Results 1 to 7 of 7

Thread: First segmented turning done - thanks for all the advice to forum members!

  1. #1

    First segmented turning done - thanks for all the advice to forum members!

    My neighbor's son runs a local pizza shop. She stopped by the other day and brought us a pizza then showed me a small wooden mortar and pestle that her son had bought online. He wanted to use it to grind up garlic but it was way too small. She asked me if I could make a bigger one and that they'd pay me for it.

    Here's the finished product. I've never done a segmented turning before and the angles drove me nuts but thanks to advice from other forum members on a thread I posted, I got it worked out. The only thing I would have done differently was to use Titebond II instead of Titebond III due to the dark glue lines. The mortar is 7 1/2" in diameter and 4 inches tall. I made the sides extra thick on purpose and made it oversized as it's going to be used for crushing several heads of garlic at a time. I was going more for function over form as it's going to need to stand up to some heavy duty use in a restaurant.

    I made a small pestle that I really didn't like so I turned another bigger one that I'm happier with, I gave both of them to her. I didn't charge her for it as it was a learning experience for me. The wood didn't cost anything because it was all maple that I took out of my firewood pile. I cut up firewood on the bandsaw to make small planks, then flattened one face and side on the jointer and ran them through my planer. That was the easy part, cutting the (*&@$! angles is what gave me the most heartburn. I finished the mortar and both pestles with a butcher block conditioner that I have that's made up of food grade mineral oil and beeswax.

    Last edited by Skip Camejo; 04-03-2017 at 6:57 PM.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    May 2009
    Location
    Boston
    Posts
    1,740
    Nothing wrong with that. Nice job.
    Don

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Dec 2010
    Location
    Republic, Wash. State
    Posts
    1,187
    I would suggest Original Titebond due to its shorter tack time. Good glue-ing and turning to you.
    C&C WELCOME

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Jan 2011
    Location
    Norristown, Pa
    Posts
    269
    Well done Skip. Now that you done one what is your next segmented project. Bet the wife would like a nice bowl....
    Again, good job.

    Bob

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Harvey, Michigan
    Posts
    20,801
    I've been turning for a number of years now and have yet to try a segmented ... anything. I think you did a really nice job on this and the pizza place will be thrilled to use it! You'll have to check in on them to see how well it is working! Thanks for sharing!
    Steve

    “You never know what you got til it's gone!”
    Please don’t let that happen!
    Become a financial Contributor today!

  6. #6
    Very well done. My wife wants me to get into these, as she loves segmented work.
    I turned already prepped blocks, but the time to make the segmented blocks is what I don't have currently.

    Again, nice work!

  7. #7
    Thanks all. I'm going to have to go out and raid the firewood pile again and see what else I can come up with. What I liked best about turning the segmented bowl/mortar was the near absence of tear out from end grain. I got a little bit when I was rough turning the outside but after cleaning it up with my gouge and sanding all was good. The thing I liked the least was all the prep of measuring, cutting the angles and gluing, gluing and gluing. But, I was happy with the end result. If you haven't tried segmented turning, give it a shot. You can always do like I did and use firewood or raid your cut off bins and see what you can come up with! The other good news is that I've been trying to learn/improve my skew use. I used the skew to finish up the two pestles, they both took minimal sanding. After watching several videos recommended on the forum I feel much more comfortable using my skew. It's not running away from me any more as long as I'm paying attention to where my edge is.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •