Must have machinery for making segments for turning?

[Jack Gaskins]

What machinery would I need to make segment pieces for creating segmented turning? I have made my own list, however, I cant afford all the equipment. The things I think I need are;

1. Tablesaw ( I have one but not a quality one - currently looking at a G0690 purchase)
2. Drum sander- dont have but I do have a Jet 12 disc sanding machine
3. Planer or Jointer for milling lumber square - have neither
3. Miter sled - dont have
4. Dust collection for machinery - I dont have 220 in my garage yet

What would be the minimum tools I could get away with to make the segments?

Thanks,
Jack

[Michelle Rich]

the minimum? an arm powered mitrebox and some sandpaper on a hard surface..and a lathe. I made them like this for years.

[Mike Cruz]

While Michelle has a point, I'm not sure that is the answer you were looking for...:D Along those same lines, you could buy all your lumber already dimensioned. So, all you would need is a miter saw and a lathe.

IF however, you are planning to dimension your own lumber, here are my thoughts (and I would like to qualify that I have done "some" segmenting, not a lot, but my background is in flatwork before turning...so take this for what it is):

Jointer: Flattens one side and edge of stock
Planer: Gives you a consistent thickness parallel to the jointed side
Table saw: Rips to width
Miter saw or Table saw: Cut your angles on pieces
Lathe: Turn your piece

If you want to got through the whole process, I would say that is what you need. But as Michelle points out, you could do it with less...

[Ryan Baker]

You need some sort of saw for cutting segments -- depending on preference. Usually this means a table saw or power miter saw. The table saw you have likely will work just fine with a little tweaking.

Most of the time the saw won't be accurate/uniform/smooth enough for the segments (unless you have a very good rig for cutting). That's where your disc sander will be key. Make a good angle jig for that and you can quickly clean up your cut segments. (Check out Malcolm Tibbetts' book.)

A drum sander is definitely useful, but definitely not necessary.

A planer and jointer would be a big help. You can probably get by with your table saw if it can rip accurately. Otherwise you will need to do a lot of work with hand planes, or find some other way of processing stock. You can't do much woodworking without a way to size material.

Miter sleds are easily built ... and will likely work better than anything you can buy.

Dust collection is a luxury and largely unnecessay ... except arguably for the drum sander. A small, single-tool, 110V collector can suffice as well if you don't have a larger collector. Be careful about breathing the dust, especially with the exotics.

[Jack Gaskins]

Since I have made any segments before I was wondering how critical is was to sand each ring on top and bottom like you woud with a drum sander. I cant think of any other way of making sanding the rings. Anyone use a Delta bench top jointer? I find them listed on CL often.

[Montgomery Scott]

I sand one side of the ring with an adhesive backed sanding disc mounted to an MDF or plywood disk mounted on a 6" faceplate. That way you can use any sized sanding disc. If you have a VS lathe you can keep the speed low to avoid removing too much material. I've never used a drum sander and they turn out fine. I make the other side flat when I turn it and rough sand it for the next ring.

[Bill Boehme]

You can do quite well with a miter saw and a stationary belt sander. You can scratch the belt sander off the list by making a disk sander to fit on the lathe spindle ... or, as mentioned, use the Armstrong sander that you already have. :D

[Michelle Rich]

OK, Mike, you are right..I forgot the handplane.:eek:;) Segmenting is a game of pure precision, not machinery. You must be the kind of woodworker who loves being precise , foremost. I have included a picture of a piece I made years ago that has 36 segments per row and all made by hand. It is not difficult at all. The design on this goes all the way around. If you relied on sanding to get the angles the pattern would never make the grade..The cuts by the saw of your choice must be right on. At 36 pieces and 72 cuts per row, if you are off a tiny amt. it is repeated x72. The pattern would never have been completed.
OK now past minimum as you asked & mike suggested. Any table saw that the blade does not wobble and a good homemade mitre sled will do ok. Use the lathe to sand your rings. Watch the videos on Youtube, and get a book or two on segmenting, and start. let's see your masterpieces. And at the time this was made I had no 220, and not even 110. :D Don't rely on machinery & power, use your brain & your skills.

[Bill Bulloch]

Michelle is, without a doubt, a craftsman.

You have enough tools to start segmenting. At least until you are sure you want to pursue segmenting enough to justify the cost of the extra tools.

Here are some suggestions:

1. Have the place you buy your lumber mill it to thickness for you. It may cost you a few extra cents per board foot, but better than buying a Joiner/Planer. Then, cut it to the proper width on your tablesaw. If you just want to try it first, then buy a piece of Poplar from Home Depot to work with. I made my first segmented piece out of Poplar from Home Depot.

2. Make yourself a miter sled for your table saw. Search the web, you'll find several miter sleds for cutting segments. You could start with a 12 segment piece (15 degrees) sled. Later on you'll will probably want to make a seperate one for each angle that you will be using.

3. Start with rings that are less than 12" in diameter, then you can flatten one side on the Jet Disc Sander and the other on the lathe after you glue up the ring. I suggest you ware gloves when holding the piece up to the sander, it takes several week for two are three layers of skin to grow back (notes from experience).

Go for it and have fun.

[Robert Henrickson]

You can build a thickness/drum sander in a day or weekend. The only tools you need you already have -- table saw and lathe. Almost any used electric motor will do -- for mine I used a 1/3 hp motor from a blower fan from a furnace when a neighbor had a new system installed and left the fan/motor on the curb. You can build to whatever dimensions you need. Do a Google search. There are lots of plans online -- luthier sites have a number and they need precise thicknessing -- I've seen homemade machines that handle material up to 24" wide. It is far from rocket science -- the online examples show many different approaches, using scrap lumber and plywood. The only parts I had to buy were pillow blocks, shaft, and a belt. I probably could have used the pillow blocks and shaft from the fan itself. Despite what is said about 1/2 hp being the minimum necessary power -- it isn't. Mine is 13" wide, so wider would take more power.

[Jack Gaskins]

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I will have to make me a jig for my disc sander and construct a few good miter sleds. I have seen the shopmade drum sanders around the net just need to go ahead and try my hand at making one.

[John Beaver]

I like your decision. You can do a lot with a tablesaw and some nice sleds and jigs - Even deminsioning the lumber. I cut my segments with a miter saw but both ways work well. Over time you can add to your tool arsenal one at a time, but make sure you buy quality, especially for precision work like segmenting.