Guessing Game

[Roger Chandler]

"...can you believe this piece made the WOW cover?!..."

No... actually, I can't! Ain't that a hoot? Just goes to show... well, I'm not sure what it goes to show but it must go to show something....

I think it is a couple of things.......first the tiny size of such a turning.......takes real tool control and imagination to accomplish such a nice form.....all a credit to your skill.........second......the novelty of it........not something one sees everyday........well played, David!

[David DeCristoforo]

This was posted more or less in jest. Working in a cafe as I do much of the time, we are constantly processing various foods, herbs and spices. One thing we have learned is that when it comes to spices, you can't trust the stuff that comes pre-ground in a little jar. More than likely you will have maybe 50% spice and the rest is… well… you don't want to know what the rest is! So all of our spices are purchased whole and ground as needed. That's how I came to find out how interesting the insides of a nutmeg seed are. My thought was to play with the perception of size when looking at a photo. I never realized, for example, how much presence the amazing sculptures done by Jerry Bennett have until I saw a picture of him standing next to one which put the piece in a perspective not apparent from a photo of the piece standing alone.

I know there is a way to get a sharp image of a small object. Unfortunately, this one illustrates my less than professional photographic skills. The best picture I could get was grainy and blurry. Also, the background had spots on it that looked huge when I looked at the pic. That little "bump" near the top? The result of using the photoshop clone stamp tool to try and blot out those spots. Got a little too close to the nut! So this is also a testament to my less than professional photoshop abilities! Had I not been is such a hurry, I might have noticed that but, like I said, I was not taking this too seriously. Maybe if I had had managed a clearer image, the illusion would have worked better.

[Chris Studley]

That Nuts!... It's been 2 whole days, and nobody else said it, it kills me to leave a bad pun out there like that. Awesome turning though. Great technique(as always) to be able to pull it off. But How did you Mount it to start out?

[Mike Cruz]

David, I had no idea "what" it was (my guess would have been coffee bean), but the size was evident to me. Why? I could see sanding marks. Now, normally, that is something I knew we would never see in your turnings! Secondly, the marks were rather big...in the picture. So, it had to be ridiculously small for them to be that prominent. My guess is that if you had sanded those marks out, it may/would have changed the shape dramatically. Just one small touch with 220 grit could do that on a piece this size.

I guess I should actually ask this before making these comments: Did you even sand it? Are those tool marks rather than sanding marks? I'm not saying that as a criticism, just curious. That nice of form on something that small is simply amazing.

[David DeCristoforo]

Mike, those are neither tool marks nor sanding marks but streaks in the "finish" which was my first clumsy attempt at a CA finish. I did do a great job of gluing a paper towel to my fingers, quite handy when one needs to blow one's nose.

[Mike Cruz]

I just went back an looked, and I can see how those are finish lines...

I'm sure you'll do better on your next turning... the 1/4 coffee bean!