Calling all Seggies......

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Well...I had some gift certifcates to Amazon....so I did it. I ordered Malcolm Tibbetts' book on segmented turning. I also ordered a book on pen turning. I don't have a book on either subject.

Question...I understand that a disk sander is handy for sanding the segments. Is there other ways to do it? Can you mount a wooden disk on your lathe and use it for sanding?

I won't try anything until the book arrives and I have the opportunity to read it. Then I'm sure I'll have more questions.

[Brian Brown]

Apparently Ken, you have slipped a bit deeper into the vortex! :eek: I find a disk sander is a great asset for segments, but an even better asset for other types of woodworking. You can make a jig and mount a sanding disk to your lathe (I have seen plans several places on the web), but why? Disk sanders are not too expensive, and I know there is still a little room in that shop of yours. :D Before you spend the money for a sander, you might try a segmented piece to see if you like segmenting. You can hand the segments for your first piece, and if you want to make more, then you can help stimulate the economy and get a sander.

[Eric Magruder]

Ken,

I've seen postings on other forums where some sand and some don't. I've found better results with sanding and found a 12" disk sander the way to go. I'll post some photos in the AM.

I think sanding on the lathe may be more trouble than it's worth and complicated.
Regardless how you accomplish it, the table MUST be 90 deg. to the BARE sanding disk plate and have a miter slot that is PARALLEL to the bare disk plate, otherwise the seg's won't work out. I spent big bucks to buy precision mite arms, make sleds and other jigs for the table saw, and it all came down to a good sanding setup. Also, you don't need a belt/disk combo, just a good 12" disk with a solid table. And think about sanding dust.:o

Well that's my two cents worth.:)

Cheers

[Eric Magruder]

I agree with Brian, try before you buy.

Also, Curt Theobald has a good DVD called "Introduction to segmented turning"

Cheers

[Dewey Torres]

Uh oh Ken... in-coming from Colorado Springs! Take cover~:eek:

[Dave Bureau]

Ken:

I am also new to segmenting. I got Malcoms book and it is a great asset but you have to get Malcome's 2 DVD's. They are awesome. Anyone interested in segmenting HAS to have them. You can make your first project without sanding with a machine. (sand by hand) but I think for the beginner and advanced those DVD's are more helpful than the sander. I just finished my second project and will post it later.

[curtis rosche]

unless you get really serious. a good mitersaw will work with tight joints, just make sure the blade is sharp. the 2 segmented turning i did, i just set up a good stop block on the dewalt sliding compound mitersaw that we have at school and then went right to glue up. slow cuts work best.

[Mike Golka]

Ken you have been given some good advice here. When I first started doing segmented stuff I made a 12" disk out of MDF mounted on a face plate for face sanding the completed rings on one side. All the segments were just cut on a table saw jig and the half rings hand sanded. Until this side of the vortex has a firm grip I would keep the purse strings drawn tight.:D

[Jim Kountz]

Ken, the first few segs I did were done without a disc sander, the last two were. Its night and day on the finished joints. I cut all mine with an Incra 1000Se which does a fantastic job and I thought it was good enough for segs. Which in a way I guess it is, however when you start sanding them too you notice that what you thought was tight was not as tight as it could be. It just adds more precision to the end product. If you can find one on sale or something the small Jet 12" sander is a nice unit, Malcolm used one too I believe.

[Steve Campbell]

Ken while I haven't tried segment stuff yet I have turned a few pens. You are hereby warned. Be careful. There is nothing that can give you a quick high than turning a pen. Just about anything can become a pen blank.
Good luck and look forward to seeing what you come up with.

Steve

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Steve,

I've turned a hundred pens or so. I bought that book because I wanted to find out if I was doing it right and to gain some new ideas.

I've actually turned one segmented bowl a couple of years ago. I bought some maple and purpleheart. I glued 2" maple to 3/4" purpleheart to 2 maple and turned the bowl. 3 segments...top to bottom. :rolleyes:

[Richard Madison]

Ken,

Here's a 15-1/2", 2 hp. variable speed disc sander (Jet 1642). I cut segments with an 80 tooth carbide blade and tablesaw sled, and do not sand. But I glue up to half rings and sand them to match. If your saw cuts are accurate, only a little touch up is required and can be done manually with a simple jig that Malcolm described in a recent post. Oops. There are pictures of my setup in previous posts re. disc sanders and the forum will not repost the same pictures. Sorry about that.

[Paul Douglass]

Ken, you will love the book. I received it a little over a week ago and have been studing it almost every night. Like you I do not have a disk sander, and reading the book sure makes me feel I will really need one. I'm looking, but don't have much money to spend right now, so it will be a while. I might have to bring my old HF lathe back in and turn it into a disk sander....

[Brian Brown]

Ken,

One more point to ponder on your segment sanding. If you use a disc sander, you have to have a very ACCURATE jig to hold the segments. If you try to free hand the sanding, or your jig is not accurate, you can make very accuratly cut segments not so accurate, and you rings won't work. Even with a good jig, you have to be careful that a speck or small pile of fine saw dust doesn't get caught between the jig and your seggie. That is enough to ruin the accuracy of your segments. Malcolms book describes a good jig you can make easily. I can't remember if his jig has a method to deal with the sawdust problem, other than just blowing it away.

[Dave Bureau]

Thats one reason why I love malcoms DVD's They show you how to do everything that is in the book.

[Eric Magruder]

Ken,

Here are the photo's of my sanding set up, it's nothing fancy but it works great. The hand tool is a must have if you want to keep skin on your knuckles. It's just a finishing nail driven into a handle, sharpen away the nail head and bend as you like. It works.

Also, I recommend Kevin Neelley's web site, it's a great place to get started. He has photos of each step of the process with explanations. You can find Kevin's site at “Kevin Neelley Woodturnings” http://www.turnedwood.com/FrameMiterBowl.html (http://www.turnedwood.com/FrameMiterBowl.html)

Cheers

[Eric Magruder]

Ken,

I can also recommend plans for a first project at Woodturning Online under “Beginner's segmented wood turning project plans” at
http://www.woodturningonline.com/Turning/segmented_turning/index.html#beginner
This is where I found my first project. The plans were simple and I did not need a sander due to the low number of segs per ring. The bowl below was my first and I made twice as many segs as I needed thinking I would destroy one at some point, well both of them came out great on my first try.

Cheers