Woodturning Segmented Platter – Tips, Tricks, and Bloopers
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For this project, I am pushing my limits. After my move from Oregon to Utah, I had several project crack from the change in humidity. These were generally flatter projects with long butt joints. I resolved to turn a platter that would not crack.
One issue is the outer rim when segments extend out often with limited support and on this platter – no support. The butt joints between segments are very sensitive to changes in humidity and risk cracks. To resolve this, the outer ring is a lamentation of two rings with the joints offset. This plan supports the butt joints with stronger side grain joints.
In addition, since the project is flat, rings cannot bricklay on top of each other. Instead, I cut matching bevels on each pair of rings. The bevel gives a lot of forgiveness in matching the joints and extends the glue line a little bit.
The platter contains 48 segments in walnut and hickory. In addition, the center is 3 plys of maple cross-banded to constrain grain movement. The platter is about 10 inches in diameter and finished with walnut oil.
Enjoy!
Woodturning Olive Vase – Green to Dry to Finished
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The last time I visited Arizona, I brought back some trunks of olive and mesquite. This piece was a smaller section from an olive tree. Most of the piece was sapwood without the usual dramatic heartwood figure. Observing this and talking it over with the wood, we decided to turn a vase. The wood was still wet so we had to rough turn it and let it dry. While rough turning, a drill took care of the pith – the root of all evil cracks.
A year later, we decided it was dry enough to finish turning. It is finished with shellac friction polish and buffed to a nice sheen.
The vase is 3 inches in diameter and seven inches tall.
Enjoy!
Segmented Woodturning – Experimenting With Splines
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I have had a hair-brain idea for a while now to use splines to enhance a segmented woodturning, particularly a bowl. There are times to use a spline to fix a project. In addition, this is a time to use a spline to decorate or elevate a project to a new level.
This project uses 12 segments per ring in 7 segmented rings plus 6 splines. The main body is cherry, the top ring and splines are walnut. The finish is walnut oil then buffed to a nice shine. Size is 8 inches diameter and 6 inches tall.
The experiment in this project is to insert splines in the segment rings. I had not seen this done previously. The trick was now to make the cuts safely on my table saw. The solution turned out to be a simple tall fence screwed to the saw’s miter gauge. To prevent the wood from shifting, I did not cut completely through the segment ring. This was also the case when I did Celtic knots.
I tried to be conservative this time with the spline since this was a first experiment. With this background, future projects will have more exotic placements.
Enjoy!
Woodturning Hollow Form Vase – Green to Rough to Finished
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I started turning this vase shortly after receiving it in a club wood raffle. It was still wet. It seemed to be perfect for a hollow form turning. I rough turned the outside and hollowed it while still green.
After coating it with a PVA based wood sealer from Craft Supplies USA, I let it dry for about 18 months. I weighed it periodically to assess how much moisture had been lost.
Remounting a dry but warped project is always part of the challenge. In this case I had placed a scrap disk over the entry to the inside to limit air movement. This now served as a tenon while I recut a tenon on the base.
Then on to cut off the sealer and trim the hollow form to final shape. I wanted a smooth curve.
In this case I used a sanding pad to remove the last of the nub on the bottom. I put the sanding pad in a #2 Morse taper collet sized to the pad’s shaft. Then a drawbar holds the collet securely to the spindle. This works better than a Jacobs chuck in the spindle.
This vase is finished with walnut oil.It measures about 6 inches in diameter and 5 inches tall.
Enjoy!
Woodturning Segmented Lidded Vase With Invisible Connection
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For this vase, I wanted to have a lid. Not just a lid but one that had an invisible connection. My segmented vase was a perfect opportunity. If I prepared the vase right, I could hide magnets in a segmented ring. Besides being invisible, their power would also be invisible.
So, I embedded eight 6mm x 3mm ferrite magnets in the joint. A layer of segmented wood hids the magnets. While the wood reduces the power of the magnets, they are still strong enough that I can hold this vase upside down.
This vase is 4″ diameter and 6″ tall finished with walnut oil.
I used quite a few threaded wood faceplates as I needed to hold segmented rings from both side at times. My Live Tailstock Chuck Adapter from Penn State also came in very handy in aligning segmented rings to a faceplate and when parting a ring into two smaller rings.
Enjoy!
Woodturning Inside Out Triple Fascination
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In preparing for a remote demonstration, I guess I went crazy with some inside out turnings. An inside out turning can be fascinating. For an inside out turning, staves are temporarily fastened together while a profile is cut. Then each stave is rotated and permanently joined before turning another profile. The first turning is then on the inside while the second turning is outside.
Usually an inside out turning uses two or four staves. A two stave project is flat with an inner cavity. A four stave is more 3 dimensional with four windows into the interior. Sometimes, another object is placed inside the final turning.
A three stave inside out turning is a little more complex because the initial stock must be cut at a 60 degree angle. After that, the process is the same. However, a triple stave turning has larger windows into the interior. I like the larger windows.
While I was at it, I made two turnings with a captured sphere inside and one with an LED tea light inside.
Here’s a link to the perfect sphere turning video:
Enjoy!
Woodturning Freeform Segmented Vase
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Most often when preparing to make a segmented project, I have to prepare a detailed plan to know what size rings to make. However, not so in this project. I made a total of 17 rings of hickory/pecan flooring wood. (eight segments per ring) Then I stacked them various ways until the wood said “go turn me”.
I also speed glued the rings together. It turns out that each ring does not have its glue fully cured before being glued to the next one. But first-
I turned the exterior nearly to final shape with all rings assembled together on a threaded rod. Then I glued them all together in three sections, hollowed each section, then glued the final form together.
This hickory/pecan vase is finished with walnut oil. It is 10 inches tall and 5 inches diameter. Segments total 136.
My steady rest from a couple of weeks ago also came in quite handy.
Enjoy!
Woodturning Classic Bowl – From Tree To Table
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I love turning green wood when I can get it. In this case, a microburst blew down a neighbor’s pear tree. Ornamental pear is often called Bradford Pear. After helping clear the trunk from my neighbor’s back yard, I had several pieces to turn. This wood came from a half section of that wood.
I rough turned the bowl, sealed it and put it away. Periodically, I weighed it and recorded the weight. From August 2019 to February 2021, the wood lost 31% of its weight. That loss is typical in my experience for fresh green wood.
The finished bowl is 10 inches diameter and 4 inches tall. Walnut oil provides a matt finish.
Enjoy!
Woodturning Segmented Dual Profile Vase
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A vase can be pretty. However, these vases are more dynamic. As you look at them the vase has two profiles: a typical outer profile and an inner profile.
I started with eight segmented rings of walnut and nine segmented rings of maple. Each ring has eight segments. Each of these rings was sawn into three rings. In addition, I made top and bottom rings for each vase. Total segment count is 424 segments.
The thinner walnut rings were stacked onto a mandrel and turned for the outer profile. The thinner maple rings were similarly turned for the inner profile.
Then alternating rings were glued to top and bottom rings to form the vase. Therefore, this process yields two similar vases. Final finish is walnut oil.
Please see my video on splitting segmented rings.
Woodturning – Cutting Segmented Rings on Lathe, Band Saw and Table Saw
Enjoy!
Woodturning Ring Tray – A Perfect Wedding Gift
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For a couple of wedding presents, I decided on ring holders.
The design includes a spindle for the ring plus a tray at the base for other small items. The shape of the dish keeps the small items spread out near the other edge of the dish portion. Pefect for small jewelry items.
The wood is olive from Arizona. I had to fill portions with epoxy and brass power. The piece is finished with walnut oil. These are only about 4 to 5 inches in diameter and about 4 to 5 inches tall.
Resources:
Pin Face Plate and Threaded Wood Face Plates For Woodturning
Enjoy!