Knobs!
The one on the left, was done by me, in the wee hours of this morning. (I am barely a turner, having had a few lessons from Bill Grumbine, who will remind me I still owe him a picture of the Shaker candle stand we started over five years ago (I think) that's still not finished. Sorry Bill, but I am getting closer, as I recently acquired an indexer for my mini-lathe, so I can cut the dovetails for the legs.) But I digress...
The small one has a shaft of 1/4 inch, and the knob portion is 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch. I am making these for C. H. Becksvoort's Shaker Clock class that I will attend at Kelly Mehler's School in July. I think I got the neck a little too small, and I didn't "flare" into the bottom of the mushroom. I was using a skew, so it is more of a straight line. I also burned the edge when I was burnishing it with shavings. I didn't know you could do that, but I won't do it again.
Now, compare mine to the one on the right, done by the master himself, CHB, at a seminar I attended two summers ago. I hung around so long that he gave me the knob he turned in the seminar as he was packing up. You will notice that he has a nice flare under the mushroom top, and a nicer curve from the base. So, I have some room to improve. Chris' knob has a 3/8 inch shaft, and the size is about 3/4 by 3/4 inches.
This is my second attempt at this knob. The first was a disaster, with lots of tear out and poor form.
Critiques and suggestions for improvement welcome.
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