Segmented maple and jarrah vase

[Aaron James]

I made a segmented vase for a birthday present recently. I had a little heart break in the making of it but it ended up turning out pretty good.

Im new to this site and not sure if we really post many progress pictures but I love taking pictures of every step as I go.

Click here for all the pics http://imgur.com/a/nEttC

[Jay Jolliffe]

Very nice. I like all the pics. Nice save also....

[Rich Aldrich]

Nice work. Good form. The pictures are nearly a tutorial for segmented work.

[Greg Just]

Very nice Aaron and that was a good save. I like the contrasting colors. One question I have as I can't tell from the pictures; was the jarrah cut on the end grain so you are gluing end grain on the maple to end grain on the jarrah? If not, you could have some issues in the future with joints failing. Normally you want all the grain running in the same direction. I could be wrong as I can't really tell from the pictures.

[curtis rosche]

for cleaning up the bottom, buy a 3'' forestner bit, and a 2.5'' one. 3 inch to clean up the bottom in one go, and the 2,5 makes a nice recess for a chuck to grip

[Grant Wilkinson]

Nicely done, Aaron. Great save!!

[Quinn McCarthy]

Wonderful job Aron!

Nice color combination and form. In all my trips to the UP I never came across a jarrah tree. :)

Quinn

[Robert McGowen]

Nice work. Three suggestions. 1) If you make a little table for your disc sander, you can flatten the half rings and then lay them on the table and flatten the ends so that they fit together into whole rings. This way you won't have to do it by hand on the table saw with a sheet of sandpaper. 2) You can turn the inside almost all the way as you build it. Turn the inside bottom half, then glue on the top half and turn the inside of it. That way you won't be trying to reach way inside the vase and knock off the top. (Yes, I have done that before.) 3) You can part off the vase with no problem on the lathe. I turn it about 500 rpm's and part it off with a slight angle so that the actual bottom is a bit concave. If you use a sharp parting tool, you can start with about 150 grit to sand the bottom. I have done this before with vases over 20" tall.


Good luck with your next project!

[Aaron James]

Greg, I actually completely forgot to think about that when I was gluing everything up and now the small pieces of jarrah are all running different directions. Some have end grain glued to the maple and some have side grain (not sure if that is the right word for it, im not the best with my terminology). Im kind of concerned about this expanding this summer in the humid Michigan summer but im hoping since they are such small thin pieces I wont have an issue with it. Live and learn.

[Aaron James]

Robert,

1) Very good idea. Not sure why I didn't think about that after I used the disc sander to flatten some of the pieces. 2) You're a genius. That sounds way easier, safer and a lot less heart break. 3) Ive cut off other stuff on the lathe with no issue, I was just being extra careful I guess.

Thanks for the great advice. I'm definitely going to use that second tip on any future project like this.


Nice work. Three suggestions. 1) If you make a little table for your disc sander, you can flatten the half rings and then lay them on the table and flatten the ends so that they fit together into whole rings. This way you won't have to do it by hand on the table saw with a sheet of sandpaper. 2) You can turn the inside almost all the way as you build it. Turn the inside bottom half, then glue on the top half and turn the inside of it. That way you won't be trying to reach way inside the vase and knock off the top. (Yes, I have done that before.) 3) You can part off the vase with no problem on the lathe. I turn it about 500 rpm's and part it off with a slight angle so that the actual bottom is a bit concave. If you use a sharp parting tool, you can start with about 150 grit to sand the bottom. I have done this with before vases over 20" tall.


Good luck with your next project!

[Aaron James]

The elusive Michigan Jarrah ha.
Wonderful job Aron!

Nice color combination and form. In all my trips to the UP I never came across a jarrah tree. :)

Quinn

[Marc Himes]

Very nice save Aaron. Your pictures are very informative, especially for me as I have not done any segmented work. I am sure your mom was very happy with such a beautiful piece. Where in Michigan do you live? Who knows what kind of summer we are going to have with all this relentless cold weather.

[Aaron James]

I always love the look of segmented turning but what I always forget is how much of a pain in the butt it is. 90% of the process is cutting and gluing up little pieces. This one had 140 segmented pieces. Im patient but I have my limits haha. And I live in Grand Rapids. Knowing Michigan it will probably be cold until July then all of a sudden shoot up to 105° in August.

Very nice save Aaron. Your pictures are very informative, especially for me as I have not done any segmented work. I am sure your mom was very happy with such a beautiful piece. Where in Michigan do you live? Who knows what kind of summer we are going to have with all this relentless cold weather.