Design your puzzle and build it too!

Woodturning, as a whole, encompasses many different styles and avenues of approach. Turners can make writing pens one day and great big salad bowls the next. I have seen exquisite floor lamps where even the shade was turned from wood. There are peppermills of all sizes, vases, western hats, and an infinite number of projects to be turned. Often, I have come across a piece of work that makes me scratch my head and wonder, “How did they turn that?” 

 Full sized, wearable cowboy hat turned from cherry by 

Kevin Felderhoff 

For more turned Cowboy hats see his gallery at: 
Turned Cowboy Hats

Parlor Kaildescope - Artist Unknown. 

If you know who made this let me know.

While all of these spark my curiosity as a jot them down into my “future projects” list, nothing captures my attention more than Segment Turning. It combines the fundamentals of woodworking with the art of turning. The results, for those with the patience and attention to detail, can be quite exhilarating or absolutely frustrating.

 This closed segment piece was turned by Dennis Vallianos. See more of his turnings here

As with any project, segment turners start with a plan. However, unlike a drawing which clearly depicts the finished product, a segment plan looks more like an accountant’s spreadsheet. Each sheet is an organized jumble of columns, rows with a stream of numbers representing angles and distance for every single piece. The number of pieces used can be quite impressive alone. The bowl pictured at the top of the page, used 8 segments per ring and 8 rings for a total of 64 plus the base. I have seen others of equal size that encompassed over 250 segments. It is not uncommon for larger bowls to have thousands of pieces.

Often times, the segment turner will spend several hours or even days cutting, sanding, and gluing the wood before they ever think about the lathe. Each piece will pass across the table saw at least 2 times as a precise angle cuts are made. There is no rounding off numbers here. The pieces must fit together perfectly. Thus, the angles are often calculated down to the one, one thousandths (0.001). Then segments are glued together to form quarters, halves, and then full rings. The rings are planed and then stacked. All of this is done to create a rough blank which must be mounted on the lathe and turned to perfection. Though if you talk to a true segment turner, they can always relay a story or ten about how they glued up the perfect piece only to watch it explode on the lathe.

While segment turning predates the industrial revolution, many segment turners credit Ray Allen with shining a spotlight on Segment Turning. Ray brought the art to the front stage by creating a variety of wooden vessels ranging in size from a dime to one which he could sit inside of. After his death a biography of his work was written which not only showed his work but demonstrated his techniques and provided plans for beginners to start with. No Segment turners (and anyone with an eye for art) should not go without a copy of his book: Woodturning with Ray Allen: A Master's Design & Techniques for Segmented Bowls and Vessels

See Ray Allen’s  work in this 4 minute video:

 Meanwhile, Malcolm Tibbetts has a knack for creating pieces that make all who see them wonder, “How did he do that?” Malcolm published a book called, The Art of Segment Turning: A Step by Step Guide which also serves as a primary reference guide in my library (right next to Ray Allen’s book). No segment turner’s library would be complete without either Ray Allen or Malcolm Tibbett’s books. A gallery of Malcom's impressive pieces can be found here

A few years ago, Malcolm Tibbetts produced the following video which explains the process of Segment Turning.

Do you want to explore the art of Segment Turning? Then click and join us at the Segmented WoodTurner’s Guild