Tool Help... Miter Setting Device For Making Segmented Turnings

[Joe Scarfo]

Last July I scored a 3520B with the intent of making... among so many things... segmented turnings... big platters.. and some babs (big a$$ bowls)....

I've been working on the bowls... and I've been working through the necessary steps on the segmented turnings.

One thing I've not been able to work through is a jig that exact enough to help w/ the miters.

Last night, while putzing and learning on youtube I ran across something called a MiterSet.... It looks like the magic bullet to me....

Anyone here have one of these?

Any thoughts?

As usual, thanks for your time and ideas...

Joe

[Tim Thiebaut]

Howdy Joe, I dont know much about segmenting, but in the classifieds here on SMC there is an Incra Miter guage for sale, is this along the lines of what your looking for? If not sorry just trying to help....

[John Beaver]

Hey Joe,
I have found that angle setting devices, while they may work in a perfect world, still usually need some adjustment. It's good to have a starting place, but giving all the variables there is usually still some need for tweaking. I wouldn't spend a lot of money on an angle setting tool, but if it's not too much money, and looks interesting to you, then it's probably worth a try.

[Joe Scarfo]

Tim,

Tks.. already got one of those incra jobbies..


Joe

[Peter Fabricius]

Joe;
You can save yourself a lot of trouble with purchased stuff and just make a simple Segment Cutting Sled for your table saw.
I made a simple one that cuts (almost) perfect segments and it cost me $0.00. I did add a clamp, but I had that in the shop already.
Make the sled. Cut 3 segments and check that they make a perfect 90 degrees. Adjust as needed. Then cut a full circle of segments and assemble them into two half rings and check again. If only our a very little bit, then sand each half ring and glue them together.....
Attached is my cutting sled. Note: I have also provided a picture of my sanding sled that fits on the belt/disk sander. It is essential that all segments be sanded and measured with calipers to ensure the glue surfaces are smooth and all segments are exactly the same length (the distance along the longest edge of the pie shape)
good luck
Peter.

[Jim Johnstun]

If you get one of them, Get the original not the one for angles. It doesn't go high enough on the number of sides for segmented work. UIt does work as advertised. I got one then gave up on the segmenting. Jim

[Reed Gray]

Although I don't do segmented, I did see Malcolm Tibbets once. His video and/or book is well worth the investment.

robo hippy

[John Hart]

Nice sled Peter!! I vote for that. Low cost....highly adjustable....well done.

[Michelle Rich]

I've been a segmenter for over a quarter of a century. many things work in a pinch, but if you truly wish to be a GOOD segmenter and use many different angles, you will really find an Incra with a sled a virtual must. I have done 36 segment rings on an incra and been able to glue it up all at one time. No doing it in half as suggested above. If one has a 36 ring design, that repeats around a bowl/vase, and you keep doing the half ring sanding to make it fit, you will not be able to make your pattern fit.
I can see that an incra would not bust your budget as you have a very expensive lathe, so I'll assume you can afford the incra . Good luck with your segmenting projects

[John Keeton]

Michelle, while I don't have an interest in segmentation, that is one very nice piece! Good info, too, coming from the voice of experience.

[Bill Bulloch]

Like Machelle, I prefer the Incra System for doing Segmentations. The problem with home made jigs is that you have to have one for every angle you are going to cut. I made one for a 12 degree angle, then 11.25, then 22.50 .... 18, 9, 7.5, 5.625 and 5 degrees. If you have ever made one, then you know the time involved in getting them set up accurate, then there is the storage problem for us with small shops. I bought the Incra 1000HD off ebay for $130.00. It has positive stops ever 1 degree and fine adjustment in between. To get the accuracy needed for segments you have to make the fine adjustments, but with use it become a natural. I later found a Miter Express Sled on ebay and bought it. These two together make one fine set up for us segmenters.

For the money I paid buying these seperately I could have gotten the Incra 5000. This is a sled with the 5000 miter gauge that has positive stops ever 1/2 degree and would be my choice if I had to do it over again.

If I a reading it right, the Miter Set only allows you to make 0.5 degree adjustments. Half degree adjustments will not be fine enough for accurate segments.

[Dan Cannon]

Hi Joe,
It looks like you already got great advice here. for what it's worth, since you know I'm new to segmenting as well, I can offer my words of advice from my very initial experience. I did a ton of research on the miter systems, and it seems that Incra truly does have it figured out. If you have the budget, it would make total sense to go with the Incra 5000 (or express miter with the 1000?) and have at it.

On the other hand, if you're like me and simply don't have the budget (yet), particularly not knowing 100% that I was going to continue with the segmenting thing, I say give a homemade sled a shot. I wanted to try some segmented work without breaking the bank, so the homemade table saw sled was the way to go. It does take some time to fine tune, but in the grand scheme of things, they're really simple to make. I've done a couple now, and even with my limited woodworking skill in general, I've not found it to be difficult to get it pretty dead on. That being said, I don't think I want to make one for every possible angle I may use as I progress, so I've started an Incra fund for future use.

So I guess my vote is for the homemade sled, particularly to try your hand at it. But If you have the money and would rather spend your time on segmenting than jig building, then I'd say pick up the Incra 5000 and don't look back.

Just my .02
Dan

[Quinn McCarthy]

I just use a miter box to cut the piecesand a sanding jig to size them acuatly.

Check out MAlcolm tibbits's web site. The book and DVD's are worth the money. I have any of them.

Hope that helps.

Quinn

[Joe Scarfo]

Thanks to everyone with the advise...

My next trip out to the shop i'll have to see which incra miter jig it is that I have... i could never get it to adjust right...

Jim... thanks for your input on the MiterSet... they now have one specifically for segmented work... before I buy one, I'll see what their return policy is...

A friend of a friend owns a local glass craft shop and he's looking for a woodworker to partner with for work. I can envision a number of different styles and number of segments. I had considered a dedicated sled for different numbers of segments but didn't want to build each one.. that seems like a lot of effort... then again.. the more effort = more experience...

Joe

[Joe Scarfo]

For a guy whose unemployed, I sure seem to keep finding stuff....

My incra miter guage doesn't have a model on it, I've had it a number of years... I also found an EB-3 in there as well.. ya know... one of these days I gotta sell some of this stuff to thin the herd..

Anyway....

What about using the EB-3 and setting the angles using a digital angle/miter set up device? I like that a whole lot better.

Who has one of those digital miter set guages and is it as accurate as you would expect?

Thanks
Joe

[Reed Gray]

One of the things I liked about Malcolm's table saw jig was that on the off cut side, the platform was slanted away from the blade. This kept the off cut from being able to move back into the saw blade. I have a scar from a small piece that did that to me. I pushed it about 2 inches past the blade, but vibration and a magical vortex moved it back into the spinning blade. Not much of a cut, but big bruise. With a finely tuned chop saw, and a hold down jig, no problems.

On a side note for tool junkies, if you go to Bridge City Tools (they make things that are beyond most of what Garrett Wade catalog carries) they have a miter saw where the saw blade is in the table, and you use a miter gage, and push it across the blade for a cut. Really clean, and expensive.

Hope this link works. Prepare to drool tool junkies!!!!!!!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9EfzZYnYtA


robo hippy

[Joe Scarfo]

Hello Everyone...

I thought I would take a moment and update everyone...

I drug out the Osborne EB3... bought a digital protractor....

The first attempt at segments came out horribly wrong... I had an end gap of about 3/8" and the miters were curling into themselves like on a snails shell...

I sat back and thought about the mechanics of what could cause that and went back to the saw...

This time I did the following...

1. put sandpaper onto the EB3 to keep wood from sliding
2. sanded off the fuzz from the end after each segment was cut from the 6' stick the segments were cut from...

The results were great... not perfect.. but with the segments glued to 1/2 a ring... i'll easily be able to sand them flat using glass and sandpaper...

Now I need to assemble enough rings to glue them together... Next I need to come up with a jig for that problem.

Thanks to everyone for your help and advise.

Joe