, i think the finial is a little to tall, and the lid doesnt flow with the sides, but that is only minor stuff. nice finish

[Jim Becker]

Alan, that's a very nice piece....hard to believe it's a first effort!

My two major suggestion would be that the lid would have been made from a different material--the "dark red" coloration just doesn't work for me in combination with the wonderful deep brown of the vessel--and that the vessel taper to a slightly smaller base. I'd have to respectfully disagree with Curtis on the height of the finial...it's fine. It could be slimmer, but that will come with time and comfort turning lighter spindles.

[Alan Trout]

I would have tapered the base smaller. However when you look at the base you can see why I did not. I did not want to risk it coming apart. I was trying to work with the limitations of the material. Also some of the issues could be from my lacking photo skills. Such as the color of the lid. Most people that have seen it in person say they like the color combination. The lighting was not the best so that does effect the color to some extent. Also the photos were taken from above so it does skew the proportions visually to some extent.

I do appreciate the critiques. I am probably more critical of my own stuff than others ever could be. My fine spindle work skills need a bit of refinement. I was also worried about having a very fine/delicate finial having a 4 year old boy in the house delicate does not go real well all the time.

Thanks,

Alan

[Jim Becker]

Ah, I missed looking carefully at the photo of the bottom. Good point and excellent decision...

[Steve Schlumpf]

Very nice hollow form Alan! Nice form, good proportions and a good looking finish! I think you made the most out of the piece of Mesquite that you had to work with. Rich color!

Looking forward to seeing your next hollow form! You are off to a great start!

[robert hainstock]

Doing what you can with what you have Is a good talant to have. You have done a nice job with what you had. :):):)
Bob

[Bernie Weishapl]

Great looking HF for your first. I still probably would have used a lighter wood for the lid. Your finial height is just fine but would have made it a little more delicate. Great job.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Excellent first HF Alan......I don't have enough HFexperience to critique it other than to say it's better than my first HF.

[Jim Kountz]

Well I for one love it and think its an outstanding job well done!