First attempt at segmented turning- Tips and advice needed

[Peter Clark]

I've been asked to make a rather large vessel, about 12" tall and 9" across.
I was hoping to make it out of one piece but I don't have anything that size and don't want to turn green wood, Time issue.
Material is Maple. I'm looking for ideas for clamping and assembly (I have my own but would like to see what people with experience do).
Glue selection is also and area of concern. I use Tite Bond for almost all my wood work but wonder if Gorilla Glue or something else would be better.

[Greg Just]

Peter:

I would recommend researching Malcolm Tibbetts as he is the king of segmenting. He has a website, DVD's and books that would help you get started. He is also a member here.

[Dave Ogren]

I was at a demo that Malcolm gave and he said that he uses the original Tite Bond. I am sure that there are several posts here that will tell you the same thing.
Good Luck,

Dave

[Kevin Lucas]

I am sort of new to segmenting but what has worked well for me on gluing segments is rub jointing the segments into half rings. I use either paper tape or big hose clamps to hold the circle as it dries. I had no luck at rubber bands. A lot of what I have seen or read says Tighbond 1 but I use 2 since it's what I have on hand both regular and the dark wood type.

For putting completed rings into shape a press maybe. Bob Hamilton has a video on one. I'm too lazy to make one yet so I use clamps, the bench vice or a glue block on a ring and the tail stock (it should not work but it did go figure).

[Michelle Rich]

Kevin: any titebond Since you are at the beginning, I'd suggest you check on Youtube..they have a lot of segmented videos. Hopefully you have a super good tablesaw & great mitre set up. It's almost mandatory. Good luck with your vessel

[Kevin Lucas]

I have used a miter saw with some success and a few flying pieces ) My old Craftsman table saw is a pain to make any thing with sliding bars. The best pieces I have made so far are with an old band saw blade on the band saw. Very clean cuts but the brand new blade I put on is a lot rougher. Maybe the hand sharpening I did on the blade is why I'm not sure. I kept it and will switch it off and on and the miter gauge is set to 30 degrees and that's where its staying )

Greg some good segmented viewing... http://www.youtube.com/user/gwinnettwoodworkers look for Don Russell and Max Sisk http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bSa0Bvz7qQ&list=PLF054206A0B3C350A&index=71

[Peter Clark]

I finished these a while back and thought I would share a little of the process pictures.

3 Vessels made from Maple, Cherry, Walnut and Copper
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I needed to make support for the turning. This is the max I can turn on my wood lathe, about 9.5"
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I needed to make some large calipers to check thickness.
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I needed to make a long curved tool rest for working the inside of the vessels.
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I also made some super long chisels with heavy'ish handles to reduce vibration. Mild steel with old planer knife forge welded on top as cutting edge
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[james bell]

I have only done seven thus far, but like it as I can turn a larger bowl without having a huge chunk of wood. You can also mix wood for nice effects. I have lots of scrap 3/4" wood, so it works well.

I used titebond 2, works well. Although I have an incra, very hard to cut 18 pieces exact. Rather than sanding the two halves, which my instructions told me to, I now custom fit the last piece. Actually much easier to do the open segmented bowls with the easy seg, don't have to be perfect with the cuts.

Also recommend starting with a smaller bowl to get some experience.

[Bob Hamilton]

From the dimensions given it almost sounds like you are turning a canister shape rather than a bowl shape. If so, it might be much easier to make a staved cylinder of the appropriate height rather than stacking a lot of individual rings. Making the staves of thicker wood would still offer some opportunity for shaping.

Good Luck!
Bob