# Having a go at my hand with segmented bowls..



## TellicoTurning (Nov 13, 2020)

So far I've tried 3 segmented bowls... the first was just a series of flat boards glue together that I initially had planned to use for pepper mills blanks, but tried a bowl instead... worked out well and have sold it to a gentleman in the UK.... the other two I actually tried to do segmented rings.... they turned out pretty well, but I still need to work on my joints to get them tighter... I use the hose clamps to hold them together and am having some problems with them not tightening up well or the screw twists the clamp and so far I've ruined about half a dozen...
This first little bowl is 7 inches diameter by 3 1/2 inches high... finish is just buffed with my version of Yorkshire Grit...mineral oil, beeswax and DE.  Wife claimed it.



 



This one I just finished turning yesterday...still need to put a permanent finish on it and sign int.... the bowl is 10" diameter by 4 1/2" high... so far just the abrasive grit polish on it and I still need to sign it.  It was supposed to be another inch higher, but the top rim of Birdseye Maple popped off and broke into all it's segments... this same ring jumped out of my cole jaws when I was trying to flatten it and skidded across my arm taking a patch of hide about 2" long by 1" wide...


 

 


I didn't quite get the shape I was going for, think I need another ring between the maple and yellowheart near the bottom....

This is the first bowl I mentioned... forgot to put up the picture.



This one is about 11 x 3 inches.


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## Dr_N (Nov 13, 2020)

Those look great! I've ventured into bowl turning a little, but nothing as nice as those.

Sent from my SM-G981U using Tapatalk


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## bsshog40 (Nov 13, 2020)

Very nice!!


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## jttheclockman (Nov 13, 2020)

Chuck real nice work. I too would love to venture in this too but just too much on my plate. Have many DVDs from Malcolm Tibbetts and his work is amazing. Thanks for showing.


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## mark james (Nov 13, 2020)

I love seeing this Chuck.  Your journey down this road will be fun.

Your initial efforts are excellent.  No, offense, but the failures you mentioned have been well served - these that you show are very good and obviously benefitted from the previous trials.

Very nice.


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## Jim15 (Nov 13, 2020)

Those look great.


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## Gary Beasley (Nov 13, 2020)

Are you using a segmenting sled to cut the segs? You have it accurate enough for a good glueup or do you use the half ring method?


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## bmachin (Nov 13, 2020)

It ends up costing a few bucks, but I found that spending the money for the wedges and building a wedgie sled made life a whole lot easier and the joints a whole lot tighter. 

I have one of the Tibbets books but don't think that I'll ever get to that level.

Nice work!!

Bill


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## leehljp (Nov 13, 2020)

I haven't got the nerve up to try segmented bowls. I can't square up a picture frame with perfection. What is the secret?

Wish I had an automated miter saw that I could dial in degrees, minutes and seconds!


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## bmachin (Nov 13, 2020)

leehljp said:


> I haven't got the nerve up to try segmented bowls. I can't square up a picture frame with perfection. What is the secret?
> 
> Wish I had an automated miter saw that I could dial in degrees, minutes and seconds!


Lee,

Per my last post, take a look here:




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						Wedgies
					





					www.segeasy.com
				



and watch the video.

Bill


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## leehljp (Nov 13, 2020)

bmachin said:


> Lee,
> 
> Per my last post, take a look here:
> 
> ...


Thanks Bill, I saved that link and will be using it soon!


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## Mortalis (Nov 14, 2020)

It's a good start Chuck. The segments need to be spot on and exactly the same and a segmenting fixture helps a bunch with that.
I really like the first one. The others are cool and worthy of a shout out. I personally like segmented bowls that have a defined design. 
Segmenting in its own right is an art.
Keep up the good work. Practice makes perfect, or so they say.
As Laura Kampf says, Even the defects get respect.


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## Ted iin Michigan (Nov 14, 2020)

Nice work! The first one you did with the blue parts is really super. The others are. too, but the first one stands out IMHO. Segmented bowls was one of my "quarantine objectives" this year and, frankly, I hope you don't get as hooked as I am  

Try the link to the Segmentology site (in Bill's post above) for pretty much everything you'll need to do rings that glue up tight. 

Also, there are several web sites that do a super job of calculating the size of the segments. Here's the one I use:




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						Segmented Turning and Stave Calculator with Full Scale Printable Templates - Inch
					






					www.blocklayer.com
				




If you make the wedgie sled, be sure the arms are EXACTLY the same width all along their length. Measure with a micrometer if you can. You introduce errors if they're not.

Good luck! Looking forward to seeing more!


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## moke (Nov 14, 2020)

Those are awesome Chuck!!  I really like the shape!


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## TellicoTurning (Nov 14, 2020)

Gary Beasley said:


> Are you using a segmenting sled to cut the segs? You have it accurate enough for a good glueup or do you use the half ring method?


I use a modified sled that I saw done on YouTube... by a guy named Franklin (I think - should look him up and give you the link).. it's actually the wedgie triangles mounted with the wide end toards the saw blade and the wood just swapped sides ever other cut... I'm about 98-99% accurate, but need to see about doing the half rings and see if that works better.... I use the hose clamps, but not successfully yet.


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## TellicoTurning (Nov 14, 2020)

bmachin said:


> It ends up costing a few bucks, but I found that spending the money for the wedges and building a wedgie sled made life a whole lot easier and the joints a whole lot tighter.
> 
> I have one of the Tibbets books but don't think that I'll ever get to that level.
> 
> ...





bmachin said:


> Lee,
> 
> Per my last post, take a look here:
> 
> ...





Ted iin Michigan said:


> Nice work! The first one you did with the blue parts is really super. The others are. too, but the first one stands out IMHO. Segmented bowls was one of my "quarantine objectives" this year and, frankly, I hope you don't get as hooked as I am
> 
> Try the link to the Segmentology site (in Bill's post above) for pretty much everything you'll need to do rings that glue up tight.
> 
> ...


I bought a set of wedges to make my modified sled... they work, but I'm sure I need to refine them a little...I've watched a number of video on Youtube on segmenting and will continue as I practice more... making the designs will be my most likely problem... sometimes I have trouble wrapping my head around the concepts of the designs... 

Thanks all for your kind words and encouragements.


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## howsitwork (Nov 15, 2020)

Bill and Chuck

thansk for the clear explanations and inspiration. Chuck one suggestion ( a clean one for your health) is to use a SOLID top ring cut from a plank or, if you must , then joint up boards to make that plank and take REAL CARE to get the joints of that jointed up plank close and accurate ! 

I am assuming you gripped the top ring in expansion mode in the chuck? If not my apologies ! In contraction mode you should not ( usually ) have an issue with exploding joints but with a solid ring you stand a better chance of success (IMHO).

Must disagree with your terminology though Chuck, “ my wife claimed it” , No, NO , NO , It was “ A loving gift you deserve for all the kindnesses you have shown over our lives together” . You never know when you’ll need the brownie points for some major tool investment, earn em when you can  !!!!


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## TellicoTurning (Nov 15, 2020)

howsitwork said:


> Bill and Chuck
> 
> thansk for the clear explanations and inspiration. Chuck one suggestion ( a clean one for your health) is to use a SOLID top ring cut from a plank or, if you must , then joint up boards to make that plank and take REAL CARE to get the joints of that jointed up plank close and accurate !
> 
> ...


I'll have to keep in bind about the solid top ring... I didn't have a board wide enough for the top but do have a jointer that I could do a glue up.... and I was holding the ring in a contraction mode but evidently my pins were a little short and I let my sanding board slip off the edge and (how do you get a catch sanding (  ) evidently the edge of the sanding board caught in such a way as to throw it out of the jaws.... then when turning I think I got too thin at the joint of the next ring... that caused it to let go.

And you are right..... my wife didn't claim int,  I lovingly awarded it to her for her patience and understanding my additction to wood turning.


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## Gary Beasley (Nov 15, 2020)

TellicoTurning said:


> I use a modified sled that I saw done on YouTube... by a guy named Franklin (I think - should look him up and give you the link).. it's actually the wedgie triangles mounted with the wide end toards the saw blade and the wood just swapped sides ever other cut... I'm about 98-99% accurate, but need to see about doing the half rings and see if that works better.... I use the hose clamps, but not successfully yet.


Earl Rasmussen designed a noose type clamp that works pretty good. Also the two arm wedgie sled can get a really good fit if used right as the pieces are cut in complementary pairs that cancels the tiny errors in angle setting assuming you have a good accurate wedge.


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