This is my second try at segmenting a bowl. Although far from perfect, I learned mountains of information and techniques from the first try. Lack of tools probably makes tons of difference in results, but where there is a will, there is a way!! This was made entirely from waste pieces that I had left around the shop. The two segmented rings are made from Osage Orange boards that I ripped on the band saw from an extra piece I had left from another project. The two bands were cut from a piece of Oak veneer ply. The base is Maple. I used my home made sanding disk on my lathe to even off the disk surfaces, and assembled the disk in quarters as per pervious instructions. Too late, I discovered some unwanted spaces from slightly off square pieces. This is a problem that will soon be solved.

Getting there!  If you are doing a glue up of rings and they are tight except for the last joint, try (if you have a chop saw) cutting the bad joint and the joint directly across from it and then reglue the ring. It works when I am building a banjo pot.  smiley=thumbsup.gif

You're getting there, pay attention to your grain direction.

Jack,
Very nice bowl, your skills are no doubt getting better. I can't wait to see future bowls too. I am also a less experienced segmenter than the pros here but have learned some lessons already.

Do you have a table saw? It plus my table belt sander are really the only power tools I use for these. A sled makes quick work of segments leaving very little sanding needed for tight joints.

Robert has it exactly right, dry fitting is important and making half rings allows you to sand the pair until you can't see light through the joint, then clamp them up with a hose clamp and voila an awesome last joint.

For me, my sled and setup are geared towards 12 segments, I start with pairs to glue, and then the three pairs are glued and set across from it's other side of 3 glued pairs and clamped. I put a 1/4 dowel piece between the two halves to force pressure onto the 6 pairs evenly. Once the glue dries sand your halves to be tighter than light and put back in the clamp. Perfect. Very little sanding is required to get them flat and smooth on one side, I finish flattening the open side on the lathe after the ring is glued to the previous ring.

I'm not sure where I got that technique but I think it was the Malcolm Tibbets book and it works great. He also makes reference to importance of grain direction, and even goes so far as to explain the potential use of using segments all cut from the same side of the board in order to line up grain and color even more. It's wasteful unless you make 2 bowls at the same time.

I like that idea of a drum sander Robert, gosh I wish I had a drum sander...

Anyway good luck Jack, keep making bowls and having fun!
Jim

Yep, that's what it's called alright. Oh and heh hmm, well I didn't say that it was wasteful, Mr Tibbets said it was wasteful but sometimes necessary to get the effect...I had thought while reading that part in order for the grain matching technique not to be wasteful to make 2 bowls at the same time, one from segments from one side, and one from the other side in order for both to be grain matched and make all your cuts for 2 rings at once. That book had a big impact on the way I perceive segmented bowl production.

Sorry for the confusion, hope that helped,
Jim

List of tools used:
Band saw
Miter saw
10" disk sander on lathe
band clamp
miter gauge for accuracy
Make sections in quarters and true to 90*
Check and or retrue half sections

Looking good Jack. Ditto what Walt said about what tools you are using would help us. I also have Malcom's book.

Thanks for the list of tools.
Whether you use a bandsaw or miter saw, you should have some type of jig or fixture for repeatability and as Ron mentioned, a zero-clearance fence and insert. Most, if not all miter saws come with a worthless insert. As you can see in the picture I made my own and it has improved the cut quality greatly. The fence is no more than a couple pieces of plywood that meet at the blade. A ZC fence and insert provide backing for the wood fibers so you don't get blowout or splintering, this also results in less sanding, which is always a good thing.
As it happens, Ron and I have the same saw. If you look at Ron's photo, you can see the stock plastic insert.