Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998
First Hollow Form
TomW in SouthJersey
>I'm still working on the chuck of spalted maple. This is the first hollow form I've turned. Its 6 inches high by 5 inches wide. The top is walnut. The finish is lots of coats of danish oil followed by 5 coats of paste wax.
I think it should have been narrower at the base but I got nervous about breaking through to the inside. Hollowing is harder than the videos look.
Opinions are very welcomed.
Tom
Re: First Hollow Form - Oops
TomW in SouthJersey
>I guess the picture would help.
Re: First Hollow Form - Oops
Ken DeMarco
>Tom, Nice job, I like it.
Ken DeMarco
Sylvania, OH
Re: First Hollow Form
John Trant (Baltimore/WashDC)
>Nice job. It is better than many of us may have done on our first hollow form. Keep up the good work.
As a suggestion for your next one, think about making the base smaller (about a third of the largest diameter) and make the insert less bulky. Think of the insert as an intergral part of the vessel opposed to an "add on". It should fit with the flow of the lines of the vessel. Keep this present one vessel for comparison to new vessels you will turn with different proportions, then decide what and why you like one over another.
Good luck and explore
John
Re: First Hollow Form
Ruth in So. CAl
>Tom, i looks great! I would hope my first one is even half as impressive. Good inspiration.
Re: First Hollow Form - Oops
TomW in SouthJersey
>Here's a better angle.
Re: First Hollow Form
Jimbo13
>Tom,
Now you've done it - you've set the bar so high on the first attempt that you're going to have a hard time making the next one better ;-)
Good stuff.
Gidday,
Jim
Re: First Hollow Form
Ric Taylor
>I think it looks really nice.
From you comments, it sounds like you did the inside first, then made the outside conform to the shape of the hollow interior. Is that correct? If so, I think most of us do it the other way around.
Ric
Re: First Hollow Form
TomW in SouthJersey
>Thanks for the comments. I did most of the outside first then the inside. I was using a new tool, the Sorby Multi-tool, for the inside and was having trouble judging the thickness toward the bottom. It was after I finished the inside that I decided the base should be narrower. I shaped it down a little at the bottom but didn't want to risk losing the whole thing if I went too deep. I learned quite a bit on this one to apply on the next one.
I've only been turning for a couple months but am already addicted to this.
Tom
Re: First Hollow Form
Mike Schwing from Md.
>Very nice Tom! I think you are doing exactly what you should - learn the techniques without killing yourself over the form. You've already got a good eye for form, and as soon as you get technique down you'll be able to create that form you were shooting for.
I don't mean this to say you shouldn't do the best you are capable of while you're learning something new, but if you insisted your form be perfect at the bottom you might have blown the thing up and been frustrated.
Keep posting!
Nice Job!
Jim K in Trappe PA
>I'm getting ready to give it a try myself. Hope mine turns out half as nice!
Re: First Hollow Form
Craig Daymon
>Very nice job. I have yet to create something quite that nice.
One comment about the finishing though, and I may be wrong so I'll take corrections from the gallery on this, but 5 coats of paste wax is wasted effort. One good coat should be sufficient. You don't build multiple layers with wax like the danish oil. Of course, after it gets handled/inspected by all your friends, you might consider another coat (to replace what has been rubbed off or just to buff it up again) but I'd be putting more danish oil layers on if you want more protection and a deeper finish. Even after 5 coats of wax, you really only have one layer and if it really was 5 layers thick you probably wouldn't be that happy (think waxy build-up from the Pledge commercials).
Sorry, probably didn't need that much explanation.
-Craig
P.S. I turned a small curly maple bowl and finished with a few coats of Waterlox. Took it into work to show my boss (he's a much more serious turner than I am) and he took it home and used his Beall buffing system on it. Came back looking great. I think that mostly amounts to high speed waxing to get a good shine, maybe preceeded with a little rouge polishing of the Waterlox.
Re: First Hollow Form
TomW in SouthJersey
>Craig - Thanks for the info. I wasn't sure whether adding coats would help build a luster or deeper looking finish to it. I'll save some time on the next one.
Thanks again,
Tom
