A bit more fun than hooks and spindles

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392
Location
Cornwall, England
I haven't posted much recently as I've been mainly doing less interesting things such as drop spindles and crochet hooks but I have just been wiped out of all my bigger bowls and rustic stuff so have a good excuse to do some. The hollow form is my personal favourite type of turning, i love the challenge though I know they aren't everyone's cup of tea so feel free to critique etc.:D

12" yew bowl with undercut rim


8" hollow form in beech. Side, top and bottom. The wood very much dictated the shape this turned out.


Pete
 
I am interested in the crochet hook turnings!! Do you use a steady rest? Bandsaw to cut the hook out? Would love to see the set up and maybe a quick tutorial for my students as it would also help immensely with drumsticks!!! Now to your bowls, you asked for critics, well, I'm not one of them. I really like the bowl, haven't noticed so many undercut rims, looks like it would be a great utilitarian bowl to put wrapped candy in on a front desk. The hollow forms, I am not an "artist" type so they don't grab be like a great user bowl. I'll leave that for others, looks good, difficult level I cannot even comprehend!
 
Thank you Jon. Hollow form like this are a bit like Marmite (do you get that in the States?) Love 'em or hate 'em, no in between. The crochet hooks are very simple. I make them about 9" long and don't use a spindle steady. I turn a spindle down to 12mm along it's length between centres then hold the shaft in a small jaw chuck and do the handle, about 2/3rds of the length just playing with coves and beads. I then wrap some tape around the handle to protect it and reverse it in the chuck. The way I make them is to take them down to about 1mm more than the required diameter (I do a minimum size of 4mm) \nd then using a thin Japanese back saw and a set of needle files I make the hook part. Remember that the hook goes halfway into the wood so less than a 4mm is impractical. The end restful looks like this
24crochethooks-1.jpg

Note I have a bulge where the hook is held as this apparently makes them much easier to use for a prolonged time.

The ones with metal tips are between 1mm and 4mm hooks. Note I also do the odd captive ring using a dental pick to cut the back away.

Any wood will do as long as it is one with grain along the hook. I often use small diameter branches I have dried out.

Hope this helps

pete
 
I haven't posted much recently as I've been mainly doing less interesting things such as drop spindles and crochet hooks but I have just been wiped out of all my bigger bowls and rustic stuff so have a good excuse to do some. The hollow form is my personal favourite type of turning, i love the challenge though I know they aren't everyone's cup of tea so feel free to critique etc.:D

12" yew bowl with undercut rim


8" hollow form in beech. Side, top and bottom. The wood very much dictated the shape this turned out.


Pete

Your turnings look great. One thing that would be nice is if you would post your pics to the Family Woodworking servers so they would always be with the thead. Some day your pics won't be on your site & the links will not be there & pics here will disappear.
 
Pete, I have found it easier to size them then save them to my desktop (after posting them I put them in the correct folder they belong in). Then when you are typing in the box like I am now, go to the paper clip, double click then you click on the browse and that will offer your desktop, select the picture then create the list and then click on download. If they are to large they won't download. Then when they are downloaded, click on the down arrow beside the paper clip and you can insert all or one at a time. Where your cursor is is where the picture will be placed. So, you can put your picture above or below the text describing the picture. Let me know if you have any problems. I am not an expert, but after my shop build last summer, have loaded a few pictures!
 
Great work on both pieces, Pete. :thumb: The hollow form is my favorite of the two...I really like the natural voids. (Man, some people will do anything to avoid having to blow out the wood ships, huh?) The bowl is also nicely executed, although something about the rim treatment isn't quite sitting right with me. I like the bead on the rim, but the profile view feels amiss to me in some way. I think it might be too busy or angular for my tastes, but that's just a subjective observation. Still, what you turned, you turned well. :clap:
 
OK, thanks for the link I'll have a go.
Thanks for the comments. The profile does have a gentle curve on it Vaughan though it might be better with a bit more. I was aiming at making it practical with a rim that was also a handle if that makes sense

The images by the way are of a couple of little towel hooks someone wanted. They wanted a 'farmhouse ' look to them so I made these out of old wood just sanding back but leaving some of the paint and dirt under the finish
Pete
 

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Neat, thanks for showing. I have never given thought to the fact some folks still did crocheting.
I believe I'll do some for the art gallery since they have been selling stuff I haven't been able to unload around where I live. These might do OK.
BTW, very nice looking and a good use of wood that might otherwise be discarded.

Edit: Just dawned on me, I could add an element of strength and appearance to those with stabilizing.
 
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