First HF and pedestal

I love the way hollow forms look, but I haven't had any wood that I thought would be worth turning. My brother in law brought me a big cherry burl, and this was one of the pieces left over from cutting it up. I was going to do a finial as well, but the top had too many voids. The inside walls are a little thicker than I would like (3/16th thick), and I think I made the pedestal a little too long, but over all I'm pleased. Sorry for the picture quality. I couldn't find my camera, so I had to use my cell phone. Any comments or pointers would be welcomed.

awesome

That looks great Ben! What are the dimensions of the hollow form? What hollowing tools are you using? I've just started hollowing. So far it's like a full contact sport :frown: I've got a lot of practising to do.

The form is about 4" x 4 1/2". It's a cherry burl, and the pedestal is rosewood. I've included a quick picture with a pen in it for size reference. You may recognize the pen

This block was originally much taller, and was going to have a collar at the top. I ended up turning off most of the top to get to some solid material. It was interesting to turn, I've never turned a piece of burl bigger than a pen blank. You really never know what is inside these things. The large hole in the side was just a small 1/2" inclusion on the outside of the block. I thought it would turn off, apparently I was wrong. :biggrin:

I used a sorby midi hollower. It was an impulse buy at rockler, and wasn't the best choice, but it worked for this one. It's similar to the bottom tool on this page, but a little bigger and no thickness gauge.(http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/s...Tool___sorby_mini_hollow?partnerid=googlebase) I think I'll have to get something a bit bigger as I start to do more of these things. My anniversary is coming up, and I'm thinking about asking my wife for one of these. http://www.donpencil.com/STINGER.htm

I've still got a good bit of practicing to do. The walls and base of this form are thicker than I would have liked. That hollowing tool is a bear. If your angle of approach is off even a tiny bit, it is going to let you know. My forearms were pretty tired by the time it was all said and done.

interesting work...the base doesn't look too tall in the pic...

forgot to add the size comparison pic it's on the other post

davinci27 said:

You may recognize the pen

Click to expand...

So that's where that pen went :biggrin:

Thanks for the info Ben. I have a Monster hollowing tool. I got it from Woodlvr here on the forum. I'm sure it's a good tool, just not in my hands yet

At the Florida symposium I got to demo Lyle Jamiesons hollowing system. It was awesome. I think I will eventually get that.