Black Walnut - 389

This is a new form for you ??? Very nice ... are you free-hand hollowing or using a system?

Thanks, -e-. Yes, this is a new form for me. I bought the Jamieson system at the symposium. I tried some free-hand hollowing in the past and like using a system much better - especially for larger forms.

i started hollowing using the jamieson system too ... it really helped me keep from hurting my poor neck. i've made modifications as needed.

i added john jordans boring bars to my system; i love his tapered tips. the jamieson tip was too large for small vessels or small openings. john also has a smaller set that can be used with the d-bar using an adaptor.

additionally, packard has some boring tips that fit directly into the bar without using the jamieson-tip.

moreover, i modified my secondary tool rest so it swivels, which gives more flexibility. I could reach deeper curves without having to switch to a hooker.

However, Pam, my 1st vessel was given to the dog to play with! Your accomplishment is very impressive. Was the walnut green?

ps: what camera are you using for your pictures?

Thanks for the all the info, -e-. I'll have to look at John Jordan's tools. I'm finding already that the smallest opening I can achieve is larger than 1" and I prefer smaller than that.
The walnut was felled over a year ago and sat outside in log form for about 8 months. I got my hands on it and roughed it out into bowls and cylinders and it's been in my basement drying for about 3 months. There's been very little movement in this finished piece.
My camera is a 2.1 megapixel Toshiba - not good for print photos, but it does what I need for posting pictures to the internet. Cheap and uncomplicated - just the way I like it I use Microsoft Picture It! Express to crop the photos and I only make minor adjustments for brightness and contrast. So far, it's all working pretty well.

Nice shape Pam. I can relate to that shape. The Jamieson system was a great help for me for hollow vessels. I couldn't hang on to the Dennis Stewart style tool for more than five minutes without my hand going to sleep because of Carpol Tunnel Syndrome. My loss rate was about 50%. I have since taken care of that. I also use the Al Basham style tools for smaller (8 in. or smaller dia.) vessels. See my web site under tools and techniques.

I also made my secondary tool rest swivel, a must for getting under long shoulders. I made the vertical support a large V shape to add more support the cross bar on the secondary tool rest. I need to take a photo of it and post it on my site.

Paul

Pam, I didn't realize this was you for some reason until -e- said so. Great to see you hollowing, too. (misery loves company). Its a lot of fun, no? And not having to finish the interior saves some time. I didn't realize how handy collars with small openings are until I couldn't poke my finger around inside anymore.

I tried exactly two forms with a hand held system, the Kelton stuff, and then went to their torque arrested system. Night and day.

Very pretty piece of walnut. I bet you wanted to slice the top off and make a box, didn't you?

Thanks, Paul. I'll take a look at your site when I get some free time.

Thanks, Mike. Yeah, I have to work on collars - this piece you can get your fingers into and as far as I can reach in, it's clean and smooth, but HWMBO can reach a little further and feels a ridge. Oh well, can't win them all. This is from a huge load of walnut and I have about 30 box blanks drying, so working on something big and different is a nice change. I suppose I'll have to try making a really big box just for the heck of it ) Thanks.

I said so, Mike? Must have been the other me.