Thread: It is not a pen, but this is what I did this weekend

I love the way that bloodwood polished up!

Quite a project! Impressive visually alone but the skill to make something like that which is so involved with all the different woods is bloody impressive too!

My first wood turning project was a honey dipper / honey spoon depending on who you ask although the former looks right to me. Came out well to my surprise. Will eventually do it again with some decent wood rather than that closet rod.

It was a lot of fun to do and lead me to the pen turning stuff with the kits Genny gave me about 10 years back. Which lead to the slimline starter kit from PSI and who knows where it will lead to next )? Noticed today that I had done 6 out of the 10 kits that were in the PSI starter kit, wow, that sure is a dent in it, got to get some orders in for MORE or something )!

Lots or really nice and creative things that can be done, to be sure!

Would like to try something else Scroll but time limits me, lovely piece of turned woods, like it, Amos

Cisco,
Thank you. I have had that thin piece of bloodwood laying around for years. I was really surprised at how it polished up.

Vikki,
It was a lot of fun to turn something different. It was my first attempt at doing anything like that. I guess the biggest lesson I learned was patience is necessary (I am in trouble). I would love to say that there was skill involved on my part with this vase. If you had seen me turn it, you would have been laughing for days, but thank you for the compliment. As for the wood selection, it was more of "what wood do I have handy". I got lucky lol.

Amos,
I know what you mean. That took way more time than I anticipated, but it was a nice change of pace, plus it made my wife smile, so that made it all worthwhile.

Cheers,

Rick

Rick

I like your vase and if the judge saw it at the competition that I enter each year it would definately win a prize. Paul sells his work to galleries in Australia and America and taught me that with a vase that the stem and base of a vase should be a 1/3 of the overall height of the vase. Eg a 9" vase would have a 3" stem and base. I have followed this and it does produce a nice look to a vase. These 2 vases will show you what I mean.
Darren

G'day Darren,
Thank you, I really appreciate the compliment. I have sooooo much to learn. I was so taken with the pictures from PenPal, that I just had to give one a try.
Also, thanks for the dimensions. Your vases are beautiful. How do you do the flute? In particular, how do you chuck up the wood? My biggest problem was wobble, followed by breakage, then profuse grumbling.

Cheers,

Rick

Like the way you hopped into it and had a go,the base can stand a reverse thrust for balance with a slender stem and yes the top balance is needed but I can not fault the finish itself and love that timber,have a long look at the section pic of the skeleton vase before turning,the components can be stack glued using soft dowelling,it also helps the drilled throat,some people insert a glass sleeve but a dry flower looks tops as well.Good on you.Peter Nice to say hello today regards to the family.

Rick

The vases the Peter showed are truely magnificent, if that was me trying to construct them I would have pieces stuck to my fingers then I would hit my head in exasperation and have pieces stuck there as well. Fiddly things and patience are things that do go well with me. Maybe some meditation before I try that.

As for my vases I turn the cylinder between centres first and then cut a dovetail and then set up my Vicmarc chuck and that allows me to work on the throat and the lead in to the vase. I shape the top 2/3 of the outer shape of the vase leaving the section for the stem and base as a solid cylinder, that gives you support for drilling a nd shaping the throat of the vase. I select a drill that is smaller than the outside diameter of vase's neck and drill to desired depth.

I tend to use bowl gouges instead of spindle gouges now and for the the vases shown I used around a 6mm bowl gouge to cut the lead from the edge of the rim into the throat. You can get the white foam balls from a craft shop in different sizes, I put one of theses on the end of the vase and gently bring up the tail stock to just support the vase between centres again.

I then shape the bottom part of the bowl of the vase. This is where I fine tune the flow from the bowl into the stem so it has a smooth curve. I still have not turned the stem or the base. When I am happy with the shape I achieved, I sand and finish the outer 2/3 of the vase and the throat, I use either Shellawax or Organoil depending on my mood and the type of finish I want.

I then turn the stem finishing as I go and with the foam ball and gentle pressure from the tail stock it should eliminate any wobble due to the thin stem. Turn and finish the base support the vase in one hand an part it away from the waste until you have about a 5mm spiggot an cut off with a fine saw. If you part all the way through it can tear out at times this way you just sand off the bit that is left and then buff the base with a buffing wheel.

Sorry for the length but that is what I do most times for my vases, I am looking at a diferent way to finishing th base while stii on the lathe and it still scares the out of me at the moment. Just got to trust myself. I hope this is of help Rick.
Cheers
Darren

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I rather like it just the way it is. The form isn't the best in the world, but it does show off the timbers very, very nicely. Nice finish, too!

With the wide base like that, it's perfect to slip a test-tube inside and use as a bud vase. I find that the ones on stems tend to be a bit 'tippy' because the centre-of-gravity is moved so much higher. They look nice, but...

Sorry Skew but I'd have to question your response. The only time you would have a vase similar to my design to be a bit 'tippy' would be if one, it was out of proportion to the 1/3 : 2/3 design ratio and the neck was too long, two, if the base was not under cut properly and it does not sit properly and three, if the base was turned smaller than the diameter of the bowl of the vase. The centre of gravity is a third off the table at the bottom of the main bowl of the vase and it would take a strong wind to knock it over or if someone did it deliberately. They have nice form and when made properly there are no buts.
Darren

Peter,
When I compare mine to the ones in your pics, I hate to admit that it was because of his glue up in the pic that made me think I could attempt it. I hate to admit it because in comparison, mine looks like a toddler's crayon drawing in as compared to a Michealangelo painting lol. I shall not give up though.

Darren,
I really appreciate your walk-through. I tried another one last night using the wood I salvaged a couple of weeks ago, and tried to apply your dimensions. When I first read the walk-through, I didn't fully understand the foam ball thing. It wasn't until I was finished with it last night that I got it....duh! I am still not happy with my design, but I am hoping that will come in time.

Cheers,

Rick

Originally Posted by bdar

Sorry Skew but I'd have to question your response. The only time you would have a vase similar to my design to be a bit 'tippy' would be if one, [...]

I'll quibble with that... if the stem is 1/3rd the height, then the bulk of the material is in the top two thirds. There's no way that the centre of gravity will be only 1/3rd up, it'd be breaking the laws of physics, especially if the mass of a glass tube and/or water is being added to the top section.

Still, that wasn't my point, I'll quite happily agree that by themselves they'd be stable and they do look prettier. But... these are bud-vases! I don't know about the people you sell them to, but I know that the people who have mine are using them as bud-vases. This means a long stem, with a flower on top. Flowers might not weigh much, but with a slight breeze catching the flower (which is often of large surface area) and a long stem, there's a lot of leverage. And bud-vases are typically long and skinny, which means a small footprint for the height.

I've found it best to have as low a COG as possible... the "ideal" is no stem, a heavy base (I'd fill it woth lead if I could ) etc. Which may not be the most aesthetically pleasing to look at, but I'm talking about the engineering, not the art and I don't enjoy hearing complaints about 'em blowing off the mantelpiece.

"Different horses for different courses," I guess. It's what makes these forums interesting!