Osage Orange Hollow Form

Vaughn McMillan

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This is osage orange, about 5 1/4" wide by 2 1/2" tall. This is the first time I've played with osage orange, and it was nice to work with. It's pretty hard when dry, but not quite as rock-hard as I'd seen others say it would be. The red eucalyptus I've been turning is comparable, if not harder, so the hardness was no shock. It cut nice and clean with sharp tools.

In hindsight, I would have liked the foot to be a bit smaller, but that's being picky. Otherwise, I'm pretty happy with the way this one came out.

This wood finished up nicely. As per my usual, the finish is Formby's Tung Oil mix inside and out, buffed with with tripoli and white diamond, then finished up with Renaissance Wax. I almost dyed the inside black, but decided to keep it natural for this one. Maybe next time.

HF023 - 06 800.jpg HF023 - 03 800.jpg

Comments and suggestions are encouraged...thanks for looking.
 
Very Nice Vaughn, Very Nice !!

I've been toying with hollow forms, have not successfully completed one yet (either I cut through the side or they explode into pieces). A couple questions:

  • What is optimum goal for wall thickness? What should I be shooting for?
  • How particular should I be smoothing / sanding the inside? Do you sand inside? To what grit?

Just looking for some feel of what I should be working towards.

Thanks, and keep up the great work......... Tony
 
Very beautiful Vaughn! That OO is a fun to turn in my opinion. I like the color but eventually I've heard it loses it's gold tone! Makes beautiful pens.
 
Thanks guys. I didn't know osage orange turned brown over time. Should be interesting to watch. (If I don't sell this one.)
A couple questions:
  • What is optimum goal for wall thickness? What should I be shooting for?
  • How particular should I be smoothing / sanding the inside? Do you sand inside? To what grit?
Tony, the quick answer to your questions would be "as thin and smooth as you want", but I had the same questions, too. ;) Here's my take on it, right or wrong...

For wall thickness, in most cases I've been trying for a consistent thickness more than any particular dimension. Don't always get it but that's what I try for. On my smaller HFs, I'd say the walls generally run around 1/16" to 1/8" thick. Bigger pieces have tended to be more in the 1/8" to 3/8" range, depending on size, type of wood, and my preserverence. Most of my HFs are a bit thicker towards the bottom. That's partly so the bottom's a bit heavier, and partly because by the time I get to the bottom, I have enough time invested that I really don't want to donut the thing. My favorite piece has an intentionally thicker bottom, and it has a nice heft in your hands. I have a few other pieces that are so thin they surprise you with their lightness when you pick them up. Either way is fun, and it all really depends on what you want. I do think some people make the walls thin just for bragging rights, but they might really like the deceptively light weight that results from thin walls.

Sanding is another personal preference. To the extent possible, I try to sand the inside as smooth as the outside, up to the same grit I used on the outside. This is especially true on smaller HFs where people can reach inside and feel the complete inside. Sometimes I'm successful, and other times, I get to a point when I say "that's gonna have to do", especially on punky pieces with a lot of tearout. (Although as my skills improve, I get less tearout.) I also try very hard to remove any visible (or "feelable") tool marks. That's usually just a case of being careful and picky with the finishing cuts on the inside.

Again, that's how I do things, but everyone's got different levels of pickiness, so I don't think there's a truly "right" way. ;) I hope this helps...
 
Thanks for your thoughts Vaughn. Had my third try blow out on me tonight -- had a catch on the inside and ripped a section off from the rim to the base. :(

I'll get it sooner or later ......... Tony
 
Tony, are you hollowing freehand, or with a captive rig? I doubt I have the skill (or nerves) to do it freehand, but the captive rig makes it comparatively easy. Plus, then you have a place to mount a laser, which makes thickness control a lot easier.

Either way, keep trying, and I'm sure you'll get them to hold together long enough to finish. ;)
 
Thanks for your thoughts Vaughn. Had my third try blow out on me tonight -- had a catch on the inside and ripped a section off from the rim to the base. :(

I'll get it sooner or later ......... Tony

Tony when I was doing freehand HF's I would do a little cutting and then measure. I had the same problem you did to begin with. I found if I made a couple of passes and then measured I had better luck. I also used a different type of scraper to do the inside and these helped a lot. I will see if I can attach a picture of it. That helped on the finish of the inside HF.
 

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Tony, are you hollowing freehand, or with a captive rig?

I'm using the Kelton Hollowers and the Kelton Hollowing Gate ( http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=49124&cat=1,330,49232&ap=1 ). I also have the Sorby Hollow Vessel Scraper Set http://familywoodworking.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=2954&d=1168244208 and the Sorby Hollow Master Full-Sized.

We used the Keltons in the class I took at Woodcraft, I'm still trying to get the feel for them. The Sorby set tends to grab and turn on me but I am getting better with them with a lighter touch. The Hollow Master seems the easiest for me, especially with the round tip. I can smooth out the ridges and grooves with the round tip.

I'm not giving up, going to try a few bowls and begin rounding the rims inward -- maybe I can sneak up on a hollow form :D !
 
That's a beautiful piece of work Vaughn! The form looks very good and something about the grain lines in the wood make it look like the wood was custom made for that form. That's a real beauty!
 
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