Mesquite vase...critiques wanted

[Curtis O. Seebeck]

Here is my first attempt at a larger vase. It is mesquite and measures 7" tall and 4" at the widest part. I hollowed it with my new Hollowmaster and it worked fine for me. The wall thickness is thicker than I would like but I was really happy with the form and was afraid of blowing through the sides and ruining it! The black lines on one side are bug holes filled with black epoxy and the other side is a bark inclusion, also filled. I sanded to 12,000 MM, including the inside as far as I could reach. The finish is System Three epoxy applied liberally with a brush while the lathe was spinning. I let it set for 30 minutes to firm up a little and burned it in like a friction polish. It has a nice gloss to it. Please give me your honest opinion on the form, what you like, what you don't like, and what should be different. Thanks.

[Karl Laustrup]

Honest opinion? Really?

Honestly, I like it. The form, the wood. Great job Curtis.

Karl

[Gary Max]

I like it---looks like you did a lot of work saving that piece of wood.
Most folks would of not worked that hard fixing all those holes.
Great finish---which is always a real big deal to me.
When you spent that much time working on somrthing it really shows.

[Chris Barton]

Looks right to me, git er done!

[Dick Parr]

Very nice Curtis, you hit a home run on this one.

The one thing I am having a hard time with and maybe could be improved here is the base size. I am trying to get the base a little smaller in dia because as has been pointed out to me, it does make the form look lighter. Not smaller to the point it allows the piece to fall over, just so that it is closer to the size of the top dim. Even knowing this I have a hard time because when it is on the lathe all looks right with the size. But after finishing and then taking a picture, I see where I could have gone a little smaller and improved the look.

Again, very nice looking vase.

[Raymond Overman]

Curtis,

The vase is very nice. Great job on the finish and though I would probably leave the bug holes and bark inclusion as a feature, the epoxy fill was well done too. The form of the neck and and curves look great and are continuous with no flat spots that I can see. Good job.

The only change I woudl suggest is possibly paring down the base a little. This would continue the curve and give the piece a little more balance. As is, the piece has a masculine quality and the bottom is a little heavy. I've included a ps'd shot of what I'm talking about.

[Jeremiah Jordan]

Looks good to me Curtis, just wondering what the "3 step epoxy" finish is?

Thanks a bunch.

Jeremiah

[Carole Valentine]

Curtis, congrats on conquering the Hollowmaster!
This is a nice form and nice finish. Since you asked for an honest opinion, there are a couple of things I might change. I would narrow the base a little and I would refine the curve on the bottom third of the piece. It's a little too straight. In the process of continuing the curve, the base would become smaller and a little more tucked in. Keep spinning!

Oops! Just read Ray's post. Great minds think alike. I would make the curve even a little tighter even than Ray shows in his modification.

[Carole Valentine]

Very nice Curtis, you hit a home run on this one.

The one thing I am having a hard time with and maybe could be improved here is the base size. I am trying to get the base a little smaller in dia because as has been pointed out to me, it does make the form look lighter. Not smaller to the point it allows the piece to fall over, just so that it is closer to the size of the top dim. Even knowing this I have a hard time because when it is on the lathe all looks right with the size. But after finishing and then taking a picture, I see where I could have gone a little smaller and improved the look.

Again, very nice looking vase.

Dick, try taking the piece, chuck and all, off the lathe and standing it upright. Then hold a piece of paper at the line where the bottom of the base will be. Gives you a little better perspective.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Curtis nice bowl. Love the fit and finish.

[Jim Becker]

Curtis, I think you nailed it. There is little or nothing you could change to improve the form. You got the continuous curves very nicely. As to the base size, I don't have a problem with it given the width of the vessel at it's widest point, although what Raymond suggests is very pleasing. It's all about proportion.

One of the best ways to explore shape, in addition to what Carole suggested, is to take scraps and turn forms, either full size or smaller. Don't bother hollowing them...you are working on form and shape. After you part them off, use some cheap flat black spray paint to remove the "wood" from the picture and then set them side by side on a shelf. Step back and look at them. Identify what works and is most pleasing and turn some more, etc. Repeat until you find one or more forms that really tickle you...and then do them in nice wood.

[Curtis O. Seebeck]

Jerimiah,

It is not 3 step epoxy finish it is System Three brand of regular old epoxy. The kind mostly used to glue stuff together. I use a lot of it in mesquite flatwork to fill voids and inclusions. A while back I was working with a piece of wood that had a very bad spot in it that was way to soft to turn or even sand. It was mush. I decided to try to salvage it by applying a generous amount of epoxy to the outside of the piece. I painted it on with a brush while still on the lathe and let it set.

I got a little impatient and decided that I would use a rag with the lathe spinning to smooth it out so that all I would have to do it sand it once it cured. I ran the lathe at medium speed and used a rag to burn it in like a friction finish. At first it was real grabby and bogged the lathe down tremendously. As some was removed it got better until the point where it was buffing out real nice. I also noticed that the heat from this process was causing the epoxy to set.

Once I stopped the lathe I had a beautiful, mark free, scratch free finish with all the pores filled and nice depth. Since then I have repeated this finish on a couple different pieces and 5 or 6 pens. It works real well and apears to be really durable.

[Curtis O. Seebeck]

Thanks everyone for the good feedback and nice comments. I am pretty proud of this piece since it is my best work to date.

Actually, the top rim started out a bit larger but due to a little catch, it ended up the size it is!

As for the base, to me, in person, it looks just right. Now I do tend to prefer things with a little more substance so I am a little biased. The pecan vase I posted a while back has a much smaller diameter base and to me it looks top heavy. On the next one I do, I will try making the base smaller as most of you suggest and see how I like it.

Thanks again for the comments.

[Robert Mickley]

Yeah the base could have been smaller But it doesn't look bad like it is. Persoanly I think you nailed it !!

[Ed Scolforo]

Curtis: I agree with Ray: the base could have been a little smaller and it may have been a nice feature leaving the voids in. Having said that, this vase is a MAJOR improvement over your earlier ones, keep up the good work!
Ed p.s. can't wait for my mesquite!