Re-RE-Craters

[Eric Harvey]

Grumpy,you were right,it is a diabolical piece of woodbut got there eventualy.Well the major hollowing is now complete after trials and tribulations,in the first of this batch of picsyou will see the hole is rather large,I had to give in and get the forstner bit out,as the chucking point on the opposite side kept busting.Pic 2 shows all the damage on the other side where it broke 6 or seven times,bits coming of and large cracks appearing,pic 3 just a general shot of it,pics 5 and 6 show the jigs used,the white wooden one for getting the volcano/peaks bits roughly the same size,the contour gauge to modify the backplates of the jigs to accommodate  the variations in the turnings of the volcano/peaks,one of the backplates having the wedges and bolt to show how it works,now the pics,cheers,Eric.

[woodndesign]

Eric, you've taken to create an ingenious piece, far larger scale than the very first one you'd presented us with, you've discovered the pitfalls, highs an lows, against all odds the form is coming together, from your work we all have learnt  a great deal, whether anyone of us would master what you've achieved is down to trial .. well done so far, look forward to the finished piece.

Cheers  David

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Eric I echo David's thoughts here, well done on a comprehensive pictorial and written demonstration. I appreciate the work you have put into this and also the problems that you have very ably surmounted so far, now a question,we know you did not have a perfect piece of wood to start off with but in hindsight was there anyway that you could have predicted where the wood was going to give way or split? and if so would you have changed to order of "volcano making" to prevent this? or would you have had to do them in that order anyway?
Regards
John BHT

[Bryan Milham]

Eric,

I can only agree with David & John. I've been captivated by your WiP, the ingenuity in creating the methods of holding, the pre shaping of the workpiece must have taken a fair degree of either trial & error or maths (I'd not care to guess which).

On top of which the first craters you posted worked well so you know it can be done, scaling things up is not always a simple matter. I have no doubt you've already worked out what did not go 'quite' according to plan and are making a few minor changes to produce a finished piece.

From me it's a big thanks for the efforts you've put into creating the thread and posting you work.

[edbanger]

Hi Eric

Thank you for taking the trouble to share your crater project, it opens up the way we look at turning and pushes us all to try something new. I for one have enjoyed the detail and images that you have posted.

Ed

[Eric Harvey]

thanks for the comments chaps,John,yes could have predicted where it was going to crack,one side was full of cracks before I started,but didn`t have any decent piece of wood that big,so had to go with it,next one will be a decent piece of wood though,hopefully haha,cheers,Eric.

[georg]

  Thank`s  Eric for taking the time to post the craters W.I.P. it`s been very interesting and informative much appreciated.
    You must have a lot of patience to type all this lot out.
    Tony

[Haggy]

This project takes some working out and really pushes the boundaries. It is amazing what you can achieve on the lathe.  I can see U- tubes 'Robbie the Woodturner' wanting to attempt this.  The chucking technique is clever, I can see this being used for other projects.  How you've set the work out in the first place is beyond me!  I  am intrigued as to the inspiration for this project and love the grit and determination you shown to complete it.
                  Regards   Haggy

[hughie]

wow thats not for the faint hearted, well done.

[Eric Harvey]

Haggy,the inspiration for these two latest pieces is the 3 cornered bowls you get from a cube of wood,I  have had trouble getting the brain to work this out even after seeing it done numerous times,so I got the idea of what about if i turn it from the 8 corners of the cube instead of 2,and it progressed from there,I don`t really plan things,I get an idea in my head,then go down the workshop and see if I can do it,and make it up as I go along,it doesn`t always work,I`ve sent bits of turnings all over the shop many times trying out ideas that have popped into my head that didn`t work,that`s the only drawback with having all the ideas in the noggin and not on paper haha,cheers,

Eric.