Palm Sized Ambrosia

[Scott Hackler]

I am addicted to these little palm sized dudes, lately. Unfortunately my new Carter Hollow Roller wont fit in the 5/8" opening so its all hand hollowed to a bit over 1/8". I had already made the new finial for this one while waiting for the WOP to dry and be buffed, so here is is WITH the finial and without. I am still tweaking this finial design.

BLO and WOP, beal buffed and Ren Wax. Ambrosia Maple and African Blackwood. 2 3/4" tall x 5 3/4" tall.

Comments welcome, always. Thanks for looking.


ambro1.jpg
ambro2.jpg

[Kathy Marshall]

Very nice Scott! Nice piece of ambrosia maple and I like the racing stripe! Can't decide if I like it better with or without the finial, to me it looks good either way.

[Lupe Duncan]

I like it with the finial.......

Looks classy with the three toned wood, nice character to it.

[Rick Markham]

Awesome Scott! I really like the finial, it seemed unique at first, but I like the way it works with the form. I really like the shape of this one, it's very pleasing to my eye.

[John Keeton]

Great wood on this one, Scott. As I commented before, I really like the concept for this finial! I still can't decide how I feel about these "raised" throats on the forms, and the transition to the finial base. As best I can tell, you have the shoulder of the form at the 2/3 point on the form (hard to tell exactly with the angle of the pic), but when the finial is applied it visually changes that for me - kind of a strange illusion?!?! Maybe it is the finial bulb being higher on this one, too. Just not sure.

Are you going to try one on a form that doesn't have the long neck? That might have an entirely different look as I think the transition of the curvatures might be better - at least, IMO.

I say all of that just to offer an independent opinion. You do good work, and the piece is obviously well done, with a really unique and stylistic finial design. I think this may become the "Hackler Hallmark Finial"!!

[Jon Nuckles]

Still liking the new finial design, Scott, though I do think moving the "bulge" down a bit would look better. Just an opinion, of course, worth what you paid for it!

[Roger Chandler]

Nice work Scott.............your finial is unique.............I could see a lot of variations on this theme of yours........pretty form.

[Baxter Smith]

Great work on the use of the ambrosia stain in the shape of your form Scott. It appears you have moved the bulge in your finial up a bit on this one as compared to the sisso. Since you asked for thoughts...........JMO, the lower curve on the HF is very pleasing to me, the curve above the shoulder seems like it should continue a little further. From the picture at least it seems to straighten out a bit before going into the raised neck which doesn't particularly appeal to me. Blending a more flattened top in to the kind of base you are using on these finials may be a challenge. I am looking forward to seeing how you master it!

[Jim Burr]

I'm not to sure about the throat, but everything else is really cool!! You did a great job of grain orientation to bring out a lot of character!!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Love the ambrosia Scott as well as the finial. I agree the throat should be lower but that is just me.

[Scott Hackler]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions. I actually made this finial, for this particular form, before the Sissoo one I posted. I was experimenting with the "bulb" placement on this new finial and with the final pictures, a photochopped picture and several suggestions..... I will be moving the "bulb" of the finial to the lower 1/3 of the stem. I also WILL NOT be placing finials on these small forms with the raised throats! I had though that they looked a bit strange, but with having a new style finial and with artist bias, it was hard to see if it worked or not. Thats why I love this place and my friends here. I WANT to hear the opinions from other people (my wife doesn't count because she likes everything!).

We will see how no to very minimal raised throat will work with this kind of finial....real soon!

[Jon McElwain]

I really like that finial form. Nice to see something different - don't get me wrong, I like the onion and the form repeated in the finial pieces, but this one has a very distinct look to it!

I have not looked at the carter hollowing system, but my Oneway hollowing rig with backrest will accept all my hand hollowing tools as well as the Oneway hollowing cutters. Are you able to simply insert the tool end of a different hollowing tool into the carter handle? Just a thought.

[John Beaver]

Scott, It's a nice little piece. You have gotten good input on the finial. Before I read the other posts, I thought that lowering the bulb would help it, and it seems I'm not alone on that thought, but I love the direction you are going with it.

As far as the finial with the piece overall, it seems a little vague to me. The base of the finial, kind of wants to follow the form, but doesn't really achieve that. There are too many direction changes in a very small area. I would consider either reshaping the top of the piece so the finial can follow the curve, or make the finial base completely different (flatter maybe) so it's really it's own element sitting on top of the vessel.

p.s. I went back and looked at the photos again, and the form itself is very good.

[Scott Hackler]

Jon, the Carter system is unique because the boring bar is flat on the bottom (its pinched between rollers for a "captured" effect. The only thing that "might" work would be the small square bar from JT Tools, if they have a boring bar to 3/4" round adaptor. I am hoping Carter comes out with a small bar (and a larger one maybe) because I really like hollowing with the laser and doing it by hand with the calipers... is tedious.

[Rick Markham]

Scott, after looking at the two photos again I see what JK and John Beaver are talking about. I still prefer the form with the finial as opposed to without. I think you're absolutely on the right path with this one. I really like these necked forms your doing, and I think the top curve not matching the curve of the finial is what makes it a little visually confusing (for lack of a better word.) I'm not sure if you can tweak the form much without losing your neck, and can't exactly match the curve without making the finials base appear bulky. I think moving the bulb might change the look that I think you're seeking on the finial.

I think it's a spectacular piece. Might just be a case of two great ideas that work beautifully together, just not perfectly yet. I think your on the right track, and I am really looking forward to seeing what this progresses into.