A Very Large SW Segmented Vessel by The Master.....

[Wally Dickerman]

I thought that you segmenters and others would be interested in a pic of one of the late Ray Allan's large SW vessels. It was displayed at the AAW symposium in Pasadena several years ago

Ready for this? This piece is a little over 3 feet in dia. Every joint is perfect. Note the size of the clipboard at lower left.

I am fortunate that I was able to watch Ray in action. I spent an afternoon with him in his shop in Yuma many years ago. Ray worked while I watched. Great experience. Ray was a real pioneer in segmenting, especially his SW pieces

[David E Keller]

That's an amazing piece, Wally! I don't normally find myself drawn to segmented pieces, but how could anyone not appreciate something like this? Fantastic!

[Jim Burr]

Like DK, segments aren't my game, but anyone would be awestruck at the dedication and focus this must take.

[Michael Short]

Wally,

Thanks for posting this picture. It is truly a great piece of art.

[Mark Hubl]

Wow, thanks for sharing that one Wally.

[Roland Martin]

Thanks Wally, that is an incredible turning and is now tucked in my special picture folder.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Wally - what a great memory that must be! Beautiful work of art! Thanks for sharing!

[David Warkentin]

If you buy his book there is a picture of him sitting inside a huge segmented pot with a sander. On the lathe IIRC. And on the same page is a picture of some very small segmented pots.

[Wally Dickerman]

Ray's segmented work first showed up at the AAW symposium in Redmond, Wa. in 1989. He showed 2 wonderful pieces that had everybody asking who is this guy and why haven't we seen his work before. I think that Ray's largest piece was about 45 inches in dia. He went from using a crappy old Delta lathe to a large custom bowl lathe made by John Nichols.

[Dan Forman]

Wow, that's a lot of gluing! Impressive piece, must have been an eye opener to watch him work.

Dan

[Jonathan Spool]

If I tried that, it would probably blow up on my last pass! But then again when they do blow up, its always on the last pass!

[Dick Strauss]

Wally,
Didn't Ray do at least one really large piece? I seem to remember seeing a pic in his book with him curled up inside sanding.

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

At the Arrowmont Segmented Symposium held last November, Ray Allen was honored for his contributions to the field of segmented woodturning. We were honored to have ten members of Ray’s family present for the award presentation.

I first met Ray in 1994 and always enjoyed my time with him. Before Ray came along, most collectors were kind of shy about purchasing segmented pieces. All segmenters owe Ray a debt of gratitude for opening doors for those of us that followed.

Wally, regarding the piece in your photo, I’m quite familiar with it. In fact, I was once asked to create a duplicate of this exact design. Of course, I declined, but the fact that I was asked shows how desirable Ray’s work was after his passing.

[Wally Dickerman]

At the Arrowmont Segmented Symposium held last November, Ray Allen was honored for his contributions to the field of segmented woodturning. We were honored to have ten members of Ray’s family present for the award presentation.

I first met Ray in 1994 and always enjoyed my time with him. Before Ray came along, most collectors were kind of shy about purchasing segmented pieces. All segmenters owe Ray a debt of gratitude for opening doors for those of us that followed.

Wally, regarding the piece in your photo, I’m quite familiar with it. In fact, I was once asked to create a duplicate of this exact design. Of course, I declined, but the fact that I was asked shows how desirable Ray’s work was after his passing.

Thanks for your comments Malcolm. It's good to hear that Ray's family was given that honor.