That sounds like a good set up. I started out some years ago using a chop saw, as Dennis Keeling did in his book on the subject. I know he used a Festool Kapex, but I have never had the consistency that he managed. He also used a disk sander to complete each segment prior to ring building. I built his sanding jig and used that for a while and whilst the results were ok, it was very time consuming, and there was always the potential to actually make things worse if you got it wrong. I’ve never looked back since I followed Jerry Bennett’s instructions to build a “Wedgie Sled” as he calls it, basically a two fence sled for cutting segments. The first ring I cut on it was 48 segments, just as a trial, and it went together first time with no sanding (other than de-fuzzing the edges). I make all my rings that way now, and they always fit without gaps and without sanding. The repeatability is amazing.
Three or four years ago I was at a show, it was either Yandles or Turners Retreat, can’t remember which, and I got talking to an old guy who had segmented some totally mind blowing constructions and turnings. He was a bit older than me, must have been in his 80s and we got talking about his work. He told me he cut all his segments on a small table top bandsaw, and he only one’d the cheapest blades he could get. I think they were Silverline of all things. He bought them 10 at a time for peanuts. It was a humbling experience.
