Big Maple

Beautiful piece! To see that in person has got to be pretty impressive given the size.

Thanks Rick. It is different in person vs photo. Lots of things look "shiny" in a pic but in person not all shiny objects look the same. Plus, the size gives it presence that a photo doesn't.

Love that form! And spalted maple, well, what can I say but I love that too.

Thanks Nino.

Size matters when it looks like this Randy! Outstanding effort!

Thanks Russ. I still do "regular" size work a lot but going big has been my focus for the past year or more.

What is the diameter of the shank? How is it hollowed at that size? Great job

Thanks Isaac. Not sure what you mean by shank but assuming the base then approx 4-5 inches. I've already shipped it to the gallery so no way to measure it. I use a few different hollowing setups but the main one is the deep hollowing bar from Keith Clark for the bulk of the work. I use the Simple Hollowing articulated setup for the initial opening cleanup and then a Roly Munro bar for cleaning up large tool marks or ridges as needed.

Randy Anderson said:

Thanks Isaac. Not sure what you mean by shank but assuming the base then approx 4-5 inches. I've already shipped it to the gallery so no way to measure it. I use a few different hollowing setups but the main one is the deep hollowing bar from Keith Clark for the bulk of the work. I use the Simple Hollowing articulated setup for the initial opening cleanup and then a Roly Munro bar for cleaning up large tool marks or ridges as needed.

Click to expand...

Sorry, yes I meant for the hollowing bar. I have made a tool that uses a 3/4" diameter, but I can't imaging that would be enough for such deep hollowing, thanks!

Isaac, the deep hollowing bar I use is 1 1/4". Even then it gets tricky going out to 24" or more. It depends on the wood and type of cutter you use. Sometimes it takes a bit of trying different cutters, approaches to the cutting (push or pull) and angle of the cutter for the deepest parts. I use cupped carbide cutters tilted a bit, depending on what works best. If you're interested in doing some deep forms you can also consider hollowing from both ends. I've done it and with some planning you can insert a plug in the bottom, put a bit of detail on it and you'll be the only one that would know it was done that way.