1st finished hollow form

[Jerry Bailey]

so after not touching any turning tools in over 12 years,
getting used to the larger gouges, etc. , and my new lathe .........

bowl is Rainbow Poplar, 7" diameter, 3 1/4" tall, 3/16" wall

is simple, but was concerned more with finishing and getting form correct, than going extreme with design,
that will come in the future with more experience and practice........

anyhow, comments and criticism welcomed.

 

[Bill Boehme]

Welcome to the forum and back to the turning vortex.

The finish is nice and smooth -- no sanding marks and no grain tear out in the surface. I like the nice satin look of the finish. I think that it complements the shape well. The one thing that I see as an area for improvement is something that is always a challenge to woodturners -- getting a smooth continuous unbroken curve from top to bottom. I can see a couple slight interruptions in the curvature. Sometimes they can't be seen until a finish is applied, but the best way to check the curvature for inflection points is with your fingers -- they can tell you things that your eyes can't see.

Often times a hollow form will have a gentle slow curvature at one end and a more pronounced curvature at the other. The trick is to gradually transition from one to the other in a manner that you do not see any discontinuities in that smooth transition.

 

[Jerry Bailey]

Thanks for looking/commenting Bill
I agree, the curvature is a tad off, especially had issues doing the inside
was going to leave a small (1/4" - 1/2" ) flat section in middle for transition but felt that to be "cheating" and not truly aesthetic to the form
Still trying to get used to the tooling, and at what speeds to turn different things
hopefully ya'll will see definite improvement in future projects

 

[odie]

Jerry......

You definitely tackled a difficult shape! Anything with inward slanting walls like that, is much more difficult to do. Getting a clean cut up inside the rim is probably why most turners will stay away from this shape.

I'm not sure you could call it a hollow form. It's a very nice pleasing shape for a bowl, nonetheless.

If I'm understanding your explanation and seeing correctly, that flat spot on the side could be worked to great advantage. As it is, the corners appear to be rounded over.......this is what doesn't come off as well as it could. In my opinion, if you were to make the transition as a corner between intersecting edges, it would appear to be more purposefully done, and the visual effect would be more pleasing.

Nice looking bowl......

ooc

 

[Bill Boehme]

.... If I'm understanding your explanation and seeing correctly, that flat spot on the side could be worked to great advantage. As it is, the corners appear to be rounded over.......this is what doesn't come off as well as it could. In my opinion, if you were to make the transition as a corner between intersecting edges, it would appear to be more purposefully done, and the visual effect would be more pleasing.

That is a very good way of explaining it, Odie. Things that can be seen need to look like they were done intentionally and not leave someone wondering.

 

[Syd Sellers]

Jerry, well done....I like it. Tell us about your finish of choice on this one....

 

[Jerry Bailey]

Thanks for the replies guys, and the advice, will definitely incorporate into future projects
leave it to me to try one of the harder vessel shapes 1st go round LOL
and I thought any vessel that was hollowed out was called a hollow form, in future will call a bowl, a bowl

I got the interior fairly even and smooth, which surprised me that it came out better (and easier) than the outside,
there's just 1 spot not quite right with the contour at very inside top, but was afraid of going thru the wall .........

Syd, from what I understand, is just a basic finish,
sanded 80g thru 600g using the Abranet screens (I Love these!),
laid on a decent coat of Odies Oil for penetration, waited for it to dry,
then used the Beall bowl finishing buffs with the brown wax, then white diamond, and finally last coat with the Carnuba.
Almost as much time buffing as there was sanding LOL.

Trying to work out a system as I want most of my things to have food safe finishes.

This definitely isn't like cabinetmaking, spraying on a couple coats sealer, sand, and then a couple coats lacquer ;-)
but, I'm already hooked

 

[Bill Boehme]

Regarding the shape and what to call it, there aren't any rigid definitions. Often intended use takes precedence over physical characterisics. The shape resembles a calabash bowl somewhat, but if it is intended to hold a flower arrangement then it could be called a vase. A hollow form is often taller than wide, but hardly anything resembling a definition. Also, a hollow form might have a small opening at the top or could be wide open.

 

[odie]

Regarding the shape and what to call it, there aren't any rigid definitions. Often intended use takes precedence over physical characterisics. The shape resembles a calabash bowl somewhat, but if it is intended to hold a flower arrangement then it could be called a vase. A hollow form is often taller than wide, but hardly anything resembling a definition. Also, a hollow form might have a small opening at the top or could be wide open.

Jerry......

Ya.......I think Bill is correct. You can call it a hollow form. It's entirely up to you, because there doesn't seem to be any definitions carved in stone for many of the shapes.

When I mentioned that I wasn't sure you could call it a hollow form, I was only considering what I would call it.......guess I should have made that distinction, because darn near everything I think isn't agreeable to everyone else on this forum. Like I continually have to say, "there is no right and wrong on here, only opinions!

I have never made a hollow form because it isn't what I'm interested in........and my own personal definition of a hollow form would be a shape with a very small opening.....sort of like what Ellsworth has made famous for a shape.

Here's a few of mine with inward turned walls that I've always thought of as bowls. If you take a look at the second one, Desert Ironwood, you'll see an example of a flat surface on the exterior with corners at the edges. This is what I was trying to describe with my comment on how to deal with the flat surface on the exterior of your bowl.........

ooc

 

[Bill Boehme]

I really like the clean design of the desert ironwood piece.

BTW, I have made some turnings that I called platters that I donated to our club's Christmas auction to raise money to pay for operating expenses. The buyers called them bowls. If they help the club by buying it then I am happy and they can call it a hollow form if they wish. I will nod in agreement that it is a hollow form.

 

[Jerry Bailey]

cheers guys
I've previously looked at all yall's albums and almost didn't post mine as it doesn't come close to comparing
but how else could you point me in right direction if you didn't see what it looked like ..........

Odie, I understood completely, and I almost did the same as you did with the ironwood (love the bowl BTW) ,
but instead of turning the "lines/grooves", I was going to burnish them with a wire
then something told me to just make it a roundish/oval shape
I also love the grain/pattern of the #4 Spalted Hackberry, very beautiful wood (and bowl)

and guys, don't worry about getting harsh with criticism, I have thick skin, especially when I'm asking for it
and I'll be asking a ton in the future, if I'm gonna do it, might as well do it right!
When I built cabinets/furniture I had extremely high quality standards (was known as a prima donna LOL)
and I expect to keep those standards when trying to do turnings, so pick away