Hummingbird Vase

[John. B]

Hummingbird vase 200mm high.


In Sycamore in two parts, Base & Vase. Colouring is by airbrush and fine artists brush,
bird and butterflies with Jo Sonja Iridescent Acrylic paints. Piercing, used a micro motor
carving machine (Woodworks) with very fine carbide cutters, (down to 0.2mm) C&C welcome.
John. B

 

[Dalboy]

A fantastic vase and it is great to see someone else's work. I bet it got a little nerve racking the more you took out

 

[nev]

 

[CHJ]

Excellent in both form and detail finish, very Binh Pho I admire your tenacity to put that many hours into a piece.

 

[marcros]

wow. dare i ask how long it took?

 

[Stanleymonkey]

How is that even possible? Looks amazing

 

[monkeybiter]

My jaw is on the floor. Wonderful.

 

[Mal]

Stunning, just stunning!

Yet another reason I'm reticent to post pics of my efforts

Certainly a beautiful piece 8)

 

[Samfire]

An amazing piece of work, well done and thanks for showing.

 

[John. B]

Thank you Gents for your very kind words. Dalboy, yes it did! When I was piercing I would be concentrating for about an hour trying not to cut through a
filigree segment then took 15 minutes off to find something else to do to switch off.
Nev, yes you are! but it did make me laugh.
Chas, must confess, I am a great admirer of binh Pho and love his idea of windows.
Marcross, about 4 weeks with 4 or 5 hours a day working on it. Although I've been turning for over 26 years I've only just started to airbrush, so it took a few try's
to blend colours shade to shade.
Mal, you should not be reticent to show your work. I think can speak for all turners, to say to novice turners "Show your work to other experienced turners!
They will help/advise or even show you a different way to do it. Practice will improve what ever you do. (I hope that doesn't sound too patronising)
Again thank you all.
John. B

PS It won me first prize in my club Challenge group.

 

[gregmcateer]

Brilliant - I was going to say M. Pho, as well.

 

[boomerang bender]

What an inspiration i am new to wood turning but to see something turned and sculpted in Sycamore
such a common wood is beautiful there is hope for me yet, many many Thanks for posting ,
BB

 

[MikeG.]

Non-turner here, who doesn't particularly like turned stuff. But wow.........that's superb. =D> =D> I'm not sure how practical it is as a goblet, though. Your mead will end up on your shoes. :lol:

I'm not 100% sure about the base, which looks slightly heavy to me compared with the fine work of the top.

 

[finneyb]

Very nice !
Did you test what the piercing would look like before cutting eg using a paper template and cutting it out ?

Brian

 

[woodbloke66]

Non-turner here, who doesn't particularly like turned stuff. But wow.........that's superb. =D> =D> I'm not sure how practical it is as a goblet, though. Your mead will end up on your shoes. :lol:

I'm not 100% sure about the base, which looks slightly heavy to me compared with the fine work of the top.

Agree with Mike, fantastic piece! - Rob

 

[John. B]

Well that's a surprise!
Thank you Gents for your compliments.
From a pic posted December 2016 to suddenly appear yesterday, nearly 2 years later. If it gives BB inspiration, imagine how much it gives me more inspiration to continue to improve my wood turning as well to help new turners to the fold.
Brian, in answer to your question, no! I first drew the design in my sketch book starting with the windows and freehand drew the piecing windows in pencil on the vase with no particular form, then added the grape vine to appear to wind in and out of the windows adding the leaves, grapes and the flowers in the base, followed by the dappling. I then began piecing by drilling holes with a .06 or 7mm bit in the corners of each window changing to a thinner bit .02mm or .03mm joining up the holes. The base was made with a router fitted to a fluting jig made by Paul Howard from Tiptree in Colchester.
Incidentally, after I had posted the pic I renamed it 'Windows in the Wood' I thought it sounded better than 'Hummingbird vase'.
Lastly, don't ever be worried about displaying your work, critique is one of the most helpful ways of learning.
99% answers will be helpful advice from willing woodturners. The 1% trolls will always be inadequate in whatever they do.
Best of luck in your projects.

John. B

 

[SVB]

John,

A really great piece - I like the use of colour, especially solid / opaque colour rather than translucent colours. I also like the piercing, less ‘dense’ that Binh type pieces but really works.

As an aside, I recently invested in the NSK presto dental tool, a real game changer for piercing and takes a lot of the scary potential for breakages away compared to a micro motor type tool. Like cutting with a new scalpel rather than a blunt craft knife!

Also, thanks for sharing the process, techniques and paints etc you’ve used. I think the open sharing one sees in woodturning is a real strength of the ‘craft’ - my wife does quite a bit of kiln formed glass work for her hobby and it is amazing how almost secretive that community is once someone discovers a way of doing something!!!!!

So - great piece, thanks for sharing!

Simon

 

[MikeG.]

...... a fluting jig made by Paul Howard from Tiptree in Colchester..........

Before Tiptree-ites start burning your effigy, I'd point out that Tiptree is in Tiptree, not Colchester, which is some 10 or 12 miles distant. [/ pedantry]

 

[John. B]

MikeG
I live in Rush green , my address is Romford
Paul Howard lives in Tiptree his address reads,
Newbridge Road
Tiptree
Colchester
CO5 0HS

Iv'e been to his house.
John. B

 

[MikeG.]

With the best will in the world, " Tiptree, Colchester", might be correct for a postal address (it's about the location of sorting offices), but "Tiptree in Colchester" is just flat out wrong. It's 10 miles away.