Sphere projects photos

[Robert Hayward]

Yes they’re steel. I pretty much quit messing with steel. Did it most of my life.

You are a very skilled craftsman. Your different projects are very appealing to my eyes. What type of steel work did you do? Art, craft, red iron or what?

[Lawrence Duckworth]

Robert, glad my stuff's ez on the eyes. I've got a pretty simple approach to art, "enjoy the process and try to be creative."

In this photo is what's called a "drop". It's simply a term used to describe what's left after cutting a beam to length. This is as big a piece I ever worked with, the drop weighed about 360lbz. Btw I posted most of this stuff on the AAW forum, I've been having a hard time logging onto that forum so...here I am.

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[John K Jordan]

I have a big piece of thin stainless steel sheet I'll bet you could use!
I keep thinking about cutting it up into something but inspiration hasn't yet hit me. I do have a plasma cutter. I might just start cutting and see what happens.

As for simple, I'll bet you would enjoy some things my artist/potter friend has done. The latest is getting big "Y" shaped pieces from trees, cut and turn them upside down so the "Y" suggests legs, then stand them up and let them weather. He is working on a row of these "giants" marching down the end of his field!

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I had to take down a big cherry behind my shop and cut a few more Ys for him. I lifted this one with the excavator to see what it would look like and to see where it needed trimmed.

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We have another one with a three-way split, grew bent so it looks like a huge chicken foot and leg. Good clean fun!

JKJ

[Robert Hayward]

How about this taken out of the side of an old downed sycamore log. Not too far from you John, Cookeville, Tennessee. I have been going to do something with this for years. To stay on thread topic, maybe make spheres for the eyeball sockets.

[Lawrence Duckworth]

Wow! That's so cool. I like the idea of a sphere too Robert, maybe one setting on top of each one of the "Marching Giants"....Looks like fun......donno why but this kinda reminds me of those cars stuck in the ground out west near Amarillo

[Maria Alvarado]

I really enjoyed reading the sphere series. I have used the octagon method before, (I think from a write-up by David Reed Smith). I need to try between cup centers. I'm adding a couple pix of partial spheres I turned last year as bottle stoppers using the octagon to begin with. They didn't get the 3rd axis, so they aren't perfect, but they were fun. Feeling inspired to try some real spheres!
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[Robert Hayward]

I really enjoyed reading the sphere series. I have used the octagon method before, (I think from a write-up by David Reed Smith). I need to try between cup centers. I'm adding a couple pix of partial spheres I turned last year as bottle stoppers using the octagon to begin with. They didn't get the 3rd axis, so they aren't perfect, but they were fun. Feeling inspired to try some real spheres!

Those are nice Maria. Did you cast the resin? Or buy them ready to turn?

Grab a chunk of junk wood and have a go at turning a full Sphere. Even a construction grade 4X4 from the home center makes a good practice wood. Who knows, it might have some interesting "character" in the grain and end up a nice piece.

[Maria Alvarado]

Thanks Robert. Yes I did the casting. Turning resin is more scraping than cutting, otherwise you get chip out. I have a ton of nice scrap yearning to be round. Think I have my weekend sorted!

[Dave Mount]

Lots of cool stuff showing up in this thread, making me feel pretty boring for staying inside the confines of straight up spheres.

Maria, did you cast those and if so, did you use a pressure pot? I've done lots of epoxy fills of smaller voids, but not bigger fills like those, and generally not transparent fills. I've been a little put off by the cost of pressure pots, but unclear on how important having one is to getting resin casts that don't look like snow globes of air pockets.

Best,

Dave

[John K Jordan]

... Not too far from you John, Cookeville, Tennessee. I have been going to do something with this for years. ...

Interesting chunk of wood!

Cookeville? You must know our good friend John Lucas.

[Maria Alvarado]

Hi Dave, yes I cast the blanks using a pressure pot. I did the Harbor Freight paint pressure pot conversion so it cost around 100 if you already have the air compressor. Definitely worth it.

[Lawrence Duckworth]

Lots of cool stuff showing up in this thread, making me feel pretty boring for staying inside the confines of straight up spheres.


Dave

I'm still trying to fig'r if'n a sphere is 3 dimensional or 2....

[Robert Hayward]

Interesting chunk of wood!

Cookeville? You must know our good friend John Lucas.

No I do not. I worked in Cookeville on a job for about six months.

[Robert Hayward]

I've been a little put off by the cost of pressure pots, but unclear on how important having one is to getting resin casts that don't look like snow globes of air pockets.

Bone dry wood and a pressure pot are almost imperative to avoid air bubbles. I have this one. https://www.woodcraft.com/products/p...RoCwDwQAvD_BwE

I was on the fence about buying one also because of the cost. Then my local Woodcraft had a special on a limited number of them for I think it was $169.00.

[Robert Hayward]

I'm still trying to fig'r if'n a sphere is 3 dimensional or 2....

Do not recall ever thinking about it. For that matter caring either. Your statement made me do a search and I came up with this:

A sphere (from Greek σφαῖρα—sphaira, "globe, ball") is a geometrical object in three-dimensional space that is the surface of a ball (viz., analogous to the circular objects in two dimensions, where a "circle" circumscribes its "disk").