Cody Colston
Member
- Messages
- 336
- Location
- Tyler, Texas
Thanks for the comments y'all and for the carving suggestions, too.
Rob, the next time I carve a piece I'll try to remember to document it with pics but for now, I can give a general outline of how I approached carving the vase.
1. I turned the vase and hollowed the inside but left the wall thickness about 1/2. I then turned the very top portion and base to final dimension of about 1/4" and leaving the area to be carved at 1/2" wall thickness. Note that I left the tenon on the base for re-mounting later.
2. I measured the top, widest point and bottom circumference of the area to be carved and came up with dimensions for the flute widths that would divide evenly into the circumference...narrower at the top, flaring to the widest point then narrowing again slightly at the base of the carved area.
3. I measured and sketched the outline of a single flute onto some posterboard and cut the pattern out. I then used the pattern to trace pencil lines on the vase, going around the circumference. On this vase it came out to 15 flutes to go all the way around.
4. I carved the flutes with a little spoon shaped palm gouge, holding the vase in my lap. I generally carved towards myself, with the meaty part of my hand on the vase and using both hands and primarily finger motion for the cutting stroke. That gave me the best control over the gouge and also pretty much eliminated the chance of "stabbing" myself. I would start in the center of the flute, carve down to the desired depth then work outward on both sides to the pencil line, keeping the "ridge" sharp between the flutes. After doing the first flute, I could then hold the vase up, and sight along the flutes to compare it to the adjacent flute in order to keep them the same depth and sweep.
5. After finishing with the carving, I re-mounted the piece on the lathe and turned the head stock 90 degrees outward. This allowed the piece to be held solidly while I sanded the flutes. I wrapped sandpaper around a short dowel and sanded through the grits from P80 to P400. After removing the gouge facets and doing a bit of shaping with the 80 grit, sanding with the remaining grits went pretty fast. In all, I spent about 2 hours just sanding and app. 10 hours overall turning and carving and sanding the vase.
Whenever I try something new to me like the carving, I get really pumped when it starts working out like I had hoped. Even though it's a lot of work and a repetitive exercise, it is still fun to watch it come together. It's also easy to lay it down and come back to it later when the hands or mind get tired.
Hope this helps.
Rob, the next time I carve a piece I'll try to remember to document it with pics but for now, I can give a general outline of how I approached carving the vase.
1. I turned the vase and hollowed the inside but left the wall thickness about 1/2. I then turned the very top portion and base to final dimension of about 1/4" and leaving the area to be carved at 1/2" wall thickness. Note that I left the tenon on the base for re-mounting later.
2. I measured the top, widest point and bottom circumference of the area to be carved and came up with dimensions for the flute widths that would divide evenly into the circumference...narrower at the top, flaring to the widest point then narrowing again slightly at the base of the carved area.
3. I measured and sketched the outline of a single flute onto some posterboard and cut the pattern out. I then used the pattern to trace pencil lines on the vase, going around the circumference. On this vase it came out to 15 flutes to go all the way around.
4. I carved the flutes with a little spoon shaped palm gouge, holding the vase in my lap. I generally carved towards myself, with the meaty part of my hand on the vase and using both hands and primarily finger motion for the cutting stroke. That gave me the best control over the gouge and also pretty much eliminated the chance of "stabbing" myself. I would start in the center of the flute, carve down to the desired depth then work outward on both sides to the pencil line, keeping the "ridge" sharp between the flutes. After doing the first flute, I could then hold the vase up, and sight along the flutes to compare it to the adjacent flute in order to keep them the same depth and sweep.
5. After finishing with the carving, I re-mounted the piece on the lathe and turned the head stock 90 degrees outward. This allowed the piece to be held solidly while I sanded the flutes. I wrapped sandpaper around a short dowel and sanded through the grits from P80 to P400. After removing the gouge facets and doing a bit of shaping with the 80 grit, sanding with the remaining grits went pretty fast. In all, I spent about 2 hours just sanding and app. 10 hours overall turning and carving and sanding the vase.
Whenever I try something new to me like the carving, I get really pumped when it starts working out like I had hoped. Even though it's a lot of work and a repetitive exercise, it is still fun to watch it come together. It's also easy to lay it down and come back to it later when the hands or mind get tired.
Hope this helps.