June 2022 Meeting

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The June meeting of the CraobhEo 2021/22 year took place on the 9th June in the CraobhEo Centre in Aghamore.

Our demonstrator for the evening was Colm Brennan from the Sligo Chapter.

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Colm’s demo covered all aspects of segmented woodturning and he started off with closed segmented.

Closed Segmented.

Start off by drawing up the design of your vessel so you can work from this as you go along. This will show outline of the vessel,  each ring diameter and height, number of segments in the ring and the number of rings in the vessel.

Colm brought with him all the equipment to cut his segments including saw table with jig to cut segments, disk sander for sanding segments and a chop saw to cut open segments.

He explained how to work out the angle to cut the segments on the table saw, this depends on the no of segments planned for the ring. He then cut the segments for a 16 segment ring on the table saw using his jig having explained how to setup the jig. Next he sanded the segments on the disk sander to ensure a good glue line. Colm explained his method of gluing using Titebond Original glue. Clamp two glued up half rings together with an elastic band, jubilee clip or picture frame clamp and leave to dry. When dry, touch up the two halves in the sander to get a perfect fit, glue, clamp and leave to dry.

The ring now needs to be flattened so the rings stack properly without gaps as the vessel is built. This can be done on the lathe or a drum sander. Colm then showed how to glue a ring to a partially built vessel using the lathe and bringing up the tailstock for pressure. He did this for two further rings and left to dry.

Finally the vessel is turned, first the inside followed by the outside.

Colm had handouts of the jigs and measurements he used. He also explained a floating base which is a concept used for larger vessel bases.

 

Open segmented.

This is different from closed segmented. Instead of assembling rings separately and then stacking as in closed segmented, segments are added individually to the vessel, ring by ring.

Start with a drawing as before. Decide the number of segments per ring and you will need a template with the matching number of segments for that ring. It’s possible to buy a template or make one yourself.  You will need a calculator with Tan option as well. Colm explained in detail how to calculate the segment width, space between segments on the ring and angle for cutting segments on chop saw. Normally he cuts three at a time, holding the timber together using masking tape. He then went on to cut the segments on the chop saw to show how it’s done.

Colm also uses a jig which sits on the bed of the lathe and acts as a platform to position each segment for gluing to the ring. The template is mounted on the lathe along with the vessel being built. The template, vessel and jig are all lined up precisely to allow the first segment on the new ring to be glued to the vessel. Using PVA 5 minute clear glue Colm showed how to glue on each segment, one by one to form the new ring. He also has handouts for measurements and calculations being used. 

 

This was a demo packed with everything you need for segmented woodturning. Colm brought with him all the equipment required to cut and sand the segments so members could see precisely what was involved. This made it an exceptional demo and well done to Colm for making it a great night.