im starting my second segmented turning and have some questions

[curtis rosche]

im starting my second segmented turning i have it already laid out ,,,almost how big should the base of the turning be? i was going to have the design be one of those simple ones where the sides come out gradualy and then come back in kinda like malcolm tibbets "box for the king" http://www.tahoeturner.com/gallery/images/king.jpg but with out the fancy stand what size should the base of the vessel be? also how well does bacote turn? i am planning on making it 24in tall

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

Curtis, it's not just the diameter that's important, but the overall shape should be your main focus. I clicked on your link to my turning (I hadn't looked at it for quite some time) and in that example, for stability, and without the use of a stand, the base would/should probably be somewhere between the top of the bottom feature ring and the top of the stand. For a 24" tall vessel, I would probably avoid a base smaller than 4" and 5" might be better as long as the side curve flows nicely. The trick as you shape the side profile is to not be in too much of a hurry to reach the base diameter; keep your curve "full" until you reach the base. Otherwise, you will make the mistake of running out of diameter before you reach the base and then be forced to straighten out your curve in order to have enough diameter for stability. Hope that makes sense.

Bocote is a very nice wood to turn. It's a little high in silica content, so sharpen frequently. It's also high in natural oils, so don't allow your segments to sit around before gluing the end-grains together - glue the same day that you cut the segments.

[curtis rosche]

the bacote will stick to the wenge well wont it? i glued up a test ring to day to check out how it turns bacote and wenge every other segment

[Bruce McElhaney]

Malcomb hit the nail on the head. It's all about shape not base size. However you don't want the base so small that the vase would be too unsteady, unless you plan to have a stand. Why not check out a variety of traditional styles. Native American style vases often have wider bases, while Egyptian, Roman and other classical styles often have more narrow ones. Often but certainly not always, There's a lot of differences in the various styles.

BTW I've glued a lot of bocote to wenge without any problems. Only thing is thery are two different woods. One closed grain and the other open grain. Bocote turns nicely while wenge is more prone to splintering and tearout. Plus I normally use a sealer when working with wenge, but that's up to you.

[curtis rosche]

whats the sealer do?

[Bruce McElhaney]

Sealers fill wood pores for a smoother finish in open grain woods. Sanding sealers, shellacs, fillers and other various finishes all act to fill in open grain. Do a google search for more info.

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

whats the sealer do?

Chris, you shouldn't have any problem with gluing bocote and wenge together but as Bruce said, they are quite different woods. Even with sealers, the wenge is likely to have a much more "open" appearance next to the bocote. The only way to completely fill all those tiny voids in the wenge is to use some type of filler and that's getting into messy work. If you apply a dark filler to the wenge, you risk staining the lighter colored woods unless they are completely sealed. I'd probably just "live" with the difference; it'll add a design element to the surface.

[curtis rosche]

what about a clear finish put on thick then sanded off so its only in the grain, then finish it with something nice?