segmented vase

[Robert McGowen]

I answered an ad on Craig's list from a custom furniture maker that was selling a lot of hardwood to make room in his shop for a new tool. One of the boards was cherry with the heartwood running through the board and sap wood on either side. The board was only an inch thick, but a lot of pieces I cut had sap wood on one side and heartwood on the other. I just let the colors go where they wanted to and made the vase from a single board. 205 pieces of cherry, 16" tall, finished with Waterlox satin. I took pictures before I buffed it, as the glare interferes to much to photograph after buffing.

I made a new segment sled for the table saw and a new sanding jig for the disc sander and was able to complete the vase in 2.5 days. The sanding jig in M. Tibbett's book is the only way to go in my opinion. :)

I also did not like the way that the top looked after I parted it off (of course) and was able to use the vacuum chuck and a steady rest to re-turn the top. Of course I flipped it around and re-sanded the bottom after I realized I could turn it with the vacuum chuck. Another lesson learned. Thanks for looking.

[Jim Kountz]

Wow, great work Robert. Im really into the segmented thing myself and it seems all I want to do these days. Im still green to turning having only been doing it for about a year now but Im hooked. I like the way you let the sap and heartwood just do their thing. What disc sander are you using. I dont have one yet but its on the "to buy". I have a entire shop full of equipment and never thought I would use a disc sander so I just never got one. Who knew right??

[Bill Wyko]

Great job Robert. Nice form and finish. Congrats on the new skills too.:D

[Richard Madison]

Great looking vase Robert! Speedy too. Assume you got my PM re. the right side fence of the stave sled?

[Steve Schlumpf]

Beautiful vase Robert! Love the form and the size! 2.5 days seems awfully fast to create such a nice piece! You must know what you are doing!!! Nice work! Looking forward to seeing whats next!

[Malcolm Tibbetts]

Robert, your joinery looks nice and tight; it's pretty obvious to me that you sanded your segment ends.

Jim, if you're serious about a good disc sander, in the 12" size, I highly recommend the Jet. I acquired one a few months ago and compared to the cheaper Delta and/or Grizzley, there's no comparision. Unlike the cheaper models, it has a very solid table that stays put, a steel disc, and a built-in fan on the back side of the disc which very effectively blows the dust away. There's even an accessory canister that replaces the need for a vac. Of course it's more money, about $340 compared to $175, but well worth the difference. I got mine through Amazon.

[Jim Kountz]

Robert, your joinery looks nice and tight; it's pretty obvious to me that you sanded your segment ends.

Jim, if you're serious about a good disc sander, in the 12" size, I highly recommend the Jet. I acquired one a few months ago and compared to the cheaper Delta and/or Grizzley, there's no comparision. Unlike the cheaper models, it has a very solid table that stays put, a steel disc, and a built-in fan on the back side of the disc which very effectively blows the dust away. There's even an accessory canister that replaces the need for a vac. Of course it's more money, about $340 compared to $175, but well worth the difference. I got mine through Amazon.

Right now over at that famed auction site theres a guy blowing them out for $247 plus shipping. Theres only 17 hours left and I think he has about 12 of them. I might pull that trigger myself. If its good enough for you Malcolm I would say its good enough for me! Thanks for the info!

[curtis rosche]

i have done segmenting and the one that is on hold right now, i didnt do any sanding on, except sanding the rings before glueing them together. the joints are perfect, i guess the saw i used was accurate.


hey bill, you finish that next segmented thing yet?

[Robert McGowen]

I have the 12" Jet sander and it is great. I looked at the above referenced $247 price and it sounds good. The only thing that I would like to warn about is that the base is cast iron. The first sander that I received from Amazon had both of the front feet snapped off where it had been hit or dropped. They sent me a replacement before I had even shipped back the broken one. The sander is not that well packaged for it's weight and from what I have found out, the breaking of the feet is quite common. About $65 shipping added to the above price and also if you return it, you have to pay shipping back. It just doesn't sound that appealing to me. Just my $.02.

[Barry Stratton]

That is a fine looking piece!!! And only 2 1/2 days.....you retired or something?:confused: :D

[Ralph Edwards]

I hope I read the info on the site correctly in that you'll only pay shipping back if you're not satisfied with the machine or it's not what you thought it was. Otherwise if defective then the 30 day warranty should kick in and no return shipping required. Insurance is only an extra $1.80. So I couldn't resist. We'll see how it goes. The best price I've found on this unit prior to today was Amazon's $389 free shipping. Even with the insurance my total was only $307. I'm not much of a gambler myself, but I can buy my wife a nice gift for $82. She would probably like a nice bowl gouge or maybe some exotic wood.
I'll let ya know how it goes.
Ralph

[Ralph Edwards]

Well I said I'd let you know how the e-bay Jet sander turned out. Robert was pretty much right. The sander came after about 10 days and the box looked like it had been on at least three tours of duty in Vietnam. I dreaded opening the thing. The inside was no better. The machine had broken foot, broken table knob and a qouge in the USED sand paper on the disk. The sander was made in 2004 and was obviously a defective return. I immediatedly e-mailed the people I bought it from and told them. They were pretty responsive and asked if I would consider keeping the sander if they took more off the price as the broken foot wouldn't affect the operation. Before I agreed I pluged the sander in and checked for run out. I did'nt need my micrometer as the disk obviously wobbled about 1/8". I explained that the unit would be useless for my needs and insisted they pay the freight back since the machine was badly defective and obviously used. They had it picked up the next day after I reboxed it in another box I had. (original box wouldn't have made another trip) After several e-mails a week or so later threatening to file a dispute they kindly refunded all my money including original shipping. So I lost no money only time and suffered about 3 weeks of aggravation.
I then turned around and ordered the unit with stand and dust cannister from Amazon. All was shipped quickly at no extra charge carefully strapped and wrapped to a pallet. Unit is brand new and in perfect condition just like it supposed to be. Sometimes it just pays to spend a little more and deal with a company you are familiar with and trust!
Ralph

[Bernie Weishapl]

Robert that is a beautiful piece. Very well done.

[Robert McGowen]

Thanks for getting back about the sander, Ralph. I am glad that you ended up okay on the deal. I was waiting to hear about your experience, as I am going to buy another Jet sander. It will be worth the expense to me to not have to take the table on and off repeatedly while building vases. Looks like it is time to visit Amazon again.