Critique on my candlestick please...

[miles_hot]

I am very proud of my entry this month - it represented a number of brand new things for me (skew, off centre, spindle, cutting bowls up and design of something other than a bowl) and of these I found the mist intimidating the inabiliity to come to the forum for design assistance

As such I'd love to know what you think of the end result (which was a good representation of what was in my mind).



Original entry text:
"I bought a lovely bit of white oak many moons ago (3.5 x 2" x 8") and have been wondering what I could do with it which would do justice to the amazing figuring in the wood. Then along came the challenge. Turning it into a cylinder would have lost a lot of the wood which seemed to be a crime so I decided to do some offset turning and make a sort of oval. This is the first time I've ever tried this and to be fair it took my Perform to the limits of what seemed sensible I marked the centre line and then offset from that by around 10 mm (I think) and cut each side of the profile seperatly. As such I was turning air for a good section of each rotation which was fun.

This is also the first proper skew work that I've done. I set myself the challenge that as soon as I'd got it "round" with the bowl gouge (strength) I had to do everything else with the skew. Sanding was also fun Once the first side was done I same offset from the centre line was used the other way and the second face was turned. This proved t be the hardest part - not only was the degree of out of balance even worse now getting a straight line between the two sides was hard with any imperfection resulting in a horrid wiggle in the interfacing line.

The top and bottom are two bowls turned, finished and then cut. Getting the top to an even 3mm and the bottom to 4mm was hard but very satisfying. The top and bottom are elm.

Finish = sand to 320, buff and carnuba wax."

Thanks

Miles

 

[gus3049]

Hi Miles,

I thought yours was one of the more interesting entries.

If the image you produced echoes that in your head then it very well done. Its fun doing new stuff init?

 

[miles_hot]

Hi Miles,

I thought yours was one of the more interesting entries.

If the image you produced echoes that in your head then it very well done. Its fun doing new stuff init?

Thanks - yes it was close to the image I had (originally I was going to stain the top and bottom black but the natural wood felt better). It was very interesting doing new stuff and that's one of the reasons I'm doing the challenge - that and the fact that if I can actually turn something every month I'll more than double my normal annual output!

Miles

 

[monkeybiter]

It looks very well made, especially the consistant thickness of the top and base [only revealed after cutting] and I would guess it looks even better in the flesh. My only reservation is the narrowness of the base, front to back, more neurotic than aesthetic.

 

[Wood spoiler]

This is the first time I've ever tried this and to be fair it took my Perform to the limits of what seemed sensible

Miles

You are only half an hour down the road so if you ever want to use a bigger lathe you are most welcome to pop over, or even come and have a beer sometime.

As to the piece itself

It was on my short list of 5.

I have to say (and not very fashionable in saying so - and very dangerous when we have in George a creator who excels at the coloured items) that I do like my Wooden items to look like wood and carry off the interest in the timber itself. I don't mind coloured parts to compliment the whole or where the texture of the grain comes through.

So without going off topic entirely I enjoyed your piece for it's originality of design and also the very attractive timber used.

As Chas said of his excellent summaries:
"I deliberately left placings off, placings are after all only the judges preferences. Nothing wrong with that, that's the way of life with any competition submission.
I personally think un-attributed they allow everyone to make their own judgement as to style,effort involved, skill etc. I know my selection would have been different and I guarantee a blind vote would get a dozen or more variations."

In producing this great piece you are a winner, because as you said "Then along came the challenge. Turning it into a cylinder would have lost a lot of the wood which seemed to be a crime so I decided to do some offset turning and make a sort of oval. This is the first time I've ever tried this and to be fair it took my Perform to the limits of what seemed sensible" So once again this challenge is Brilliant because you are accepting the challenge and created a great original piece.

We all benefit from the variety and the skills demonstrated. I don't see not getting a nod from a Judge as the most important factor, because as George himself conceded it is just a reflection of his personal choice, as subjective as any other.

Hope these ramblings are helpful at some level =D>

 

[miles_hot]

Colin

Many thanks for the (very) nice words and the kind offer of a drink and a play on some big kit (drool ). I completely agree about the power of the comp and the sense of achievement etc (of course we'd all like to place in this comp and I was convinced my baby was the prettiest - but then I guess everyone did too!) but I'm just chuffed that I'm managing to turn something every month

Miles

 

[Chrisp]

Miles,
I liked this a lot and thought it was a major contender, this design works really well for me even when at first I didn't notice (or read the description first!) that it was oval but that just adds to the complexity of what looks simple.
Very pleasing design that could work as a series with different colours and hights.
Regards Chris.