# 2 Hollow Forms W/finials



## Treecycle Hardwoods (Sep 4, 2014)

Recently I had posted a few questions about HF proportions and finials. I put all the advice and help I to 3 HF. 2 of them are pictured here. The 3rd needs to be photographed yet.

The yellow one is 6" in diameter and stands 9+ tall with the finial. It was turned from a piece of big leaf maple burl. Zircote was used for the finial.

The purple one is figured hard maple 5.5" in diameter and stands 9" tall. Zircote was used for this finial also.

I was thinking back on how many hf and finials I have made thus far..... if memory serves me right these 2 are my 7 & 8th HF and 4 & 5th finials. I am still working up the skill set to get the super long & skinny finials. My previous attempts were only 3" or so long.

Any C & C welcome. The photos were giving me fits. If I think of it I will get some in the sunlight in the morning.

Reactions: Like 4 | EyeCandy! 8


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## SENC (Sep 4, 2014)

Nice, Greg! The yellow one, both HF and finial, is my favorite!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 2


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## Tclem (Sep 4, 2014)

Everything looks good except the table saw is to clean

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 1


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## ironman123 (Sep 5, 2014)

Looking good. Really like the yellow one and it's finial.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Sprung (Sep 5, 2014)

Very nice pieces, Greg! I gotta agree with Henry - the yellow one and its finial steal the show for me!



Tclem said:


> Everything looks good except the table saw is to clean



Some people, you know, actually use their table saws as something other than another flat surface to store things on!

Reactions: Funny 2 | Informative 1 | Creative 1


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## DKMD (Sep 5, 2014)

Nice work! I love the colors, and I think the ziricote matches well.

A couple of things came to mind... 

Have you ever considered using a collar on the forms? It will allow you to use smaller stock for your finials and save on the more expensive large stock. 

For my tastes, the finials are a bit large(height and width). But that's the thing with finials... It's purely a matter of taste. FWIW, on shorter forms, I usually start with a finial that's around 2/3 of the diameter of the piece(ie. 6" diameter form gets something around 4" tall). It's not a hard and fast rule, but it gets me in the neighborhood usually. Scott Hackler is a friend of mine who makes much taller finials, and his stuff is awesome... Rules are meant to be broken.

On a future piece, try blending the upper curve of the form into the base of the finial... Hollowforms are sexy decorative pieces, so I try to make sure all the elements flow without any one place stopping my eye.

For finial details, I fall back on the rule of thirds... I try to make the widest part of the finial about 1/3 up from the bottom and the narrowest part about 1/3 down from the tip. Keith Burns is a friend who makes killer finials following none of what I just wrote... There just aren't any rules with finials, so I'm just giving you some stuff to think about.

You're doing a great job with hollowforms and finials... Just keep turning!

Reactions: Agree 1


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## TimR (Sep 5, 2014)

The yellow is my favorite for sure. Doc gave pretty much same thoughts I had on the finials and while there are no hard rules, the longer ones will be harder to pull off without issues. Just more places where you have to pay attention to not introducing flat areas and such. I'm thinking these finials would make killer stems for goblet or elevated cups about the diam of your hfs .
Finials, when I do them, I like to draw them out best I can, and will typically start at either 1/3 taller or shorter than my hf. Still, sometimes deviate or pitch altogether.


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## Treecycle Hardwoods (Sep 9, 2014)

DKMD said:


> Nice work! I love the colors, and I think the ziricote matches well.
> 
> A couple of things came to mind...
> 
> ...


Finally catching up on this thread. I have considered doing a collar but haven't attempted one yet. I was nominated to do a demo for our turning club on dying after I shared these at the meeting last night. I will be doing 3-5 new pieces by the first of the year in prep for the demo. I will be sure to incorporate what I have learned into the next batch.

Reactions: Like 1


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## barry richardson (Sep 10, 2014)

Those are very nice and some very pretty wood, but the finials are too big for my taste. Something that helps me is I have a box of finials, some are rejects, and some are just "fooling around with ideas" pieces. When I have a hollow form, I often pull out the box and try the different finials to see what works. It helps a lot, and sometimes I adapt one of the finials to actually use on the piece. Plus, it's good practice to just make a bunch of finials, all different kinds. As Doc said, collars are a great accent, and you can get away with a bigger opening for hollowing, then reduce the size with the collar if you choose... I'm enjoying seeing your turning skills evolve.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## woodintyuuu (Sep 10, 2014)

greg without stepping on any of the previous posts here are a cupla thoughts. good on ya for starting, I think it took me about the first 500 hollow forms to start understanding proportions that make me happy not others , then you begin to develop a mature voice, that good hollow forms all have - ya can see it right away.
back in the old days when adornment was in its toddler stage the emphasis changed from form to adornment. Like dyeing, texturing carving, all things i also do,
but when you begin the form is the most important and ya cant fudge that! Plz in this beginning stage do NOT make trophys, it will only stifle your voice and learning tool control, this will all come in due time, excelent start greg. When we met at the milwaukee museum, (which i enjoyed by the way) I hoped you saw in my work a distinct continuity even though the pcs were from various woods and shapes, that was not by accident. as for finials there is a fellow in atlanta by the name of mark sillay that ya prob never heard of that in my opinion makes some pretty tidy finials with no sanding whatsoever, in fact at demos he makes finials out of a 2by 4 pine that require no sanding and will blow your mind, but alas all teqnique and no creativity, thats always the dilemma. again greg , do alot of um then worry about whether its right or not. Just because someone told you its good or bad, they aint always right my man. keep makin um and you will get there
thanks for letting me share cl PS HAVE FUN < HAVE MORE FUN and then some

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## manbuckwal (Sep 10, 2014)

Awesome pieces Greg ! If they were easy, we'd all be doing em

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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