Bowled Over

[John TenEyck]

My first posting in this forum. Let me preface this by saying I'm a long time woodworker and short time wood turner. I've made a few bowls but don't consider myself very knowledgeable or skillful in any aspect of it. What I do know I learned by reading and practicing. But I am persistent and critical, so most non-turners think the ones I have made are pretty nice. I'm not much for ornamental work, so the bowls I have turned are large enough to have some practical purpose, such as a salad bowl set.

About a month or so ago a friend was having his 60th birthday so I decided to make a bowl for him. I decided to make a segmented bowl because it was something new to me and I ended up with this. 203639

I didn't turn it as thin as I would have liked, but intentionally left it a little thick because I didn't want to take a chance on it exploding when it was almost done. Cowardice goes unrewarded, but my friend was happy and that was the main point. This bowl was about 11" dia. x 4-1/2" high.
A week ago I got an invite to the wedding of a former colleague, so what should I do for a gift - hmm, another bowl of course. But I wanted something more elegant so I decided to make a stave segmented one. I'd never made one of these before either, so that was another new challenge. Anyway, I came up with this:

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This cherry/maple bowl is 13-1/4" dia. x 3-3/4" high. I cut the 12 staved segments with my CMS and was surprised that it went as easily as it did. The hardest part was figuring out how to cut the top and bottom off flat, which I finally decided to do with my radial arm saw and it went very smoothly. The rest was just patience. I turned this one to just over a 3/8" thick wall and it feels about right to me, light without feeling like it's fragile. The finish is Seal-A-Cell followed by Arm-R-Seal.

I'm pretty pleased with this bowl. It is nearly flawless and I'll be proud to give it to my friend as a wedding present. Thanks for looking.

[Baxter Smith]

Glad you are posting John! Both are very nice but the grain patterns in that second bowl are really neat!

[Roger Chandler]

Both of these are nice work.......welcome to the creek! Nice joints and segmentation, the contrasting woods make for a standout form.

[Doug W Swanson]

John,
You did a great job on these! I've done one segmented bowl so I know how much time and effort go into them. You can tell that you took your time cutting the segments and gluing them up because everything lines up so nice.

I really like the cherry/maple bowl. Great color combination!

[Eric Holmquist]

Excellent job on both. While I love the look of segmented work like this, it's not my thing to actually do, but I really appreciate the precision and planning needed to pull this stuff off.

[Robert McGowen]

Very nice work, John! I really like the look of the second bowl you did.
Since you say you just got into segmented work, you might want to research the different ways to do the base. Some work better than others, but the style that you are doing might have one of the higher failure rates due to wood movement.

[Donny Lawson]

You did an awesome job on these two. Segmented pieces are so much different to work with and more time consuming to construct but well worth it in the end.

[John TenEyck]

Very nice work, John! I really like the look of the second bowl you did.
Since you say you just got into segmented work, you might want to research the different ways to do the base. Some work better than others, but the style that you are doing might have one of the higher failure rates due to wood movement.

I'm all ears. What approach would you recommend? And how worried should I be with this one? Thanks.

[Robert McGowen]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/archive/index.php/t-141371.html?

Try this thread and follow the links. There is a bunch of info. You should end up at Malcolm Tibbetts page, where there is a LOT of info. Good luck and let us know how your research turns out. Robert

[John TenEyck]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/archive/index.php/t-141371.html?

Try this thread and follow the links. There is a bunch of info. You should end up at Malcolm Tibbetts page, where there is a LOT of info. Good luck and let us know how your research turns out. Robert

Thanks for the feedback. So it seems like my bowls may have problems down the road. I'll have to hope that the single veneer layer on the latest bowl at least confines the carnage to the base itself. From the link I found 2 recommendations: 1) use multiple layers of veneer between the base and first ring, and 2) use a floating insert in the base. Any other approaches that I missed? Like everything with wood, it's a never ending learning process, which is part of what keeps it interesting for me. Thanks again for the help.

[John TenEyck]

Thanks everyone for the kind words and comments. After having done this latest bowl, with only 42 pieces in it, I'm in absolute awe of some that I see made with several hundred, with beautiful repetitive or assymetric designs. I have a long way to go.

Who's book(s) or website(s) do you recommend I look at to learn more on segmented turning, particularly bowls? Thanks.

[Robert McGowen]

1) use multiple layers of veneer between the base and first ring,

Not sure where the above came from, but I do agree with everything else that you have learned.

Buy "The Art of Segmented Woodturning" by Malcolm Tibbetts. It is available on Amazon.com. Read it, practice some, then read it again to see what you missed the first time. Like most things, you will find that it gets easier the more you do it. Robert

[John TenEyck]

Not sure where the above came from, but I do agree with everything else that you have learned.

Buy "The Art of Segmented Woodturning" by Malcolm Tibbetts. It is available on Amazon.com. Read it, practice some, then read it again to see what you missed the first time. Like most things, you will find that it gets easier the more you do it. Robert

Thanks for the info. I found the reference to using multiple veneer layers between the base and first ring here:
http://www.tahoeturner.com/instructions/pdf/BASE-ics.pdf

[Steve Schlumpf]

Nice bowls John - especially the second one! Just wanted to jump in here and welcome you to posting on the Creek! Looking forward to seeing your next turning!

[Robert McGowen]

John, I re-read the above referenced article. It says "The introduction of veneer layers between a solid base disc and a segmented ring can be beneficial." That is because you are trying to compensate for the cross-grain joinery, which does not occur with the floating bases. I personally never use solid bases, but that is just me. I really think that some type of captured or floating disc works best, but again, that is just the way I do it. YMMV

After re-reading the article and looking at the photos, I can see why you might be wondering about your "pie-shaped" bottoms. :eek: Just part of the learning process. :)