Critique MY Latest Hollow Forms

[David Wyke]

I received some great advice a month or two ago from this forum on my battle with hollow form shape. I turned four this weekend, one last week and one three weeks ago. I’m trying to improve the overall shape and figured since I’m never around another turner you could give me an honest assessment.
Don’t worry you won’t hurt my feelings ( well you will but I’ll be over it in a day or two) , I just need to know if I’m headed in the right direction!
The bottoms on a couple will taper in once they are dry and I level the bottom, my remove the lip on a couple, and will pierce and pyro a couple when dry.
Sizes go from 11-1/2” to 6-3/4” in height.
Also does anyone know a good replacement laser for the Jamieson system? Mine is just not working properly and I don’t really want to go with the camera.

 

[Lyle Jamieson]

Nice to see your work, all are really nice, great forms. I like the way you are doing a series and comparing them to each other. A better question is which one do YOU like the best??

Call me I have a new and improved laser for you.

 

[Mark Fairchild]

I think you’re there David. My personal favorite is the one on the left.

 

[David Wyke]

Nice to see your work, all are really nice, great forms. I like the way you are doing a series and comparing them to each other. A better question is which one do YOU like the best??

Call me I have a new and improved laser for you.

Thanks Lyle. I like this style and the wood I had kinda lent itself to this form. I’m not sure which one I like the best, I’ll have to wait until they’re finished. I have a problem where I see something in every piece I’ve ever turned that could have been better. That just motivates me to try harder on the next piece.
I love your system and have figured out all the little adjustment to make to get each piece hollowed.
I have granddaughter duty all week so will give you a call one day when I drop her off at PreK.

 

[David Wyke]

I think you’re there David. My personal favorite is the one on the left.

Thank you! I just can’t give up on something I absolutely love to do!

 

[Gabriel Hoff]

I received some great advice a month or two ago from this forum on my battle with hollow form shape. I turned four this weekend, one last week and one three weeks ago. I’m trying to improve the overall shape and figured since I’m never around another turner you could give me an honest assessment.
Don’t worry you won’t hurt my feelings ( well you will but I’ll be over it in a day or two) , I just need to know if I’m headed in the right direction!
The bottoms on a couple will taper in once they are dry and I level the bottom, my remove the lip on a couple, and will pierce and pyro a couple when dry.
Sizes go from 11-1/2” to 6-3/4” in height.
Also does anyone know a good replacement laser for the Jamieson system? Mine is just not working properly and I don’t really want to go with the camera.

View attachment 74546
View attachment 74545

Bottom photo on the left looks the best to me from a curve standpoint. The ever so slight flared rim and base are nice as well.
Bottom photo in the middle looks a bit skinny around the base, although the continuous curve is great.
Bottom photo on the right looks nice as well, but a bit larger then the other two.
All the others look very similar to the rest, so great job!

 

[David Wyke]

Bottom photo on the left looks the best to me from a curve standpoint. The ever so slight flared rim and base are nice as well.
Bottom photo in the middle looks a bit skinny around the base, although the continuous curve is great.
Bottom photo on the right looks nice as well, but a bit larger then the other two.
All the others look very similar to the rest, so great job!

Thanks for the feedback!

 

[Ted Pelfrey]

Love top middle, although bottom may be a little small. Top right appears to have a flat spot above largest dia, but should be able to get with second turn. Top right dia is to “ sharp” but again I think can get with second turn.

 

[Ted Pelfrey]

Bottom three are great except maybe middle foot a little small. That’s just for me, others will like it. But yours curves are there , great job!

 

[Bill Blasic]

For my eye the 2nd from the left (the one with the hole) is perfect. The rest are very well done but just don't register to my eye as well as the one with the hole. Still all very well done.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

My person favorite is top pic center, it is the hole and the dramatic grain color that my eye keeps going back to. Going to overall shapes, it looks like you are maintaining curvature throughout, and you are getting there with overall dimension and proportion, too. You are braver than I going with some of the small diameter bases, but they seem to work, both for stability and proportion/scale. If I were going with such small diameters at the base, I think I'd leave some extra wood in there to lower the center of gravity for stability purposes. (Heck, if something ends up being tippy, you could always drop in a big handful of polished stones as ballast.)

Have you been referencing artistic texts from other mediums (pottery, sculpture) to get a grasp on proportion and scale?

Well done!

 

[Tom De Winter]

Great job on them all. I'd like to see the openings be more of a feature, something like the top row center.

 

[Brent@TurnRobust]

Congrats on getting your bases nice and small - many turners struggle to achieve that or simply chicken out. Try another one making the base slightly curved in rather slightly flared out. Very nice overall on the forms and proportions.

 

[Doug Freeman]

All are very good. Don’t flare out the bases, carry the curve all the way. The top middle is definitely the most striking piece of wood. IMHO, the neck collar is too tall on it.

 

[Dean Center]

Kudos to you for trusting the group enough to ask. (And kudos to the group for thoughtful, compassionate responses)

The busy background makes it a little harder to assess the curve, which might mean YOU could see that better against a plain background, too. This also might be a good situation for the ruler test--placing a ruler along the surface of the curve to detect subtly higher spots or flats.

Excellent work, David. Keep assessing yourself and working towards your ideal.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

The top middle is definitely the most striking piece of wood. IMHO, the neck collar is too tall on it.

I think that relatively tall neck is needed due to the large hole.

 

[David Wyke]

Thanks everyone for the feedback. I think I’m getting better but still have a ways to go.

 

[David Wyke]

Love top middle, although bottom may be a little small. Top right appears to have a flat spot above largest dia, but should be able to get with second turn. Top right dia is to “ sharp” but again I think can get with second turn.

Thanks Ted! All these are once turned as I haven’t approached a twice turned HF. Do you twice turn HF’s?

 

[David Wyke]

My person favorite is top pic center, it is the hole and the dramatic grain color that my eye keeps going back to. Going to overall shapes, it looks like you are maintaining curvature throughout, and you are getting there with overall dimension and proportion, too. You are braver than I going with some of the small diameter bases, but they seem to work, both for stability and proportion/scale. If I were going with such small diameters at the base, I think I'd leave some extra wood in there to lower the center of gravity for stability purposes. (Heck, if something ends up being tippy, you could always drop in a big handful of polished stones as ballast.)

Have you been referencing artistic texts from other mediums (pottery, sculpture) to get a grasp on proportion and scale?

Well done!

The bases are a little small on a couple but to me they didn’t look right with the larger base. I will be shorting the base some as I left it a little thicker but cut the inside of the foot deeper to allow for leavening once dry.
I reference everything related to a HF. I especially reference pottery and look at every picture I can find of a HF.

 

[David Wyke]

Congrats on getting your bases nice and small - many turners struggle to achieve that or simply chicken out. Try another one making the base slightly curved in rather slightly flared out. Very nice overall on the forms and proportions.

The base is undercut about 1/4” so I can level once dry and should be rounded some at that time.

 

[David Wyke]

All are very good. Don’t flare out the bases, carry the curve all the way. The top middle is definitely the most striking piece of wood. IMHO, the neck collar is too tall on it.

Base will be more rounded once leveled after drying. The neck collar on this one was to add a little strength since it actually separated due to some bark inclusion. I had to stop the lathe and use CA in a couple places to hold it together and use plastic wrap and tape to finish turning the inside.

 

[David Wyke]

Kudos to you for trusting the group enough to ask. (And kudos to the group for thoughtful, compassionate responses)

The busy background makes it a little harder to assess the curve, which might mean YOU could see that better against a plain background, too. This also might be a good situation for the ruler test--placing a ruler along the surface of the curve to detect subtly higher spots or flats.

Excellent work, David. Keep assessing yourself and working towards your ideal.

Thank you! I trust this group to give me good feedback especially since I look at everyone’s work. I don’t have an opportunity to be around other turners and don’t have time to post in other groups. I very seldom pst on Facebook groups and like the WoW site but just don’t have time to post there, just read and look at others work.
So, if I don’t improve its AAW Forums fault!!
I have a passion for turning and have no intention of ever stop trying to improve and trying new things.

 

[David Wyke]

I think that relatively tall neck is needed due to the large hole.

That and the fact it came apart at the bark inclusion

 

[Tom De Winter]

One of the great things about our AAW affiliate club is the critique session at our monthly meetings. It helps pull all of us up to higher levels.
One of our long-time members observed that clubs that have show & tell, as opposed to real critiques, exhibit a lower level of work.

 

[Kent Reisdorph]

They look pretty darned good to me. I see what others are saying about the flare at the bottom (which you will address some as you said).

 

[Dan Oliphant]

All are very good. Don’t flare out the bases, carry the curve all the way. The top middle is definitely the most striking piece of wood. IMHO, the neck collar is too tall on it.

I agree 100% with you Doug, the radius needs to continue all the through the base, plus don't leave a sharp edge on the base, the chance for cracks goes up a lot at the sharp edge.

 

[Tom Gall]

Major, major improvements from those posted in your original inquiry, David. Well done! A personal preference would be to avoid any recurve at the foot ... as some others have mentioned. My least favorite form - top row/left. Favorites - center forms in both rows. Of course, everyone has their own preferences.

 

[Doug Freeman]

All these are once turned as I haven’t approached a twice turned HF. Do you twice turn HF’s?

Any that will have a lid, such as an urn, or a seed jar, etc I will 2 turn, to get the right lid fit. If I want a hf with a lot of fine detail I will 2 turn. something similar to what you presented will be 1 turn. Wet wood can be turned thinner, when leaving enough material for 2 turn, cracks can happen that prevent finish turning, and it can take quite a while for the thick wall 2 turn to dry. I also like the warping of 1 turn pieces.

 

[Bob Slocum]

My favorite is 2nd row middle. I like the smooth hot air balloon shapes

 

[Alan Weinberg]

Top middle is my favorite. Best rim/opening on that one also. All are outstanding. You are sure good!

 

[David Wyke]

Top middle is my favorite. Best rim/opening on that one also. All are outstanding. You are sure good!

I just refuse to give up

 

[Lennart Delin]

My liking is for curves with continuous increase/decrease in curvature. Actually I think they are all good, so a bit of nitpicking to make them perfect.

Top
Left, the flat spot in upper part disturbs me
Middle, perfect shape, but to much rot
Right, very good, but a little to much curve at the widest point.
Bottom
Left, very good, max diameter a fraction too high up
Middle, good shape, but could benefit from more variation in curvature, foot could be a little bigger.
Right, good shape, but could benefit from more variation in curvature, foot ideal size.

 

[David Wyke]

My liking is for curves with continuous increase/decrease in curvature. Actually I think they are all good, so a bit of nitpicking to make them perfect.

Top
Left, the flat spot in upper part disturbs me
Middle, perfect shape, but to much rot
Right, very good, but a little to much curve at the widest point.
Bottom
Left, very good, max diameter a fraction too high up
Middle, good shape, but could benefit from more variation in curvature, foot could be a little bigger.
Right, good shape, but could benefit from more variation in curvature, foot ideal size.

Thank you and nitpicking is fine, I want to hear it!