Segmented practice. Critique please

[Mark Hix]

I have been working on my segmenting skills and I think I am ready to invest in some better wood. This is pine. Please tell me what you think.

[Brian Brown]

Looking good!. Your rings look consistent, and there doesn't appear to be any large gaps from a poor segment fit. Did you sand the ends of the segments before gluing? The dark lines often come from segmements that don't fit together tightly. If you don't want the lines to be as prominent, accurate sanding will make them nearly disappear. Sanding the glue joint makes the glue joint stronger too. You might also watch the consistency of your ring rotation. That will make the lines from every other ring line up with each other. It is not necessary to make the lines exactly centered over the sewgment below. Sometimes you can acheive a really nice look by rotating only 1/4 or 1/3 turn. In most cases it looks better if the ring orientation is consistent, rather than random. The mismatch in lines could also come from not centering the rings near exactly when you stack and glue. I have a terrible time getting my rings to stack exacly centerred (the glue is slick, and they want to slide). Even a little off center starts to show when turned. If you haven't done so already, read Malcolm Tibbetts book on segmenting. It is really excellent, and has more information than I will ever use. For a first attempt at segmenting, I think you have done very well, and I'm looking forward to seeing more.

[Richard Madison]

Mark,
That's a good looking piece. Some good advice from Brian. Specifically, the joints of the bottom two rows appear to be approximately aligned. It might be better if they were offset 1/2 segment like the rest of the piece. The 1/2 segment offset between 2nd and 3rd rows appears to be off center a bit. This might just be the perspective of the photo.

Meanwhile, it is still a good looking piece, and you definitely have a handle on the construction technique. I admire your willingness to practice with pine before spending hard earned $$ on expensive wood before you were ready. You did good!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Looking really nice. You got some good advice from Richard and Brian.

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

Mark, when I teach segmented turning classes, I stress three things: FORM, JOINERY, and CONSISTENT GRAIN ALIGNMENT.

Look at your shape. Is this a shape that you would turn from solid wood? Is this a shape that would look good if it were "all black"?

Pine is a difficult wood to segment, so the dark glue joints are not a big surprise. Brian and Richard have given you good advice; I'll not repeat their comments.

Avoiding cross-grain joinery as you've done here is extremely important. As you develop your skills, you will be tempted to put vertical elements next to horizontal wood. Depending upon dimensions, this can be risky and should be avoided as much as possible.

Brian, thanks for the book plug.

Mark, good luck as you pursue segmented work.

[Dave Stoler]

And hopefully this pic will help show how i am attempting alignment AND centering on my first attempt.

[Mark Hix]

I am always thankful for any advice I get. I learn something every time. Thank you all for the input. The segments were cut and glued without sanding so that will be an easy fix (well, maybe not easy).
The centering seems to be something that I need to take more time on and I appreciate the photo Dave. I was trying to do it off the lathe.
I know on the first rings that I completely forgot about how the segments align. I got excited when I started putting it together.
I'll definitely get the book. I'm more a kenestetic learner but I think at this point some reading will help.