Segmented Turnings

[dicklaxt]

Bowl is 11" in diameter and 3 1/2" deep,,,,,105 pieces
Woods are Walnut,Wengi,Mahogany and Maple

Peppermill is 10 1/2" high......57 pieces
Woods are Walnut and Maple

[txjoker]

Very nice!

[Bobby]

Beautiful work Dick. I will be glad when I can do stuff like that.

[Tortuga]

Lordy !!!!! I don't even want to think about something that beautiful..

Spectacular work, Dick..... I've got a looooonnnnggg way to go...

jim

[dicklaxt]

It's really not as hard as it may look. It is made from rectangular shapes that have an aggle cut on them and then glued together to make a polygon ring,then you stack glue the rings together and turn as you would a solid block. It is very time consuming doing the glue ups tho but the turning is plain vanilla.

dick

[galvbay]

Dick...that's awesome work! Well done! I've alway wanted to do a segmented turning but I'm not sure if I have the patience! The woodshop teacher in Deer Park does some amazing segmented work....you guys are true artist! jim

[Brew]

I really like the bowl Dick. Do you happen to have any pics of the glue up?

Jeff

[dicklaxt3]

No, sorry no pics on the glue up, see above for description of what it is.

Here's a description of how I do it. I decide on how big a ring and how many segments to each ring by doing a hand sketch,the # of segments divided into 360 gives you the angle of the cut. You need to be very careful that the angle is correct and the lengths are exact. I then spread Titebond II glue on the ends of two segments and hold by hand pressing them tightly together for 15 seconds on a sheet of wax paper on a very flat surface(I use my table saw top) and then carefully slide them aside and do the remaing pairs the same way. I let this set for 1 hour. I then do the same to 2 pair segments etc etc waiting 15 seconds and 1 hour on all glue ups,until I have formed a ring. I make all the rings needed for a bowl.I then chuck up the base of the bowl and turn it absolutely flat. I let the rings dry at least 24 hours before doing the next step,remember that the rings have a perfectly flat side that was against the table,this side is glued to the base side, that you turned, while it is still in the lathe getting it close to center, you bring your tail stock up and pin a scrap board against the ring to hold it in place,let it dry 24 hours and then turn it absolutely flat,you can rough turn this ring if you want at this time or wait and do it after all rings are in place.I find it is easier to find the segment centers if I have a straight edge. The second and all other rings are done the same way one at a time . The positioning of the second ring and all others is critical as you must center the joint of two segments on the centerline of a segment that proceeds it and lining up all segment joints on the center of thesegments of the ring below, this will exactly position/center the complete ring. If you have a method of flattening the non flat side of a ring then you can stack glue them all at once using a weight to hold them tight,doing it this way is alittle more difficult as you must line everything up at once and with the wet glue things seem to slip around. I have a tenoning jig attachment for my table saw that i can use to flatten the second side and then I do the stack glue up on my drill press and use the press to apply holding pressure.

Like I said the job is tedious and time consuming but the rewards of a finished piece is worth it.

dick

good luck

[Bobby]

Thanks for that explanation. I always wondered how it was done.

[Brew]

Thanks for the info DL. Gives me something to think about and something to do with all the small pieces of wood I keep hording away. :)