For Critique - Finial

[Harlequin]

6 inches tall and 3 3/4 inch wide
Body in purple heart ,base and lid in amarelo ,imitation ivory and ebony finial.
Comments welcome.

 

[penman]

Looks good to me (If only I could do finnials like that )
The only thing I would say is that the ivory ball looks just a little bit to big.

Malcolm

 

[cornucopia]

do you want a critique on just the finial or the whole thing???
i'll do the whole thing
overall i like it but i think with a few minor adjustments it could have been better
the base of the form is too small for the form, and in relation to the opening/base diameter of the finial.
I would have preffred the ivory imitation part to be either tear drop or a sphere.

 

[wabbitpoo]

v nicely done, but I think there's too much going on here. I would prefer fewer different materials, personally. But waaaaay better than I could do !

thanks for sharing

 

[Oakbear]

I like this generally, but like others i think it could be tweaked.

I'd have liked to see the lid and form in matching woods myself.

The base of the form i'd have removed and left it round.
The lip on the form i'd have taken off or down with a less severe angle too.

But not far off really great!

 

[Harlequin]

thanks all

issues that I found

its very difficult to find a wood complimentary to purple heart,some have used yellow heart hence I chose similar
I felt that having a foot lightens the form a bit -having a dinky foot I thought makes the form more delicate ,would try different next time

Agree that the ivory will be better as a sphere

Purple heart is quite brittle and having a rim adds bulk to the area - when I was taking the final finish cut with a spindle gouge on the top (almost flat) I found that the last few fibres started to tear out at the mouth opening. Could have tried to refine the cut to the mouth afterwards I guess but with the wall thickness being 3mm was not sure about avoiding tear out on the inside when cutting the mouth diameter

So much to learn - good fun this turning malarky

 

[Ad de Crom]

The shape of the bowl is very good, a bigger foot would be better.
I have no problems with the finial.
Ad

 

[Jenx]

its very difficult to find a wood complimentary to purple heart,

Hiya .. just on that particular point -- have a look at trying sycamore with P/H... its a little 'shape -dependant' of course, but the two can contrast rather nicely... well, I'll quantify that a wee bit more... they do it rather nicely to my eye. Hve a wee go... its worth a shot to see if you like that particular mix yourself ! .

I like the piece generally, I'd kinda just echo what's been said .. its perhaps slightly too 'busy' with differing contrasts.. if the 'stopper' was the same black as the topmost part of the finial, maybe ? ... 4 colours is just a wee bit too much and sort of detracts from letting the piece appear classy... does that make sense ?
Also, the white spherical bead could maybe look just that wee bit better if it were smaller ( more 'delicate' )... but none of this is to take anything away from whats a damn fine effort... And the cap is duly doffed to you for it !
as always, keep them coming and 'experimentation' can never be anything other than a good thing... great Stuff ! Nice one !
8)

 

[user 5053]

It shows a good level of skill but it is a little over the top like something you might see in the turning mag or entered in a club competition and made to impress other turners. Keep things simple and make what the punters out there want and you will succeed.

 

[CHJ]

If you achieved just 80% of what you were aiming for then it's a good-un, I personally think the finial is somewhat heavy and a bit too dominant for the piece but it may look to be differently balanced when seen in the flesh.

Main thing is you tackled a reasonably complex form/subject and ended up with a piece that is acceptable to a percentage of people 'as is' and very near to a preferred form of several others, not much any of us produce does any better.

 

[John. B]

Cracker!
Except for the ivory bit, IMO I think it would look better without the ivory.

John. B

 

[Bodrighy]

It's interesting just how many different opinions have been expressed here. Everyone has different taste and I see that reflected a lot in these answers. Critique regarding the workmanship seems all positive which is what it is all about. Personal taste varies so much that you will rarely get an overall positive or negative feedback. I would also do some of the things differently to suit my taste but I'd be more than happy with the quality of the workmanship

pete

 

[Paul.J]

Very nice attempt Harly
The choice of timbers almost works for me but i think the lid colour spoils it.Perhaps if it was a gloss finish it would have lifted it more.
I would agree about the finial been a little too heavy looking also.
I managed to watch a couple of Cindy Drozdas DVDs over Xmas and learned quite a bit from them.I will just have to see if i can put it into practice next time