You are here:

  1. Homepage
  2. Woodturning
  3. Projects
  4. Spindle Work
  5. Artistic
  6. Contemporary Bud Vase

Contemporary Bud Vase

Tuesday 01 June 2010

Mark Sanger creates a thin-necked vase with a contemporary feel by applying lime green spray paint

1.The completed contemporary bud vase

Back

For this project, I wanted to turn a contemporary vase from an end-grain beech (Fagus sylvatica) blank that could be used as a visual item on its own, or to display dried or artificial flowers. I wanted to incorporate one of the latest accent colours used in interiors - bright lime - to add a splash of colour while leaving a large amount of the natural wood showing. By using our preferred colour, the vase can be connected with your interior colour scheme.

For the colouring of this item I used acrylic car spray, however, you can just as easily use a paint sample pot from a local DIY store. These come in hundreds of shades and you can often get the exact match of a particular colour within your home.

Tools used

6mm (1/4in) Kelton Hollower

6mm (1/4in) point tool

6mm (1/4in) parting tool

3mm (1/8in) parting tool

12mm (1/2in) skew chisel

12mm (1/2in) spindle gouge

32mm (1 1/4in) spindle roughing gouge

Step 1

Take a 100 x 100 x 355mm (4 x 4 x 14in) length spindle blank and rough down to the round between centres using a 32mm (1 1/4in) spindle roughing gouge

Step 2

Use a 6mm (1/4in) parting tool to clean up the front face of the blank and produce a spigot on the base to suit your chuck jaws. Then, with a pencil and rule mark the main measurements of the form onto the blank. Mark the base, main shoulder/join, where you would like the neck to blend into the shoulder, and the top of the vase

Step 3

Reverse the blank into the chuck, and use callipers set to 50mm (2in) to part in to depth to denote the top of the vase, leaving a small amount of waste wood to clean up later. Then, set the callipers to approximately one-third of the diameter - 33mm (1 1/4in) - and part in at the join line - which in this instance is approximately one-third up from the base of the form, to a width of around 10mm (3/8in)

Step 4

Use the parting tool to produce another spigot at the top of the vase to enable the neck to be reversed for drilling out with a standard length drill bit. Use a 32mm (1 1/4in) gouge to remove some of the waste material and start to blend the neck of the form to the line marked just up from the join at the top of the vase

Step 5

Use a 3mm (1/8in) parting tool to part into the join leaving a registration mark on the left face of the form. Part down leaving approximately 10mm (3/8in) remaining, and then stop the lathe

Step 6

Remove the remaining waste wood and the vase neck using a fine-toothed saw blade

Step 7

Use a Forstner bit in a Jacobs chuck to drill out the centre of the form to the required depth for the project

Step 8

Use a 12mm (1/2in) skew chisel, held horizontally in a trailing mode, to open out the hole of the form until the spigot of the neck is a good fit

Step 9

Using a suitable hollowing tool, hollow out the main form to lighten the vase

Step 10

Insert the spigot turned previously on the top of the vase neck into the chuck and drill out the central hole using a standard 10mm (3/8in) diameter drill bit. Drill down to the full depth of the bit. Remove the drill regularly to extract the shavings and to stop the tool from binding

Step 11

Now glue the drilled end of the neck back into the main form using quick-set PVA glue. Bring the running centre up to add light pressure while it starts to cure. Alternatively, you can use low viscosity Cyanoacrylate adhesive

Step 12

Mark the top of the vase with a pencil and rule and part the waste wood off using a 6mm (1/4in) parting tool. Stop short of the 10mm (3/8in) drilled hole and remove the remainder using a fine-tooth saw blade, as previous

Step 13

Use the 10mm (3/8in) drill bit to drill into the neck of the vase. Ensure to go down to the first hole you previously drilled

Step 14

Use a 12mm (1/2in) skew chisel to clean up the front face, taking fine cuts due to the overhang of the vase from the chuck

Step 15

Use a 32mm (1 1/4in) spindle roughing gouge to rough down the main shape for the vase from the shoulder

Step 16

Once the main form has been produced, use a 12mm (1/2in) spindle gouge to refine the profile from the main shoulder of the form up to the neck of the form. Use the 12mm (1/2n) spindle gouge to refine the profile for the base and blend the two together. Sand the form down from 120-320 grit abrasive by hand, keeping the abrasive moving over the form to stop radial lines being induced into the surface of the vase. Next, use direct, ambient protection, and a facemask to shield you from the dust created

Step 17

Use a 6mm (1/4in) point tool to produce beads equidistant down the base of the form from the join line. Turn two beads above the join to disguise it within the base of the beads. Remove some of the waste wood from the base near the chuck so that the beads can be continued safely towards the base

Step 18

Produce three beads at the top of the neck, again using the point tool with the running centre in place to add support

Step 19

Cover the lathe and apply several coats of acrylic sanding sealer. Allow to dry between each coat and, once dry, cut back with wire wool with the lathe running at around 300rpm

Step 20

Mask up the form leaving the beading exposed, cover/protect the lathe and spray the exposed areas with your chosen spray. Allow to dry and repeat the coats until you have good coverage

Step 21

Allow to dry and then remove the masking tape. Define the joining line of the beech and coloured area by either using fine abrasive or the point tool

Step 22

Apply several coats of acrylic satin lacquer and cut back between coats with wire wool. Lathe speed should be around 250rpm, if required. Reverse the form onto a friction drive and protect the neck with kitchen towel. Part in with a 3mm (1/8in) parting tool taking fine cuts, removing the waste wood until you can gain access to the base. Cut the waste wood from the base using a fine-toothed saw blade. Finish the base by hand using 320 grit abrasive. Apply sanding sealer, and once dry, apply the colour using some of the paint and a fine brush to the exposed area. Then, when dry, apply several coats of acrylic satin sealer

Glossary Rollover a term to view its definition

  • Skew Chisel
     

    Skew Chisel

    Skew Chisel

    An extremely useful tool but has a reputation for being difficult to control. Certainly you can get some nasty catches with it but it is worth mastering. It is used mainly in spindle work and produces a very fine finish from the tool, requiring little, if any sanding. Planing cuts, peeling cuts and slicing cuts can be made with the skew as well as turning beads, coves and 'V' cuts. Typically, the cutting edge is ground at 60 degrees to the axis of the tool - hence the term 'skew' and the tool has two bevels whose inclusive angle is anywhere between 25 and 45 degrees. Skews are now made in three styles - rectangular section, oval section and rolled edge section.

     
  • Spindle Gouge
     

    Spindle Gouge

    Spindle Gouge

    Modern day spindle gouges are made in the same way as bowl gouges - from a round bar of M2 high speed steel with the flute milled out. The flute is shallower and more open than that of a bowl gouge. Traditionally spindles gouges were forged from a flat, rectangular sectioned bar and some manufacturers have started making a modern day version of this, commonly known as the Continental Style spindle gouge. Like their name suggests, spindle gouges are used to cut details such as beads, coves and fillets on spindle work.

     
  • Spindle Roughing Gouge
     

    Spindle Roughing Gouge

    Spindle Roughing Gouge

    This gouge is semicircular in section and the bevel is ground at between 35 and 45 degrees. The cutting edge is usually ground straight across. It is normally used in spindle or between centres turning for reducing a square blank to a round section - known as roughing down. This gouge is commonly known as a roughing gouge, but is more accurately described as a Spindle Roughing Gouge as it must not be used on faceplate work, e.g. for turning bowls.

     
  • Lathe
     

    Lathe

    Lathe

    Lathes come in various types and sizes and prices. The average woodworker will only need a lathe for turning spindles and things like knobs or bun feet for furniture whereas a woodturner will be much more demanding of a lathe. A lathe has a bed to which is fitted a headstock which contains the pulleys and belt for creating the drive output to a shaft which can be fitted with various means of turning the work such as a drive centre or a woodchuck. The drive motor is attached to the headstock. At the other end of the lathe bed is the tailstock. This is precisely aligned with the headstock drive centre and has its own means of supporting the other end of the spindle blank that is being turned. The tailstock can move along the bed, there is also an adjustable tool rest in between, for supporting whatever lathe tool is being used. Woodturning is a complex discipline in its own right.

     
  • Forstner Bit
     

    Forstner Bit

    Forstner Bit

    A specialist bit, similar to a sawtooth bit but without the teeth. They cut a parallel sided, flat bottomed hole. These bits can cut overlapping holes. The photo shows a Forstner bit on the left and a saw toothed bit on the right

     
  • Jacobs Chuck
     

    Jacobs Chuck

    Jacobs Chuck

    A common term for the drill chuck used in either the headstock spindle or in the tailstock for holding drill bits and the like

     
  • Spigot
     

    Spigot

    Spigot

    A parallel or dovetail shaped projection protruding from the end of a piece of wood, suitable for being held in the jaws of a chuck in compression mode. Sometimes a spigot is called a tenon

     

handy hints

1. The design can be altered to accept a glass vase insert for cut flowers, if you so choose.

2. Changing the form of the base and flaring out the neck is another design option you could consider.

3. Instead of using a point tool to produce the beads a 3mm (1/8in) beading tool can be used.

4. To add more interest to the coloured area, a contrasting colour can be painted on and then wiped off the high points using a sponge or kitchen towel

5. If you do not have a hollowing tool you can also hollow the inside using a spindle gouge, if you prefer.

6. Altering the texturing from beads to an alternative such as vertical carving will add a totally different feel and dimension to the vase.

7. For a strong visual display, try making a set of three vases in varying sizes.

8. As an alternative to using spray paint try applying contrasting woods. The sky's the limit, so put some of your ideas into practice

Diagrams Click an image to enlarge

Related Articles

Sean Feeney

09/12/2008

Sean Feeney has come a long way from his early days, says Gary Ramsden

West Dean College

16/02/2009

Michael Huntley takes a closer look at the furniture courses offered at West Dean College

The Georgian Effect

25/01/2010

Derek Jones references Georgian furniture to that of today

Vivat Vitruvius

23/02/2010

The contemporary furniture that Tim Gosling designs is rooted in classical architecture. Andrea Hargreaves reports