Raised platter

[fuzzyturns]

Over the years, I have made a few of these in various heights and dimensions. This platter is about 15" diameter and made from ash, with the stand made from a piece of holly sandwiched between wenge slices and the legs made from black walnut. The stand is about 8" tall.
Initially the idea was to turn the outside of the stand. This was annihilated by a small mistake during the glue-up stage, where one of the legs slipped ever so slightly, but enough to render turning impossible. I could have made another stand (but TBH, shaping the wenge to hold the recesses for the legs was a complete PITA), but in the end decided that it looked good as it was.

As usual, all C&C welcome.

[Duncan A]

I really like it. The sharp angles on the legs contrast nicely with the gentle curves on the platter. Lovely choice of woods as well.
But....how on earth do you make the legs?
Duncan

[fuzzyturns]

That is actually quite simple: The whole thing was designed on a piece of paper (1:1 scale, keeps it easy), then I used a piece of plywood to make a template for a leg. Found a nice piece of black walnut and marked out and then cut the legs on the bandsaw. I then used a sanding disc on my lathe and a tilting table (goes into the banjo) to sand the sides to fixed angle. There is only one angle in this sanding action, and the legs are wider at the top than the bottom, simply because the extend out further at the top. Then used a sleeveless sanding drum (Axminster) to sand the outside, the inside can be sanded with the disc, as it is convex.

[Duncan A]

Thanks Fuzzy, I was thinking of all sorts of complicated jigs. Not that I'm planning to make some myself, but you never know when the idea might come in handy.
Duncan

[edbanger]

Looks very smart Fuzzy all works well together

All the best

Ed

[The Bowler Hatted Turner]

Very nice Fuzzy.

[bodrighywood]

First sight I thought it was a side table. Like the deceptive simplicity of the design.

Pete

[Les Symonds]

First sight I thought it was a side table....

...and it immediately reminded me of a dining table design that I'd seen.

This works really well Fuzzy and is a very practical piece to own. A few customers have pointed out to me that large platters are very attractive, but just take up too much room at the table, so when you're putting on a bit of a spread, with a table crammed full of goodies, being able to elevate a platter like this could be a good solution to the problem.

Les

[bodrighywood]

They are called tazzas and used to be for cakes etc at a table at tea time. Some are more shallow bowl shaped and are used for drinking but they are usually smaller. They sell quite well at shows around Christmas time.

Pete

[Walnut Les]

I also like it, well turned Fuzzy. Les

[fuzzyturns]

Thanks to all for the comments.
I always thought a tazza was more of the type with a raised rim, to hold sweets and the like. Well, you learn every day. And yes, the idea really is to provide a platter for fruit or cheese or whatever, that is raised from the table and therefore provides more space on the table itself.
I usually tend to strive for simplicity of form. As many of you probably know, the simple forms are the most difficult, because they have to be perfect, and the balance is easily upset.
Pete, when you say these sell quite well, what kind of money are we talking about?

[bodrighywood]

Depends on the intricacy, wood, size etc but they usually sell for between £30 and £50. Tazzaa is a generic name for any raised olatter, bowl etc. The more traditional ones did have raised rims but bowl / platter on a stem can be called a tazza

Pete

[fuzzyturns]

Oh my, I am in real trouble now. For this particular model, the material alone is worth around £30, never mind the work that went into it. What to do? Maybe I need to give it away, so at least one person can have a smile on their face.

[Les Symonds]

If I were to make something like this for sale in my own shop, I would probably pitch it at about £90 and I'd expect it to sell quite readily.

Les

[bodrighywood]

You obviously have better quality customers than us Les LOL. Seriously, selling it in a gallery or dedicated shop I agre ylu could get a lot more for it. Bottom line you need to quantify cost of material, time to make etc to appraise the value to you Fuzzy. I make these in about an hour but they have a single pillar and the wood is usually either free or cheap offcuts from a furniture factory.

Pete