I was turning a top for a box/bowl the other day and thought a bit of
decoration would be nice. I had a piece of hard maple which was turned to
somewhat decorative shape. It could be used as a top of the lid of the
box/bowl. I got to wondering if it just might be easier to make the lid
with the decorative little geegaw on top all of a single piece. I've seen
some where the turner made the box, made the lid, and then glued a little
finial on top. Come to think of it, I guess that way to do it is the way
that seems right at the time.

Kevin wrote:
I was turning a top for a box/bowl the other day and thought a bit of
decoration would be nice. I had a piece of hard maple which was turned to
somewhat decorative shape. It could be used as a top of the lid of the
box/bowl. I got to wondering if it just might be easier to make the lid
with the decorative little geegaw on top all of a single piece. I've seen
some where the turner made the box, made the lid, and then glued a little
finial on top. Come to think of it, I guess that way to do it is the way
that seems right at the time.

You really need to consider the strength of the material you are working
with, and the size/shape of the finished product.

I would make what I call a lidded pot (ie a fairly wide shallow bowl
with a wide lid) then the body and lid would be 'bowl' turned and the
finial would have to be an add on 'spindle' turning for strength.

OTOH, a tall thin box might be 'spindle' turning, so the finial could be
part of the lid.


--
Derek Andrews, woodturner

http://www.seafoamwoodturning.com
http://chipshop.blogspot.com
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/toolrest/

Hi Kevin

You can use different ways and different material to decorate boxes, if
you can get a hold of R Raffan's turning boxes book you'll get a lot of
ideas, Chris Stott is an other prolific box turner, there are more.
Most often my personal taste goes for a clean form and no added finials,
but for some box shapes a small finial or inlay looks real good, and
they can be the same or a total different color and/or material, and
smaller is better is my opinion on size, and just adding something if it
would look better without, does not make sense.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo

Kevin wrote:

I was turning a top for a box/bowl the other day and thought a bit of
decoration would be nice. I had a piece of hard maple which was turned to
somewhat decorative shape. It could be used as a top of the lid of the
box/bowl. I got to wondering if it just might be easier to make the lid
with the decorative little geegaw on top all of a single piece. I've seen
some where the turner made the box, made the lid, and then glued a little
finial on top. Come to think of it, I guess that way to do it is the way
that seems right at the time.

"Kevin" wrote in message
...
I was turning a top for a box/bowl the other day and thought a bit of
decoration would be nice. I had a piece of hard maple which was turned to
somewhat decorative shape. It could be used as a top of the lid of the
box/bowl. I got to wondering if it just might be easier to make the lid
with the decorative little geegaw on top all of a single piece. I've seen
some where the turner made the box, made the lid, and then glued a little
finial on top. Come to think of it, I guess that way to do it is the way
that seems right at the time.



An integral finial, as already mentioned, will make for tough work on a
cross-grained project. It makes for a lot of wasted big wood on a long
grain orientation. I'd plan on an added finial, preferably in contrasting
wood, if you're going that route.

Remember, to increase you chances of success, turn a bit oversize, make sure
things are dry with either time or a microwave -can't dry things by soaking
them - then turn to fit.

Kevin -

For my lidded pot, i took a half a pen blank (as i split up the other half),
turned a small tenon on it and a matching hole in the top of the lid and
superglued them together. that way, the lid never came off the lathe and
stayed round.

just a thought. but, it was a maple pot with a cocobolo finial. not too
bad as it was a nice contrast (and my wife loved it).

Rob

"Kevin" wrote in message
...
I was turning a top for a box/bowl the other day and thought a bit of
decoration would be nice. I had a piece of hard maple which was turned to
somewhat decorative shape. It could be used as a top of the lid of the
box/bowl. I got to wondering if it just might be easier to make the lid
with the decorative little geegaw on top all of a single piece. I've seen
some where the turner made the box, made the lid, and then glued a little
finial on top. Come to think of it, I guess that way to do it is the way
that seems right at the time.

Rob McConachie wrote:
Kevin -

For my lidded pot, i took a half a pen blank (as i split up the other half),
turned a small tenon on it and a matching hole in the top of the lid and
superglued them together. that way, the lid never came off the lathe and
stayed round.

just a thought. but, it was a maple pot with a cocobolo finial. not too
bad as it was a nice contrast (and my wife loved it).

Rob

"Kevin" wrote in message
...
I was turning a top for a box/bowl the other day and thought a bit of
decoration would be nice. I had a piece of hard maple which was turned to
somewhat decorative shape. It could be used as a top of the lid of the
box/bowl. I got to wondering if it just might be easier to make the lid
with the decorative little geegaw on top all of a single piece. I've seen
some where the turner made the box, made the lid, and then glued a little
finial on top. Come to think of it, I guess that way to do it is the way
that seems right at the time.




I just turned one of box elder with a jatoba base and lid / box elder
finial LOTSARED!

I really like this one. I'm thinking of coating it with satin
polyurethane once the oil (walnut) has had a chance to cure. But I'm not
sure I want to sell this one ... it's the pick of the litter so far.

Bill

you may wish to eschew polyurethanes - they don't feel right (at least to
me) - lacquer or just oil, and carnuba wax has a much nicer feel - urethanes
are kinda soft and sticky feeling (again, my opinion, ymmv)




I just turned one of box elder with a jatoba base and lid / box elder
finial LOTSARED!

I really like this one. I'm thinking of coating it with satin polyurethane
once the oil (walnut) has had a chance to cure. But I'm not sure I want to
sell this one ... it's the pick of the litter so far.

Bill



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

On Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:58:32 -0800, "William Noble"
wrote:

you may wish to eschew polyurethanes - they don't feel right (at least to
me) - lacquer or just oil, and carnuba wax has a much nicer feel - urethanes
are kinda soft and sticky feeling (again, my opinion, ymmv)

Definately an opinion- I actually like spar poly for most of my stuff.
The only finish I prefer is shellac, even though it smells like a wet
dog when sanding and isn't very good for anything that has a chance of
getting wet.

Deft is good stuff, too.

Going out on a limb here- even though I do finish things with wax only
sometimes, doing that feels, well, waxy. And, much stickier feeling
to my paws than a thin coat of a decent poly.

On Sat, 18 Nov 2006 21:01:15 -0600, Prometheus wrote:

On Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:58:32 -0800, "William Noble"
wrote:

you may wish to eschew polyurethanes - they don't feel right (at least to
me) - lacquer or just oil, and carnuba wax has a much nicer feel - urethanes
are kinda soft and sticky feeling (again, my opinion, ymmv)

Definately an opinion- I actually like spar poly for most of my stuff.
The only finish I prefer is shellac, even though it smells like a wet
dog when sanding and isn't very good for anything that has a chance of
getting wet.

Deft is good stuff, too.

Going out on a limb here- even though I do finish things with wax only
sometimes, doing that feels, well, waxy. And, much stickier feeling
to my paws than a thin coat of a decent poly.

If poly feels "sticky" it might be the formulation (some are softer than
others) or there might be something preventing it from curing (I've seen
some brands take a month to cure on some woods) or it might be
outdated or have been stored at excessive temperature resulting in an
inability to cure properly.

I don't notice a lot of difference in "feel" between, say wipe-on Minwax,
and bare wood taken to an equal level of polish (if the bare wood will take
that kind of polish). Sand LV to 12,000 grit and polish with its own oil
and the result doesn't look or feel a whole lot different from Corian.



--
X:\Newsreaders\sig.txt

a lot depends on the wax you use - pure carnuba is very hard and doesn't
feel sticky - at the other end of the spectrum, parafin is soft and sticky
"Prometheus" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 18 Nov 2006 00:58:32 -0800, "William Noble"
wrote:

you may wish to eschew polyurethanes - they don't feel right (at least to
me) - lacquer or just oil, and carnuba wax has a much nicer feel -
urethanes
are kinda soft and sticky feeling (again, my opinion, ymmv)

Definately an opinion- I actually like spar poly for most of my stuff.
The only finish I prefer is shellac, even though it smells like a wet
dog when sanding and isn't very good for anything that has a chance of
getting wet.

Deft is good stuff, too.

Going out on a limb here- even though I do finish things with wax only
sometimes, doing that feels, well, waxy. And, much stickier feeling
to my paws than a thin coat of a decent poly.



--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

"Prometheus" wrote in message
...
Definately an opinion- I actually like spar poly for most of my stuff.
The only finish I prefer is shellac, even though it smells like a wet
dog when sanding and isn't very good for anything that has a chance of
getting wet.

Deft is good stuff, too.

Going out on a limb here- even though I do finish things with wax only
sometimes, doing that feels, well, waxy. And, much stickier feeling
to my paws than a thin coat of a decent poly.

Shellac is more resistant to water than you may think. One of the problems
with shellac and water is/was the _wax_ in the shellac. Seems it did what
wax does when it meets water, swell up and color. That's why wax finishes
and selling venues near open water don't mix. The wax is hygroscopic, and
what was slick as the proverbial bb becomes sticky in the high humidity.

I'm not an oenophile, lacking the palate, nor am I an anti poly, lacking the
visual sensitivity. A finish which is transparent and smooth looks very
much like any other transparent and smooth finish. Feels like it, too. I
think the "plastic" accusation has to do with the ease with which
high-solids finishes like brushing poly build surfaces. Betting none of the
above critics would be able to distinguish between poly and French polish
any more than SWMBO, whose exquisite taste in men qualifies her as an expert
everywhere could just now. She even has her glasses on.