Segmented Bowl

[Bernie Weishapl]

Well here is my first segmented bowl and probably my last at least until I retire. I can see I need a good jig at least better than what I used and more time. It didn't turn out to bad. It is cherry on the bottom, cherry/walnut/purpleheart, next two rows are cherry and the top is cherry/walnut/purpleheart. Finished with 4 coats of antique oil and buffed. It is 6" across and 3 1/2" high. I made this for the LOML for mother's day. There are a lot of things I should have did different but she just loved it. Had to take it to work the next day and show it off.

[Steve Schlumpf]

Wow - sure has some great colors! Nice work - I haven't tried any segmented work yet - figured Bill Wyco has that market cornered! I do have to wonder about the placement of the joints on this piece. Having the joints lined up as opposed to having them intersecting with the previous row - just wondering if that could cause a problem with the joints seperating later on. Like I said - haven't done any seg work myself - was just wondering.

[Dave Stoler]

But like Steve said the overlapping joints do give it strength.But still,I like it alot.

[Paul Engle]

BERNIE ... SUPER JOB !!!
but ..... do not wait until retirement , no ... you will be missing too much and from what I can see you only need slight adjustments to bring your next project into full swing , then when you retire you can build an OT attachment and go back around the house and embellish what you have already done.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Nice first segmented piece Bernie! I have developed the patience to attempt one of those yet.

[Bruce Pennell]

Bernie great job, I'm still trying to talk Bill in to coming down from Tucson to try the 3520b, and get a free lesson in segmenting. I haven't tried one yet. Great Job...Bruce

[David Newson]

Bernie - That's a great segmented bowl, I've not got the skill or patience yet to do one, I note its your first segmented well done, I may also wait till I retire before I attempt one, what sort of time scale did it take to complete and what did you use to cut the segments with.

[Mitchell Cholewinski]

Beautiful, beautiful job Bern. Mitch

[Robert McGowen]

Great job Bernie! You are supposed to say how you are hooked on segmenting now and you are going to burn your wood pile, not I won't do another one until I retire! :)

Technically, I have to agree with Steve about staggering the joints, but if your wife is like mine, it is a keeper for sure!

[Dennis Puskar]

Nice job Bernie I like the mix of different types of wood.

Dennis

[Bernie Weishapl]

Thanks for the kind comments. Yep there are several things I could of or should have done different. If I were to do it again I would stagger each layer. Didn't think about the wood movement and the glue lines being lined up. Of course I was hoping Bill Wyko or Malcolm would chime in.

Ok Robert I must confess my wife did get me a book on Ray Allen by Dale Nish. I need to finish reading it and if I do anymore I will get Malcolm's book also.

[Richard Madison]

Bernie,
It's a darn nice first segmented piece!

Just to clarify, you usually do not want the glue joints aligned. You want the glue joints of each layer or ring to be centered on the segments of the contiguous layer. This way the joints of alternate layers are aligned. Another way is to offset the joints of each layer by the same angle, so the joints "spiral" up the piece.

The other thing Malcolm gets on us about is cross grain joints. It is handy to use a solid piece for the very bottom layer, but that does result in some cross grain joints. It is sometimes better to use a segmented bottom layer with a plug in the center.

And at the risk of being repetitive, that's a darn nice first segmented piece.

[Cary Swoveland]

Bernie,

That's a very nice and interesting piece. The fact that the joints are lined up vertically was the first thing I noticed--not so much because of the potential structural problem, but because it is so unusual, and interesting, from a design standpoint. It is also more difficult to line everything up that way. Please let us know if it's still holding together a year from now.

Cary

[Bernie Weishapl]

Thanks again. It will be interesting to see how it holds up. I know there are a lot of would of, could of and should of. I will be doing more reading and more study before I do another. One thing I will do is build a better cutting jig and glue press. I pressed this with one of my 50 lb weights from my lifting weights. It was fun to do but awful time consuming.

[Doug Reesor]

Bernie,

Another impressive effort. I just got my first peice of purple heart the other day and have been thinking of putting it together with maple and walnut. I was worried about putting it beside the walnut, but clearly it looks great.

You're never too old to try something new! Monet was never satisfied with his water lillies. I think the day you have acheieved complete satisfaction is the day you set down your chisel for the last time. Keep at it.:)

Doug

[Glenn Hodges]

Bernie, that looks mighty fine to me. I have yet to make one of these.

[Jeff Paxton]

As my teenagers would say, Awesome. I am impressed.

Jeff

[Art kraft]

Bernie
What did you use for cutting? I haven't read Malcom's book,maybe I should, but I did watch the video on seggies' dream. I'm not sure how he does it, but looks time consuming. It shouldn't take long to do your vase. You could cut, glue and stack in under 2 hours. I made 13 small vases 8"T x 5"D not too long ago. Average time start to finish room 1.5 hours each. I'll send pics when they come back from show.
I started 2 vases today,12 layers,8 segments/ring. They are all ready to be flattened and stacked in under 4 hours.
Maybe I could teach you "OLD DOGS" new tricks, My wife has been telling me for years to write a book.
I take considerable time to set up the saw, I rarely sand the joints. a 20" (required for large Dia only) disk sander is your best friend. Use 6" hose clamps for clamping, you can double them up or buy large ones. I couldn't get them in town so I just doubled up. Sand one side flat on disk sander and if desired face other side on lathe. I use a wide belt sander for that and then bump them on the disk for perfect fit between layers. You can sand both sides on the disk and stack, just face every 4th to 5th layer on lathe. Be careful to sand even. When stacking rings, sliding is always a problem. To reduce this I push down hard and slide them around, reduce the hydroplaning, realign and let sit for a few minutes. The next trick is the hydraulic jack.
Make a frame with 2x4s (or steel). Using the jack to apply pressure in this frame prevents sliding as pressure is applied.
Richard asked what I have been doing since 2002. About 11 million screw hole plugs. 3000 stair spindles /year for a log home company, 2800 bun feet for a custom furniture co. and about 1000 bottle caps a day for Alora Ambience for three years, just to name a few. The point is I do a lot of turning and time is money so everything I do I have to do efficiently and that includes vases. How's this for pricing $.0955, at $.10 you don't get the job.
If your willing to put up with my rambling I will answer any questions I can, just ask.
Art

[steven carter]

Bernie,

The bowl looks great. I hope the non staggered joins hold up. I haven't done a segmented piece yet, and don't know when I will be able to (probably after retirement also). The great thing about this forum is being to learn from others before we try it ourselves (if I can only remember it by then:confused:). The colors are very striking, I am sure SWMBO will treasure it always.

Steve

[curtis rosche]

a little thick isnt it? i like the shape and color and form.

[Bill Wyko]

Alright, way to go Bernie. Nice work. I'm glad to see you give segmenting a try. I'm sure your wife likes it a lot. If I can ever be any help please let me know.