| Project by Alin Dobra | posted 373 days ago | 254 views | 2 times favorited | 13 comments |  |
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One type of turning that I enjoy making but somehow I do not do a lot is goblets. I found some oak branches across the street from my neighbourhood (about 4” in diameter) and I set out to make goblets. Since oak is tough and can take a lot of punishment while turning, I decided to push the limit a little. The goblet you see in the picture is about 4” in diameter, 8” long. The thickness of the wall for the top is about 1/16” and for the bottom 1/8”. The smallest diameter of the stem is about 3/16”.
The place where oak never disappoints is in the bending you get when it dries (if it is thin enough). I really like how this goblet twisted and formed the natural shape for the top. When you look at the pictures you might have the weird feeling that the goblet is slanted to one side. It turns out that this is not only true, but happens with all goblets since the stem has to be a little off center from the pith (otherwise you get a crack along the stem which is not good). When the wood dries, you get a bulge around the pith (and a little cracking). If the stem is close to the bulge, it gets slanted a little.
Hope you like it,
Alin
-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida
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13 comments so far
toyguy
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487 posts in 375 days
posted 373 days ago
You wood turners never stop amazing me….. what beautiful art you guys produce.
-- Brian's Table Top Toys http://home.mountaincable.net/~bgraham/
DAN
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3501 posts in 521 days
posted 373 days ago
beautiful mysterious piece. belongs under a glass dome !
-- ..... art for lifes sake ... danwalters@lumberjocks.com
jockmike2
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4497 posts in 784 days
posted 373 days ago
Very nice piece Alin, looks difficult to make. mike
-- Mike. Profisher50@yahoo.com
Alin Dobra
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317 posts in 426 days
posted 373 days ago
Dan,
Funny you should say that. I was in a galley that sells some of my work in St. Augustin last night and I had the goblet with me. Most people did not dare touch it. Some people were giving me directions how to turn it around so that they can see the inside.
Alin
-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida
Alin Dobra
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317 posts in 426 days
posted 373 days ago
Mike,
Making these bowls is difficult in the same sense learning how to drive is difficult. It is a motric difficulty not a knowledge difficulty. You basically need good hand-eye coordination (all that video game playing is finally paying off), good technique and lots of practice. You should expect to break most pieces in the first 6 months. Like driving, once you get it, your hands “magically” do the right thing. Most of the failures I get now are because of impatience not skill (when I rush things or skip important steps).
Alin
-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida
Grumpy
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6721 posts in 389 days
posted 373 days ago
A great work of art.
-- Grumpy - "Always look on the bright side of life"- Monty Python
Cathy Krumrei
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242 posts in 724 days
posted 373 days ago
Just wonderful. I wanna do that someday! Love the design.
Krum
-- Cathy Krumrei (Krum) http://www.TheCarversCorner.com
cajunpen
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5345 posts in 603 days
posted 372 days ago
Beautiful goblet Alin – your work is impressive.
-- Bill - "Suit yourself and let the rest be pleased." http://www.cajunpen.com/
MsDebbieP
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12282 posts in 698 days
posted 372 days ago
definitely an intriguing piece…mesmerizing
-- "Functional WoodArt" by Debbie, Canada (http://www.execulink.com/~yohan)
rikkor
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8574 posts in 412 days
posted 372 days ago
You’re blowing me away with your turnings. Very impressive!
-- Maplewood, MN
Jon3
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259 posts in 643 days
posted 371 days ago
Fabulous. I was going to ask how you accomplished the drastic wave, but since you used wet wood, and branch wood, that explains it!
Karson
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13834 posts in 938 days
posted 371 days ago
Great Goblet. So did it sell. Nice job. Impressive.
-- Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com
Alin Dobra
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317 posts in 426 days
posted 371 days ago
You guys are too kind.
Jon3, you can see another example of how oak bends itself in my other turning: http://lumberjocks.com/projects/2939
Karson, nobody felt like buying when I was there (this applies to the whole store not only my work). Let’s hope the Christmas gift hunters will start buying soon.
Alin
-- -- Alin Dobra, Gainesville, Florida