1900 pieces later, I'm ready to take it to San Jose.

[Bill Wyko]

The upper ring in this vessel is what I had entered in the segmented woodturners contest & won 1st place. Now I've finished the rest of it in time to use it in my instant gallery in San Jose. It's 1900 pieces of tropical Walnut & tiger Maple. + 2 round pieces to make the inner base. It stands 12" tall & 8-1/2" wide. The finish is called Ultimate finish, it starts with 2 coats of oil, then 2 coats of a filler paste. Next it gets 3 wax coats to give it a little shine. Please enjoy & all critiques are welcome & appreciated.
http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2109/11908737/24127086/402891046.jpg

[francesco dibari]

.... wonderful piece ... Bill .. :)

[Marty Eargle]

Wow. Kind of hard to say anything past that...

The detail on the segments are just masterfully done. Amazing dedication, Bill.

[Pete Jordan]

Everything is perfect!

Great job!

[charlie knighton]

enjoy Bill, nice piece

[Nate Davey]

Bill, that is phenomenal. There is no way my ADD would let me do anything even close. I really like that you were able to get a nice form to the piece, a failing of some segmenters.

[George Brown]

Just Beautiful !!! Were you just a little nervous when you turned it?

What filler paste did you use?

George

[Steve Schlumpf]

This is excellent! Will definitely be a big hit at San Jose!! Beautiful work Bill!

[John Keeton]

Well worth the wait, Bill!!! Fantastic work, but then, we expect nothing less from you!

I would also like info on the paste filler - and, the oil you used. Great soft finish!

[curtis rosche]

wow. where do i order one?

[Russell Eaton]

Very well done Bill. Glad you got it finished ok. Looks like the PM handled it just fine.

[Chris Studley]

Very, very Cool Bill.

We've all been watching the progress, somehow the scale escaped me up until now, only 12" High?

That means all of those pieces are much smaller than I realized.

Awesome.

[Jim Burr]

I want to grow up to make segments like you!

[Scott Hackler]

Nice Bill. The piece really turned out well. I do have a question though: Did you make the footed base as a design element or were you afraid it would be too top heavy with a flowing curve/no foot? Just curious. Again, very very nice work.

[Deane Allinson]

First class!
I guess you have to have nerves of steel to start turning it after all of that glue-up work.
Deane

[Bill Wyko]

Thanks very much everyone. The finish is a 3 part kit called ultimate finish. The paste is thick with little beads that blend into the wood. It's stage 2 of the 3 part finis. It's commonly used on Sam Maloof style chairs. I'll get you a link.
As far as the flaired base goes, it's a design element that allows it to sit on other surfaces like cloth and stay stable.
Jim, you don't need to grow up, I didn't.:D

[Jerry Wright]

Bill - very nice. Form, selection of woods, and of course wonderful joinery. Is the Ultimate Finish an automotive product?

[Bill Wyko]

My bad, i went out to the shop & the finish is actually called Masterpiece wood finish. here's a link
http://www.highlandwoodworking.com/masterpiece-wood-finish.aspx

[Mike Cruz]

Thanks for posting the finished pics! I bet you are both proud of this one, and also glad it is done (over with). Congrats on both counts.

[Bill Wyko]

Here's kind of a neat shot of the inside.

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2109/11908737/24127086/402890906.jpg

[Alan Trout]

Bill,

Very nice and well worth all the effort.

Alan

[Ed Morgano]

Bill,
ONLY 1900 pieces? I could see myself gluing that together, but I probably would never get up enough nerve to put it in the lathe. Beautiful job Bill. Keep up the great work!

[Ken Glass]

Bill,
As always you never disappoint. A wonderful Segmented Vase with beautiful colors and fine form. The Tiger Maple and Walnut go extremely well together. A first class piece indeed.

[Jon Nuckles]

Amazing work to design and execute such an intricate piece. I don't have the patience for a 1900 piece jigsaw puzzle, let alone something like this. Well done.

[Eric Holmquist]

I was amazed by the original ring, the other ring is even more amazing. The overall form and wood selection is excellent!

[Damon Stathatos]

That is one unbelievable piece...now get back to work on your humidors you slacker. But seriously, congrats on the piece and best to you in San Jose.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Beautiful piece Bill. Really worth the wait to see it complete. I am interested in your finish technique.

[Bill Wyko]

Again I really have to thank you all. So many of you inspire me. I find a secret to success in segmenting is to make the segments thick from inside to the outside. This way i have a lot of cushion to make adjustments to the form.

[Mike Golka]

Great job Bill, you are credit to segmenting. Can't wait to see the "BIG" one you have waiting to turn on the new lathe.

[Bill Wyko]

This one was actually practice for the big one. I'm glad I did this one before I did the big one. I discovered some better ways to do the stripes so they come out even that will be a big plus when I make the feature ring of the big one.

[Sid Matheny]

Speechless!!!



Sid

[Denny Rice]

One day I hope to reach a skill level of that magnatitude. That piece is so pretty!

[Michelle Rich]

as a segmenter, i do have a clue as to how much work this was. Very stunning. the feature rings are magnificent. This one might even take you beyond San Jose! it's a big world & this is a big (as in amazing) vessel!

[Bill Hensley]

I put this into the awe-inspiring category! I can only imagine how much work went into creating this beauty.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Unbelievable!! Many people will get to enjoy this piece in the Instant Gallery. I wish I could see it in person.
faust

[Tim Rinehart]

Awesome piece Bill! I agree with comments that the folks in San Jose are going to enjoy seeing this at the Instant Gallery.
Have fun and again....just an awesome job!

[Ryan Baker]

Fantastic! This is a first-class piece all the way Bill. It was worth the wait seeing it come together.

[Mark Hix]

After the first tease on this vessel, I have been looking forward to this post. WOW! Like the rest of the turners, I would love to see it in person.

[David DeCristoforo]

I was re-reading the replies to this post and realized that I never commented. Sorry about that.

Let's see... what can I say that would not, at this point, be completely redundant? Perfect?... nope...been said. Wonderful? Beautiful? Fantastic? Nope... all used at least several times. Excellent? Not even... at least three excellents so far. Even the prosaic and somewhat pedantic "nice" and "very nice" have been preempted. As have "very cool", phenomenal and unbeliveable. Speechless, stunned, amazed... all states of mind that have been inspired by this piece. Several responders have even cracked wise about the nineteen hundred pieces so that's not gonna fly either. It seems like all I'm left with is "good". Really good. Really really good. This will teach me to come late to the party...

Oh no... wait... I got one "STELLAR"!!! It's a stellar piece Bill....

whew...

[Baxter Smith]

Sweet!.....and looking forward to it!

[Bill Wyko]

Here's a close up of the pattern. This is the worst one of them all.

http://pic80.picturetrail.com/VOL2109/11908737/24127086/402817245.jpg

[Michael Short]

Bill,

I have been waiting to see the finished piece. Truely a testament to your creativity and skill as a woodworker/turner. Well done !!!!!!!

[Mike Cruz]

Yeah, I can see how you'd be disappointed in that one. I mean, when I magnified your close up by 1000x, I could really see what I think might be some areas that could possibly not have fit exactly perfectly together...but that could be my eyesight, after all, I've only got 20/20...

[Bill Wyko]

LMAO you guys are crackin me up. Thanks so much for all the kind words DD listed.:D The fun has just begun. I'm excited to see all the cool stuff @ the symposium. I'm sure my work will blend in somewhere in a corner. I'm bringing the one with the spiral finial, the Illusion & this one. Show a little diversity.

On another note, i have to thank Malcolm Tibbetts for putting on the feature ring contest. Not only did it motivate me to take my segmenting to another level, it also put a chain of events in motion that led up to me getting a new PM4224 lathe. Truly a butterfly effect. I also want to thank those that voted for my ring, they are why I co-won 1st place.

[Bill Wyko]

Well, I'm going to miss this one. I sold it to a friend in Lake Tahoe the day after the event. I'm sorry I haven't had time to post the pictures of the amazing work from the show but I got back to tons of work and then I got food poisoning last week. I'm still catching up on the work now that I'm better but I'll post the pics next week for sure. I can say that it was a very well done event and everyone I met were just outstanding people. Now I'm going to have to get back on the big vessel I'm working on. I am glad I did this one before it though, I got some insight on my design and I'll be making some design changes to the big one.