Segmented bowls etc and or turning from planks

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Mikebart

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Hi all
Hope this is not too silly a question
I have a fairly well equipped workshop ie
P/t
Bandsaw
Table saw
Small lathe
After owning the lathe for 5 years I actually turned my first bowl last week (ash blank I had hanging around)
So far from being an expert and as it’s a hobby and to keep costs down on wood etc and to make more use of my existing equipment I was toying with idea of making segmented bowls of some sort.
Possibly as well or instead of making bowls from planks glued together cut on bandsaw and then turned.
So I was thinking of it being a learning curve into turning without a great deal of outlay.
I have most of the equipment required , realistic idea or pipe dream.
Comments good or bad appreciated.
My first bowl
 

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take a look at Mayuko wood turning or The Papa 1947 if u want a few ideas on youtube.......
it's a great way to use up odd bit's.......
Yep watched both of those guys,I only have a small lathe the idea is to keep me busy
and keep my machines from going rusty
Second item I think a bit of mahogany still learning
 

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Don't let me put you off but segmented bowl turning is difficult and it helps if you have a touch of obsessive compulsion disorder. I would start by getting Dennis Keeling's book on segmented turning just to see what's involved.
Cutting the segments to length and to the correct angle will need either a table saw with a good fence or a miter saw. A bandsaw would be the worst tool possible as it really is about absolute precision. Draw out the finished bowl or vase full size before starting to cut the segments.
My last tip is to use a superglue on the endgrain of the segments as PVA creates it's own glue line leading to infuriating gaps when turning. The rings thus created will need sanding flat and glued together with PVA which is what gives the structure strength. If you're not put off at this stage then best of luck. :rolleyes:
 
Don't let me put you off but segmented bowl turning is difficult and it helps if you have a touch of obsessive compulsion disorder. I would start by getting Dennis Keeling's book on segmented turning just to see what's involved.
Cutting the segments to length and to the correct angle will need either a table saw with a good fence or a miter saw. A bandsaw would be the worst tool possible as it really is about absolute precision. Draw out the finished bowl or vase full size before starting to cut the segments.
My last tip is to use a superglue on the endgrain of the segments as PVA creates it's own glue line leading to infuriating gaps when turning. The rings thus created will need sanding flat and glued together with PVA which is what gives the structure strength. If you're not put off at this stage then best of luck. :rolleyes:
Unfortunately I like a challenge , thanks for the advice I do have a reasonable table saw and it can always look easy on u tube with skilled people making things.
It will be good practice anyway😳
 
https://segmentedwoodturners.org/forums/index.phpSegmented turning can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be, from simple laminations, bowl from a board, to intricate designs and feature rings. One benefit is size, buying solid blanks is expensive, with segmenting you can easily build to any size your lathe can handle for less cost.
You say you have a small lathe, so projects like ornaments and small items like boxes come to mind.
 

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https://segmentedwoodturners.org/forums/index.phpSegmented turning can be as simple or as complex as you want it to be, from simple laminations, bowl from a board, to intricate designs and feature rings. One benefit is size, buying solid blanks is expensive, with segmenting you can easily build to any size your lathe can handle for less cost.
You say you have a small lathe, so projects like ornaments and small items like boxes come to mind.
Those items are well above my skill level😳like miles above but it will be interesting to try a simpler design
 
Hang on a mo, I have to find turning a normal bowl easy first🙈
Well I had a go
Made a wedgie sled
Set my table saw up as best as I could.
Found some wood , beech and mahogany.
Did a drawing of my proposed vase (first major mistake)
Thought I would hollow it out as I went, glue a few rings then hollow it out but I got carried away with gluing the rings so I modified my round scraper to work like a bottom scraper to do the sides carefully.
Inside done now to try to finish the outside
The end result as my first attempt although not brilliant I don’t think it’s too bad.
Wife doesn’t like it as it doesn’t fit in with the decor and said I should have made it in oak 😳.
Anyway I made the second one as requested 😜
Second one in Oak.
Comments good or bad will be appreciated or ignored 🥸
 

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Looks good.
If you don't push your limits you don't learn or progress.
Looks like you learned a lot, so congrats.
 
Wow those are so.e very nice turnings, been toying with the idea of segmented turning for a while, may eventually have space for the mitre saw one day.
 
Wow those are so.e very nice turnings, been toying with the idea of segmented turning for a while, may eventually have space for the mitre saw one day.
Thanks for the compliments.
What have I learnt,
I need more general turning experience on how to mount anything in the lathe from safety point of view and turning requirements.
More training on tool usage to achieve required design.
Purchase of additional equipment to achieve some of the above.
So if I continue turning I will join a local club or pay for some training.
I got fed up with my face shield fogging up and my glasses fogging up due to face mask.
Due to the issue trying to hollow out the first vase I decided to make the second oak one in two half’s and worked out the only additional requirement would be the purchase of a threaded live centre to fit my face plate so ordered one at a cost of £49.99.
So I checked the lathe to make sure headstock and tailstock lined up and started with design and cutting.
Cutting.
Checked and found inconsistency between cut faces on wedges checked wedgie sledge for accuracy, that looked ok then checked saw and although all seemed ok noticed what appeared to be flex on the blade (new cheap make of rip blade) luckily I had a nearly new Axminster crosscut blade that I fitted and that made a lot of difference hardly any fuzzies to sand off.
Gluing.
Hose clips to glue rings everytime I tightened them up they pulled the ring out of round so I found cable ties just as good and as the wedges were cut fairly accurately
didn’t need to be so tight.
Turning.
Treaded live centre arrived so I started glueing the two halves on the lathe chuck and tailstock for each squared up each ring as I went then hollowed out the centres as I went.
Last ring on each half had the same internal and external dimensions and I clamped the two halves together and turned the outside roughly to shape to get running smoothly in lathe, then separated both halves before gluing together.
Once turned to shape as best as I could sanded and parted off each end.
Conclusion.
I quite enjoyed the making of the parts for the bowl,the actual turning not so much
due to the fact that I am far from an expert at turning and had to assess how safe each action I intended to do was ( just because I had seen someone on you tube doing it with much more experience than me).
So if I continue I will probably go on a pay for training course to be taught the correct and safe way.
My last issue would be as it’s a hobby what to do with anything I make and winter is on its way and my garage gets cold.
Excuse the poor grammar English was never my best subject.
 
Thanks for the compliments.
What have I learnt,
I need more general turning experience on how to mount anything in the lathe from safety point of view and turning requirements.
More training on tool usage to achieve required design.
Purchase of additional equipment to achieve some of the above.
So if I continue turning I will join a local club or pay for some training.
I got fed up with my face shield fogging up and my glasses fogging up due to face mask.
Due to the issue trying to hollow out the first vase I decided to make the second oak one in two half’s and worked out the only additional requirement would be the purchase of a threaded live centre to fit my face plate so ordered one at a cost of £49.99.
So I checked the lathe to make sure headstock and tailstock lined up and started with design and cutting.
Cutting.
Checked and found inconsistency between cut faces on wedges checked wedgie sledge for accuracy, that looked ok then checked saw and although all seemed ok noticed what appeared to be flex on the blade (new cheap make of rip blade) luckily I had a nearly new Axminster crosscut blade that I fitted and that made a lot of difference hardly any fuzzies to sand off.
Gluing.
Hose clips to glue rings everytime I tightened them up they pulled the ring out of round so I found cable ties just as good and as the wedges were cut fairly accurately
didn’t need to be so tight.
Turning.
Treaded live centre arrived so I started glueing the two halves on the lathe chuck and tailstock for each squared up each ring as I went then hollowed out the centres as I went.
Last ring on each half had the same internal and external dimensions and I clamped the two halves together and turned the outside roughly to shape to get running smoothly in lathe, then separated both halves before gluing together.
Once turned to shape as best as I could sanded and parted off each end.
Conclusion.
I quite enjoyed the making of the parts for the bowl,the actual turning not so much
due to the fact that I am far from an expert at turning and had to assess how safe each action I intended to do was ( just because I had seen someone on you tube doing it with much more experience than me).
So if I continue I will probably go on a pay for training course to be taught the correct and safe way.
My last issue would be as it’s a hobby what to do with anything I make and winter is on its way and my garage gets cold.
Excuse the poor grammar English was never my best subject.
I don't think I would do much different from that, you've achieved some great pieces already, I'm completely self and YouTube taught, training and clubs aren't my thing so can't comment beyond they are the general concensus among most people, there are plenty on here who live up your way and may be able to point you in the right direction.
As for what to do with the items you make, I guess that will in part be down to how much you make, if prolific like me you will quickly run out of space, I gift some pieces as birthdays etc come around, I've done my school Christmas and summer fair, Christmas was very successful, summer not so much but that was largely down to lack of people attending, I'm planning to do a proper craft Market at some point, you can also use the likes of gumtree, I have several pieces on there but be prepared for people want to pay pennies for something worth pounds.
 
I don't think I would do much different from that, you've achieved some great pieces already, I'm completely self and YouTube taught, training and clubs aren't my thing so can't comment beyond they are the general concensus among most people, there are plenty on here who live up your way and may be able to point you in the right direction.
As for what to do with the items you make, I guess that will in part be down to how much you make, if prolific like me you will quickly run out of space, I gift some pieces as birthdays etc come around, I've done my school Christmas and summer fair, Christmas was very successful, summer not so much but that was largely down to lack of people attending, I'm planning to do a proper craft Market at some point, you can also use the likes of gumtree, I have several pieces on there but be prepared for people want to pay pennies for something worth pounds.
I have never considered attempting to sell anything I might make as I can see every error or mistake I might have made in any item as it’s a hobby it’s not self funding I just like to see if I can do something or not and if it can sustain my interest.
I have a fairly well equipped workshop and either need to make use of it by making items that take time more than build cost, otherwise I may as well sell a lot of it.
The days of buying a plank of oak to machine it away as sawdust has long gone so maybe so has the hobby side of woodworking and it needs to be self funding.
 
I have never considered attempting to sell anything I might make as I can see every error or mistake I might have made in any item as it’s a hobby it’s not self funding I just like to see if I can do something or not and if it can sustain my interest.
I have a fairly well equipped workshop and either need to make use of it by making items that take time more than build cost, otherwise I may as well sell a lot of it.
The days of buying a plank of oak to machine it away as sawdust has long gone so maybe so has the hobby side of woodworking and it needs to be self funding.
My biggest aim for selling stuff is to fund more turning tools/equipment so I can improve my skills and abilities and to make space for more turned stuff, Christmas is a very good time to do a craft fair, perhaps you could make some nice pieces throughout the year and do a stall somewhere at Xmas, last year at the school Christmas fair in 3 hours I made £650 profit and almost half of that was simple little tree decorations in 3 shapes, tree, teardrop and bell, all made from pallet wood with no finish and only a light sanding
20221116_160752.jpg20221117_222518.jpg20221118_165246.jpg
 
Thanks for the compliments.
What have I learnt,
I need more general turning experience on how to mount anything in the lathe from safety point of view and turning requirements.
More training on tool usage to achieve required design.
Purchase of additional equipment to achieve some of the above.
So if I continue turning I will join a local club or pay for some training.
I got fed up with my face shield fogging up and my glasses fogging up due to face mask.
Due to the issue trying to hollow out the first vase I decided to make the second oak one in two half’s and worked out the only additional requirement would be the purchase of a threaded live centre to fit my face plate so ordered one at a cost of £49.99.
So I checked the lathe to make sure headstock and tailstock lined up and started with design and cutting.
Cutting.
Checked and found inconsistency between cut faces on wedges checked wedgie sledge for accuracy, that looked ok then checked saw and although all seemed ok noticed what appeared to be flex on the blade (new cheap make of rip blade) luckily I had a nearly new Axminster crosscut blade that I fitted and that made a lot of difference hardly any fuzzies to sand off.
Gluing.
Hose clips to glue rings everytime I tightened them up they pulled the ring out of round so I found cable ties just as good and as the wedges were cut fairly accurately
didn’t need to be so tight.
Turning.
Treaded live centre arrived so I started glueing the two halves on the lathe chuck and tailstock for each squared up each ring as I went then hollowed out the centres as I went.
Last ring on each half had the same internal and external dimensions and I clamped the two halves together and turned the outside roughly to shape to get running smoothly in lathe, then separated both halves before gluing together.
Once turned to shape as best as I could sanded and parted off each end.
Conclusion.
I quite enjoyed the making of the parts for the bowl,the actual turning not so much
due to the fact that I am far from an expert at turning and had to assess how safe each action I intended to do was ( just because I had seen someone on you tube doing it with much more experience than me).
So if I continue I will probably go on a pay for training course to be taught the correct and safe way.
My last issue would be as it’s a hobby what to do with anything I make and winter is on its way and my garage gets cold.
Excuse the poor grammar English was never my best subject.


You made quite a lot of progress and addressed many things. I'll try to answer a few.
Mounting can be done a million and one ways but often a simple glue block is the easiest and safest. Glue blocks hold securely and are simply pared away when the piece is finished.
Always measure the cut. Set your saw/sled to the desired angle but always measure the cut.
For clamping rings together, rubber-bands are often used.
Rings don't need to be glued up all at once, gluing halves or quarters is often easier and allows for a precise fit.
From your post, I think you have a good grasp on whats needed, just don't go overboard.
You might want to take a look at Segmented Woodturners | Worldwide Home of Segmented Woodturners
 
When gluing up segments you have to make sure the angles are spot on a quarter of a degree out on 16 cuts is 4 degrees
The way I glue up the segment rings is to first use a very strong fibre reenforced tape around the perimeter for a dry fit. Unroll the segments still attached to the tape and glue all the faces. Pull the joints closed and tape it tight.
Then take a length of bike inner tube and make a number of tight wraps around the ring. This puts very even pressure all the way round and provided your saw cuts were accurate your segment should be good
I leave the fibre tape on until after I have glued the segment rings together
 
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