# Commissioned Hollow Form



## MikeMD (Aug 11, 2014)

Giving credit where credit is due, this thread starts with me thanking Tony De Masi ( my mentor) thanks. At the Spring Sugarloaf (Maryland) show that Tony, Peter Elliott , and I did, a group of my in-law's friends came by the booth. One of the couples was looking for a wedding gift and bought one of my bowls. Another couple was looking for a wedding gift, as well. They found a HF that Tony had done and fell in love with it. But when they realized it wasn't one of mine, they put it down. I told them to buy that one, but they really wanted something that I had made. Since I didn't have many (maybe even none!) HFs at that show, they asked if I could recreate what Tony had done. I said I could get as close as possible. But if they loved that one, they should buy it! Nope, they wouldn't. So, I was commissioned to turn a HF like Tony had done. Honestly, though I am proud of the one I turned, I think I like Tony's better. 

Anyway, I roughed it out almost immediately. And I put it in the DNA bath. I was planning on giving it the requisite one month dry time, but life got in the way, and it got a good 3 months to dry.




Finally put it back on the lathe and re-turned the outside, and since I just don't hollow that much, waited for Tony to come over to walk me though using and setting up the Monster rig again. BTW, he walked me though the set up and basics for the initial hollowing, too. One of those things that if you don't do it often, you forget which cutter, and all the small details of what to do...and more importantly, what not to do. While I did all the hollowing, Tony was right there watching over me so that I didn't do anything stupid (or at least more stupid than normal).

I had finish cut the outside with my skew, using it as a scraper, and that was awfully smooth. I actually started sanding with 240 grit. That doesn't happen often for me! Sharp tool and light cuts...maybe I'm on to something here.



Once all sanded down to 600 grit, I burned my usual (name and wood), and I added the wedding couple's names and the wedding date. Then I proceeded with 10 coats of WTF (sanding after every 3 coats). Last coat got no sanding. Then, buffed and Renwaxed. 

This is not my usual HF shape, but it is more like what Tony had done, and that is what they seemed to like. Funny comment the husband made about Tony's HF. He said, "Yeah, well of course I like that one...I like 'em short and squat with a nicely rounded bottom."



That, of course got his wife's attention! Luckily for him, he added that last part.





Oh, measurements are 6 1/4" wide x 5" tall with 3/16-1/4" walls. 5th pic shows the profile the best.

I love C&C. So, gimme what you've got. Like it, love it, hate it...I can handle it, and want to hear it. But be sure to tell me why! I don't grow as a turner without hearing honesty and the why behind how you feel.

Reactions: Like 5 | EyeCandy! 14


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## Mike1950 (Aug 11, 2014)

Not a turner but that is a Beautiful chunk of wood and use of it!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## davduckman2010 (Aug 11, 2014)

georgous enough said

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Schroedc (Aug 11, 2014)

My only thought is it says to me that it could use a display stand or a base of some sort but I haven't done enough hollow forms yet to really be sure (So far a lot of mine end up as bowls, Maybe the laser on the hollowing rig that came with my lathe will help) but that piece is well balanced and the curves flow perfectly. and show off that gorgeous timber! Well done!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Great Post 1


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## Kevin (Aug 11, 2014)

Sweet. I would fill it with cinnamon and the shavings and call it a potpourri dish.

Reactions: Creative 1


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## Tclem (Aug 11, 2014)

I don't like it......only cause I can't do that. Lol. Awesome

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 2


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## Nature Man (Aug 11, 2014)

Once again, museum-level quality! Immaculate piece! Chuck

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## SENC (Aug 11, 2014)

A mesmerizing piece of wood with an equally outstanding shape - and the finish is spectacular. There really isn't much of anything not to like or to critique about it. If I had to come up with something, it would be that the opening seems a bit small proportionally to the piece - but that is more a taste thing than it is real critique. Well done. They will be ecstatic.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## barry richardson (Aug 11, 2014)

Mike, the wood and finish is superb. I'm going to have to give that WTF a try sometime. My only comment as an armchair quarterback is I would have made it a bit lighter in the bottom, looks a bit squat to me. I nibbled away a bit as you can see in the picture to give you an idea of what I'm talking about... but then, what do I know, I rarely go with convention myself...

Reactions: Agree 1 | Informative 1


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## NYWoodturner (Aug 11, 2014)

If it's the shape the customer wanted then it's spot on! If it was me turning it I would have gone smaller at the base as Barry suggested. The finish is superb and screams quality. I would have also turned a lip up at the edge of the opening but thats just a personal flavor. Its a very well executed piece. No surprise there!

Reactions: Like 1


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## Sprung (Aug 11, 2014)

Fantastic piece Mike! Shows off that piece of wood very well. Flawless finish too!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## SENC (Aug 11, 2014)

Something has been bugging me about this HF since I first saw it. In hindsight, I think the sheer beauty of it threw me off. But you used a model, didn't you?

Reactions: Agree 1 | Funny 8


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## JR Parks (Aug 11, 2014)

Mike,
I know you hate folks that just say it's perfect or awesome. Tough it is and that's it. And if I could pick it up it look like it might remind me of a ... feather. I have not used the WTF but it seems to be a great finish. Very nice Mike.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## MikeMD (Aug 12, 2014)

Kevin said:


> Sweet. I would fill it with cinnamon and the shavings and call it a potpourri dish.



At shows, one of the most common questions about HF's is "what do you do with them?" Your answer is one of my staple answers. Though no one, yet, has said, "What a great idea...I'll take one!" oddly enough...



SENC said:


> A mesmerizing piece of wood with an equally outstanding shape - and the finish is spectacular. There really isn't much of anything not to like or to critique about it. If I had to come up with something, it would be that the opening seems a bit small proportionally to the piece - but that is more a taste thing than it is real critique. Well done. They will be ecstatic.



Hehe, yeah, mesmerizing piece of wood. That's my MO...use good wood, and people will look past the mistakes! As for the opening, that's pretty funny. Turners usually like the opening to be as small as possible (to show the skill level of their hollowing). Customers don't seem to care or be impressed. This was just about as small as I could make the opening with my hollower. I was actually thinking of putting a collar in the opening because I thought it looked a little big. But the customers didn't see a collar in the piece that Tony had, so I was reluctant to do it.



barry richardson said:


> Mike, the wood and finish is superb. I'm going to have to give that WTF a try sometime. My only comment as an armchair quarterback is I would have made it a bit lighter in the bottom, looks a bit squat to me. I nibbled away a bit as you can see in the picture to give you an idea of what I'm talking about... but then, what do I know, I rarely go with convention myself...
> View attachment 57397



WTF gives a great shiny finish. There are tricks, like use a cotton cloth (small swatch), apply very thin coats (but make sure you aren't getting streaks), sand down uneven streaks/lap marks after every three coats, make sure you buff out any lap marks that you did get. As for the heavy bottom, I was torn. First of all, the husband liked a fuller bottom. However, the original HF they say was more...pointy...at the shoulder (both from the opening and from the foot) than mine. So, the bottom did look more like your edited pic. The problem is that my eye sees the curve my eye sees. I simply couldn't do the curve that Tony did...not without the piece sitting right there in front of me. So, this is what they got!



NYWoodturner said:


> If it's the shape the customer wanted then it's spot on! If it was me turning it I would have gone smaller at the base as Barry suggested. The finish is superb and screams quality. I would have also turned a lip up at the edge of the opening but thats just a personal flavor. Its a very well executed piece. No surprise there!



As I just said above, what they asked for was what Tony had done. And without it right in front of me, the best I could muster was to know the dimensions, and go from there. This piece ended up a bit fuller than what Tony turned. But that is what my eye saw with those dimensions...



JR Parks said:


> Mike,
> I know you hate folks that just say it's perfect or awesome. Tough it is and that's it. And if I could pick it up it look like it might remind me of a ... feather. I have not used the WTF but it seems to be a great finish. Very nice Mike.



Actually, comments were perfect. I just don't like "great job" and that's all that is said. It is a nice compliment, but it isn't informative. Ya'll were great about saying what you liked or didn't like, so thank you all. Yes, give WTF a try. Best on smaller type turnings. Works great on pens, too! Read my post above about WTF tips.


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## duncsuss (Aug 12, 2014)

I've never made a hollowform or held one to inspect closely, so my comment is more of a question ...

When I make a bowl, I like to put a small foot under it simply to elevate the entire thing off the surface it stands on. To me, it makes a subtle but important change to the way it looks -- separates it, so to speak, from its pedestal.

Have you tried this with hollowforms? Does it make any difference? If you still have the piece, and the inclination, could you recreate one of your photos with the form standing on a small disc to see if it alters the appearance? (I usually aim for between 1/8" and 1/4" lift -- a checkers piece, for example, or a couple of fender washers.)

It's a beautiful piece, as the other folks have said, thanks for sharing and for detailing how you apply the WTF.


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## MikeMD (Aug 12, 2014)

Hey, Duncan. Funny you should ask this question as it is a long drawn out subject among HF turners. Not exactly with respects to a "foot" or "pedestal", but about lift. The discussion revolves around the "tuck". If the walls of your HF continue straight into the table, many say that distracts the eye. So, the solution (or so it has been said) is to "tuck" that last little bit under...or round it off. That gives the illusion of lift and separation from the table. Keller is a big advocate of the tuck.

I sometimes do tuck. But have never tried a foot/pedestal on a HF. Sorry, it left yesterday. So, no I can't add anything underneath and take another pic. Maybe on my next one.

Reactions: Agree 1


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## duncsuss (Aug 12, 2014)

I didn't peg Keller for a cosmetic surgeon -- does he advocate for nip as well as tuck? 

Somewhat tangentially, but kind of related: back when typesetting was making the transition from hot metal to "cold type" (or phototypesetting, as folks who weren't compositors usually called it), one of the big companies in the game was Compugraphic. They found their typefaces looked kind of blurry at the corners after printing. Their answer was to take a tiny nip out of the letterform at inside corners (e.g. the inside of L). They also added tiny spikes (like serifs but much smaller) on the outside corners.

It made sans serif typefaces like Helvetica look much cleaner -- kind of like adding a tuck (or even a square-edged rabbet) makes the vertical-to-horizontal change look more distinct.

Reactions: Like 1 | Informative 1


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## David Seaba (Aug 12, 2014)

I love the wood. You really made it pop. I think it would like great with an ebony lid and final too. I think you did a terrific job!! You diffently will have your customers showing that beautiful piece of art off. To everyone that they meet. I hope to be able to make hollow forms that good someday.
David

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## shadetree_1 (Aug 12, 2014)

Wow! I can't do anything like that so I can't do anything but say, you nailed my friend, I think it is beautiful!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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