Have a Ball....

[David DeCristoforo]

Sphere #1


I'm calling this #1 because A) it's the first one I have been able to successfully complete and 2) I plan to make more. The question might arise, "Why?" And I would have to answer "I don't know". I just suddenly became struck with and urge to make spheres. Actually, I have wanted to make a spherical hollow form for some time but feared I lacked the skill. My first attempt was a dismal failure. It just kept getting smaller and smaller as I tried to get it perfectly round. The second one ended up as a bowl of sorts after the top blew apart. Most people make their funnels with a hole in the bottom, but not me!

I think part of my fascination is the difficulty of making a simple shape like this. It's almost impossible to "eyeball" the profile. It never looks perfect no matter how hard you squint. I kept checking this with a template and it seemed "pretty close" but still, I was not confident. So I took a picture of it on the lathe, dropped it into an Adobe Illustrator file and superimposed a circle over it. It was not "perfect" but it was sooooo close! And in truth, even the slightest wood movement will throw it off a bit. This is 6" in diameter, hollowed to a wall thickness of a "fat" 1/8" through a 1" opening. I left a little extra at the bottom to weight it slightly so it would not just roll over.

sphere_5.jpg

[Paul Williams]

Great job David. What kind of wood is that? The color looks like osage orange, but I am not sure the grain does.

[Scott Hackler]

That "turned" out pretty good. I am currently fighting the sphere obsession with some Christmas bulbs and it's frustrating...I know. I have almost convinced myself to build a sphere jig!

[Alan Trout]

Cool piece of wood. That is a shape that has been on my to do list for a long time.

Alan

[Deane Allinson]

I am glad that it is #1; of 30-40?. I wait to see your variations on this theme.
Deane

[Roger Chandler]

Nice work David! The coloration does look a bit like osage orange, but the grain ..........the end grain of OO does resemble this, so give us the low down.........what wood did you use for this sphere?

I think hollowing a sphere would likely be a bit harder than the elongated forms traditionally seen in hollow forms.

[David DeCristoforo]

"... I wait to see your variations ..."

Well that might be the hard part. I cannot imagine too many variations other than the size, material and/or color. A sphere is a sphere. That is one of the things about that is interesting. It's a "target", a known value. You know from the start what you want to end up with. So it comes down to getting as close as possible with no "latitude" in form.

The wood is from a Chinese pistachio tree that came down in a storm last year. This is the third piece I have made from the bit of it I was able to talk the firewood guys out of. I have a few chunks left...

[Alan Trout]

The grain pattern suits the form very well. Gives it tons of motion.

Alan

[John Keeton]

Well done, David!! Every since Jack Mincey did his sphere form, I have been intrigued by them. I love the wood, and I bet a sphere from Claro walnut would be neat! Or, the sissoo that Kathy Marshall turns.... Or, the ....

Well, anyway, I think that is where the variations come in. How about doing one from maple and airbrushing a globe on to it with dyes??

[Curt Fuller]

That's beautiful. What seems like such a simple form is probably the most difficult and least forgiving. It's either round or it isn't. The small opening and the angle that you photographed it at really make it look cool.

[David E Keller]

Too cool! This is another project on my bucket list... I tried once with a piece of bone dry sycamore, and I rapidly decided to quit... The piece I had was hard as concrete. I'll probably just drill two more holes in it and leave it at the local bowling alley. These would be fun in madrone burl!

[Donny Lawson]

I want to make snowmen ornaments for presents using the sphere method but my spheres turn out more oval than anything else. I guess it just takes practice and more practice. I love your sphere and the wood. Now make 2 more smaller than the first and make a nice snowman that is hollow. Thats a good challange

[David DeCristoforo]

"...I bet a sphere from Claro walnut...Or, the sissoo that Kathy Marshall turns.... Or, the ...."
"...These would be fun in madrone burl!..."

Aha! See? That's where it goes!

"How about doing one from maple and airbrushing a globe on to it with dyes??"

I think I will leave that one to you!

[Roland Martin]

Nice! That does look like a challenge, and one I'll wait a bit on. The wood really does a lot for this piece.

[Baxter Smith]

Nice work David! The grain and the angle make for a neat picture. I have tried one once. The best I could do was to make it kind of round. Just curious, but is this one dry enough to stay round?