segmented Sun and Moon 2

[Larry Marley]

Made this for my father's 80th birthday.

390 pieces, 9.25 x 7.25"
Some minor changes from my first, biggest change is the floating bottom.
I was thinking about a lower profile floating base without multiple layers.
I glued up two 3/4" thick half rings and hot melted them to a faceplate.
Used a small ornament tool to cut a grove, or mortise into the interior and then turned the mating floating bottom. Just enough play to expand, and tacked it with a drop of glue on the center of the end grain to prevent rattle. I am happy with the results and the curly maple bottom made it easy to sign the walnut base. You can see some of the assembly steps on my website in the "news and projects" page..

Larry

[Quinn McCarthy]

Awesome job once again Larry.

I will be checking it out.

Quinn

[Steve Mawson]

Very nice, why aren't you in the Midwest so I could come over for a demo. I am amazed at what can be done with segments by other people, not me.

[Kurt Barker]

Amazingly beautiful. Amazing joints.

Thanks for posting pictures!

ktb

[Thom Sturgill]

Very nice, Larry. Your constructs are a large part of what makes me interested in trying my hand at segmented work. I really like the non-geometric nature of your pieces.

[Robert McGowen]

Very nice form and finish, Larry. The name certainly fits!

[Ray Bell]

Just....outstanding

[John Keeton]

Larry, that is a beautiful piece! The feature/accent ring is just awesome, and the joinery is perfect. Nice curly maple, too!

[Roland Martin]

Extremely well done segmented form Larry. From concept to finish, excellent work:)!!

[Steve Schlumpf]

Larry - absolutely beautiful work! Your Dad is going to love it! Wish him a Happy Birthday from all of us!!!

[David E Keller]

Beautiful work. I love the feature ring. I hope my kid gets me something that nice for my birthday if I make it to 80.:D

[John Hart]

Gorgeous!! I could stare at that for hours. In fact...I think I will. :)

[Randy Gazda]

Nice work and nice photos.

[Allen Neighbors]

Larry, that's a gorgeous piece, and the joinery is superb!!
I'll always be grateful for your tutorial on making a coffee scoop. I've turned probably a hundred or so of them, and people just love them!! Thank you for promoting wood turning so well!! You are a gem!!

[brian watts]

Awesome job.. very nice

[Michelle Rich]

I'm a segmenting nut, and like your vessel very much. So much controvery about bottoms..floating, & other methods. Funny thing is I have been doing them for a quarter of a century and have never done anything but solid bottoms (up to 8") and have NEVER had a problem (despite the fact my climate goes from 40 below & dry as a desert to 95 & humid)...Is the problem REAL? Or are we segmenters just making work for ourselves? Thanks for sharing your turning.

[Jim Maxwell]

Michelle, I agree with you 100%. I read a lot about segmented projects and their perceived "problems". I also have been making segmented pieces for the past 20 odd years, with no problems. To illustrate a point I have included a laminated platter and a lidded bowl. Neither of these have a "floating" bottom. I can not see or understand the need.
Jim

[Jim Maxwell]

An apology Larry, I didn't mean to hijack your thread. :o
Jim

[Mike Golka]

Another beautiful piece Larry!! Very well done.

[Matt Ranum]

Larry that is outstanding! Well done...again!:D

[Larry Marley]

I'm a segmenting nut, and like your vessel very much. So much controvery about bottoms..floating, & other methods. Funny thing is I have been doing them for a quarter of a century and have never done anything but solid bottoms (up to 8") and have NEVER had a problem (despite the fact my climate goes from 40 below & dry as a desert to 95 & humid)...Is the problem REAL? Or are we segmenters just making work for ourselves? Thanks for sharing your turning.

Michelle, I have never had a failure either. I do know three people who have. One was turning club member with a platter that had enough cross grain to beg failure.
One was a segmented turning instructor in cerritos with a hollow forum that was fine for six months, then traveled to Palm Springs and cracked. the Third was Malcolm. My concern was having a turning end up in somewhere like Houston where you have humidity shifts of 100% between summer and winter. Where I live it is common to have 78% humidity in the morning, and dry to 15% by afternoon. These shifts likely have less of an effect than in a climate where the humidity stays high for months before dropping for months. I can see where longer exposure to humidity changes will allow the wood to fully acclimate and move. I have seen plenty of furniture fail for not accommodating expansion, but we are talking about much larger cross grained surface areas.

It's probably not a big risk with 4 or less inches of a solid base, but where functionality and aesthetics are not compromised, it is a little insurance.