# Turning A Ribbon Finial



## WoodLove (Jun 18, 2014)

recently I posted this picture of a red eucalyptus hollowform that was sporting a ribbon finial. I saw a picture of one a very long time ago and stored the image in the back of my mind. I did not know how they made it so I sat down a couple of weeks ago and thought it through as to how I would make one. On my third attempt I was successful, although I would have had it done the first time if I would have handles the piece gently. I have been given so much information from so many experienced woodturners here on WB that I wanted to reciprocate accordingly. Please note that I have been tuning for less than 2 years with no prior woodworking experience so if you know of an easier or better way to do this feel free to make changes. C & C are always welcomed and appreciated. I would love to see pics of your finished pieces. Thanks.

I start with a 1.5 x 1.5 x 5-6 inch spindle. I center the spindle in the chuck and tighten it down.





A 3/4 inch forstner bit is used to drill out the center of the spindle, creating the center of the ribbon. (OPTIONAL- At this point change out the drill bit from a 3/4 inch forstner bit to a 1/4 inch drill bit and drill a 1/4 inch deep hole in the bottom to accept a standard finial.)





Change out the drill chuck to a live center and bring it up to the workpiece. Take a measurement of the depth of the 3/4 inch hole, and turn down the spindle close to the desired final thickness.





Mark the outside of the spindle with the measurement indicating the bottom of the hole. Shape the base of the finial and then turn down the spindle to the final thickness, and finish sand the surface.

Apply masking tape in a spiral along the hollowed spindle and cut the workpiece along both edges of the tape. I prefer to use a Bear Tooth saw, however, a Dremel with a cutoff wheel can do the same job. When you reach the bottom of the finial perpendicular to the tape.





Remove (carefully) the cut-off portion of the tube, remove the tape, and then tidy up the ribbon and base with sandpaper/dremel.





Turn down the base of the finial to your final size and part it off of the chuck.






(OPTIONAL- Should you desire to insert a finial into the center of the ribbon, turn the finial down so it fits inside the ribbon. Turn the post (portion of the finial glued into the ribbon finial) HINT- To ensure the center finial fits properly into the 1/4 inch hole previously drilled, use a 1/4 inch open end wrench, grind down the shoulder on one side to create a sharp edge, and use the wrench as a chisel to make the post the proper size (see included pic)

Reactions: Like 2 | Thank You! 3 | Way Cool 7 | Informative 4 | Useful 1


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## Tclem (Jun 18, 2014)

Cool I wonder how many blanks I'm going to mess up trying this

Reactions: Like 1 | Agree 1 | Funny 2


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## WoodLove (Jun 18, 2014)

Tclem said:


> Cool I wonder how many blanks I'm going to mess up trying this


 just take your time with it and you will probably do it your first attempt......... you can always leave it a little thicker than I did....... I turned mine to about 1/16 thich...... my next one im hoping to take down to about 1/32 and then go over the top with it....... by piercing the ribbon so its like lace......


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## barry richardson (Jun 18, 2014)

Thanks for posting Jamie, gonna give it a try some day... cool tip about the wrench/chisel trick too. In the last pic you have a ball shape at the bottom, did you carve that? BTW silky oak turns pretty nice doesn't it?


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## WoodLove (Jun 18, 2014)

barry richardson said:


> Thanks for posting Jamie, gonna give it a try some day... cool tip about the wrench/chisel trick too. In the last pic you have a ball shape at the bottom, did you carve that? BTW silky oak turns pretty nice doesn't it?


 I love turning silky oak...... however the finial is actually sycamore...... I have a 2ft+ tall by 14+ wide trunk piece of silky oak I will be digging into soon....... the wrench/chisel idea was from Capt. Eddie on youtube.... I think. It has worked every time so far.... lol

I used my dremel and some sandpaper to shape the ball at the base of the finial..... I feel it just adds another dimension to the whole finial....


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## Schroedc (Jun 18, 2014)

Way cool. I think I may know what I'm going to try today :) Also- For support have you ever tried sliding a dowel or rod inside the 3/4 hole you drilled to stiffen it up?


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## Wildthings (Jun 18, 2014)

That is way cool Jamie, Thanks! The only thing missing is the final picture of this one.. hint hint


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## WoodLove (Jun 18, 2014)

Wildthings said:


> That is way cool Jamie, Thanks! The only thing missing is the final picture of this one.. hint hint


 I actually stopped at the final pic shown ..... Im waiting for my carving bits to arrive so I can pierce the ribbon.... then I will post another pic of the finished piece..... on a new turning..... trust me, this probably wont look the same as it does now.....

Reactions: Like 1


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## Tim Carter (Jun 23, 2014)

Nice job! One suggestion I have is to sand the interior of the finial right after you drill the 3/4" hole. you can sand very aggressive without worrying about breaking anything and the interior is difficult to sand after the spiral is removed.


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## ironman123 (Jun 23, 2014)

Thanks for the little tutorial Jamie.


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