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Knowledge You Can Build On — Est. 1998

Segmented turning question

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Segmented turning question

#1

Segmented turning question

Thomas Saunders

>Ok, so segmented turning is a bunch of little pieces of wood glued together to make a larger piece of wood that you put on the lathe and make something smaller.

My silly question for the day...what process do most of you use to create/touch up the surfaces of the rings for glueing.

I have been gluing the rings up and then truing one side on a square of sandpaper by hand. That is a lot of work and it really makes the bursitis in my shoulders act up.

My thought...does it make things easier if you run your stock through a thickness planer first and then cut it into segments?

I really want to do more segmented turning but the pain at this point is not worth the gain.

Any and all comments welcome.

Tom in Red Deer

Re: Segmented turning question

#2

Re: Segmented turning question *LINK*

Mark Kauder

>Tom,

I currently use two different methods to true up segmented rings before gluing them to the stack.

1) On rings smaller than 12" in diameter (the vast majority), I sand the rings flat using my 4"x36" bench belt sander. I run the bottom side across the sanding belt, turning the ring about 1/8th of a turn every other pass. This helps to keep it flat.

2) Prior to using this method, and when I glue up larger rings, I would attach the ring to Cole Jaws on the lathe, and turn them flat, followed up with a sanding stick across the ring. This system takes longer.

Some day, I will get a large belt/drum sander, like a Proformax.

While it is nice to have all wood the same thickness when you glue it up, it is not necessary. What you do need to do, is to glue it up so that one side is relatively flat (i.e. gluing it up one a flat surface). This give you one reference side to sand flat, then you can glue that ring to the bowl, and then turn the top flat and to the correct thickness.

One good site to see the process it Kevin Neeley's site www.turnedwood.com

Feel free to ask questions.

Mark


http://www.markkauder.com

Re: Segmented turning question

#3

Re: Segmented turning question

Steve

>I have a 13" diameter disk made from baltic birch mounted to a 6" face plate. I attach a 12" PSA sanding disk to it and flatten the rings on it. It evenly removes material more easily IMO than a belt system and can do up to a 12" ring, though smaller rings are easier.

Re: Segmented turning question

#4

Re: Segmented turning question

Mark Kauder

>I have done that too - though the disks were harder to get and more expensive for me - that will work just fine.

Mark

Re: Segmented turning question

#5

Re: Segmented turning question

John Lucas

>Tom

I started off doing what your doing sort of. I jointed a 2x4 and put sandpaper on it and would use it like a hand plane to flatten the pieces.

Then I started hot glueing them to a flat piece of wood on the lathe and true up one surface. I would glue the ring to the bowl and true up that layer. It took a while to to do it this way but I got very accurate layers and If I wanted could make an extremely thin layer.

I'm with Mark. I want a wide belt sander.

Re: Segmented turning question

#6

Re: Segmented turning question

Thomas Saunders

>Thanks For the suggestions. I really like Marks idea of the big sander. I have been thinking about one for a while. I may end up going that way.

For now, I went out to the shop and discovered that under a pile of stuff was my seldom used belt sander. It and I have not been very good friends. It eats my fingernails and a lot of wood if I am not carefull. I plugged it in and found a glued up ring and gave it a go. It works!!! That will do nicely for now.

I am also going to fire up the metal lathe tomorrow and make a faceplate that will fit in the tailstock chuck on the woodlathes. If I mount a flat board and some sandpaper on that it should help with squaring other stuff up as it turns.

After that I am going to write Santa a nice letter with some part numbers and brands of big sanders. Of course I will "accidently" leave it laying around before I mail it.

Thanks for the help,

Tom in Red Deer