Turning a Segmented Vase

In this article we will show how to turn a segmented vase made of cherry wood. The three vases shown here were all constructed using the following segmented turning techniques.

Start with boards of the type of wood you would like to use. For these vases, we chose cherry. Of course you can mix and match different varieties wood and make patterns that range from very simple to extremely complex. For these examples we went with all cherry.

Before starting, lets’ establish some very important points-

Boards must be kiln dried and properly stored. Green wood is NOT a good idea. Becoming good friends with your local hardwood merchant is a VERY good idea.
The first step is to rip your boards to the proper thickness, width and length required by your plan.

Always cut the lengths longer then called out. You will need the extra length to cut out knots, blemishes, etc. It is also a good idea to have extra length boards for each of the species and for each of the board widths. This way if any of the segments are cut wrong or you find a blemish in one or more of them, you will then have extra board length already prepared to cut the extra needed segments.

Cut the width and thickness of the boards slightly oversize and then plane or preferably drum sand the boards to the precise dimensions of the plan.

In order for the segments to make up a perfect ring (no light showing thru the joints when dry fitted) it is absolutely required that the boards are perfectly straight, smooth and correctly proportioned.

When you are satisfied that your boards are ready it’s time to cut them into segments. In our experience, the table saw is the best tool for this job although we know others that use a chop saw. Whichever method you choose, setting the correct angles and keeping them consistent through the entire process is critical. Remember, even a small vase with

10 rings and 12 segments per ring requires over a 120 highly accurate cuts! In order to build flat rings without voids at the joints, the segment angles need to be precise and the cuts must be 90 degrees to the top and bottom of each segment.

When you’ve finished your cuts, check the segments and remove any saw fuzz or splinters from the saw. Often the saw is not sufficiently precise and it is best to use a sanding disk and guide fixture to tweak the segments.

Set the segments in a circle, count them, and clamp them together without any glue, this is a dry check. Use a strong light behind the ring and make sure that you cannot see light in any of the joints.

The ring should sit flat on a flat surface. If the ring is slightly conical (the center is higher or lower than the edges) then your saw or sander needs to be adjusted so that the cut edges are 90 degrees to the top and bottom surfaces of the segment. After the glue is dried the ring needs to be cleaned up and at least one side flattened.

The cleaned and flattened ring is ready to be glued to an adjoining desk. You can glue this disk onto another disk that is mounted on the lathe or you can glue two or more disks together on the bench.

The sequence of pictures to the left shows the process of gluing the disks together prior to mounting on the lathe, and also gluing additional disks onto the stack of disks already mounted on the lathe. Because this series is a composite of three different vases, the pictures show a couple of different methods of attaching the pieces to the lathe.

In some of the pictures a waste block is glued onto the bottom of the piece and the waste block is held by the chuck. The other method uses a homemade face plate glued onto a waste block and threaded onto the lathe.

The first vase pictured at the top of the series is an experiment that has worked out nicely, so far. There is no glue holding the segments together in the individual rings. I clamped each ring solidly and checked to make sure that I could not see light through any of the joints.

Then I flattened one face on each ring and glued two rings together on the bench while they were still tightly clamped. Because the end grain joints in the two rings are offset from each other there is a considerable amount of side grain glue joints. After two rings are glued together and the glue is dry, the clamps can be removed and the set can be glued onto the piece.

When a ring is captured between two other rings there should be more than enough long grain glue joints to hold the piece together. In the top and bottom rings all of the segments are glued together, I feel this is necessary because the top and bottom glue rings are only glued to another ring on one side.

Your comments and questions are welcome!