• Are you looking for a coupon code to buy my software? You can get one from lots of 3rd party sites but they won't work. My software never goes on sale and has never been discounted. The only coupon codes that are given is when I give a club presentation and I offer a discount to the attendees. Other than that, everyone pays the same price.

Greetings

R

revjerry

PRO Member
Hi Folks,
New to the forum, kind of new to wood turning and segmented work. Attended the latest AAW conference and came away overwhelmed and loaded down with purchases I didn't know I needed. Now, I'm home and working my butt off to get stuff done before the "Predicted" Early and Nasty winter gets here. Last year we had 130" right here in Beautiful, Downtown Sullivan, Maine. My shop is heated but not attached to the house, so there are times when I'm not even interested in trying to get out to it.

My interests tend to vary. I took a class with David Ellsworth on the way to the conference and learned a good bit about "Hollow Forms." They aren't as tough as I'd have thought, but, maybe part of that is that he's such a great instructor. He really is. Clearly marches to his own drummer and does some stuff that scares me to death, but, that's David.

My goal for now is to craft as many pieces as I can that will require surface decoration this winter. I'm pretty good with wood burning and carving tools and can do all that in a warmer setting than the shop. The only problem is that much of what I work with is REALLY green, recently cut Maple I get from local lumber yards. Not possible to turn true because by the time you get to one end, the other end is warped with water, virtually, pouring out of it. I usually "Rough Turn" stuff which means it may be Easter before I get to do anything to it and that means working in a very cold shop. Sacrifices! Guess we all make them.

Anyway, I'm interested in segments and have built a sled for 12 segments that cuts the pieces so accurately there's NO Half Circle adjustment necessary. Now I'm looking over the design programs I see on this site and trying to decide if I need/want one of them. Any suggestions are welcome. Otherwise, I'll just jump in where ever I can and show off my stupidity with unabashed enthusiasm.

Jerry
 
Hi Jerry,
Welcome to the forum. When it comes to segmented turning you don't need a program if you want to do the layout and calculations manually. I like to start of with Design Pro for my basic shape and export it to WP and make any adjustments there. You might want to take a look at Jerry Bennett's Seg-Easy sled and wedgies for ease in building rings. I sure don't blame you for not wanting to wade through 130" of snow sort of like me not wanting to go out when it's 110 degrees in the shop. If you have any questions be sure and ask. Someone will give you an answer even if we have to make something up.
 
Hi Jerry,

Welcome to the community. I see that you like to do surface decoration and so I'd like to point you to the member gallery of one of my favorite turners and close friend, Bill Youngblood:
http://woodturnerpro.com/photopost/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=164

I also hope to get around to doing edge decoration this winter so I intend to be right there with you. Please don't hesitate to ask questions about the software or about segmenting. You'll quickly get answers and they might even be correct answers!

Lloyd
 
Lloyd,
Wood burning is pretty easy. Getting a quality design is the tricky part, or at least that's my take on it. I've been working with the Sorby spiral tool since the AAW conference and have gotten it figured out so I can get a great spiral on any cylinder. It works on the flat surface of a bowl rim too but it's dicey getting it clean.

Looked over the new programs I downloaded and they are pretty spectacular. The interface between the two are so easy to figure out that my wife and I sat here for an hour playing with shapes that will NEVER be turned in segments or any other way. So you've created a couple of monsters here. Spent the rest of the day working on a sled that combines the best of several I've seen online. Got everything done except the moving stop block. I don't have all the hardware I need so tomorrow morning I'll head to the local Home Depot and find something that'll work.

More to say about all that as it comes together. By the way, where do you stand in the "Half Circle Correction" discussion? I believe the sleds cut accurately enough that it's never needed, but maybe I've just been lucky.

Jerry
 
Jerry,

I always make any adjustments using MDF prior to starting a project so that I don't have to turn half rings. Turning half rings means the completed ring is an oval and ring alignment is so much easier when you're always working with perfect circles. It doesn't take long to make adjustments before starting a project and everything goes so much faster if you take that time.

I'm glad that you and your wife are enjoying the software.

Lloyd
 
Lloyd,
Glad to finally find someone in my camp. As much as I admire the work of some of the giants, the fact that they actually PLAN for the half circle correction speaks volumes to me. Okay, we have to know how to deal with mistakes. But why plan to make them and have to correct them? The sleds allow for pretty accurate cutting to the point that there's no need for any correction. I am, however, having quite a time convincing some of the club members it can be done. So, I'm on a mission. Once I get the hardware I need to finish the sled I started, I plan to make a moderately complex vase/tall bowl without any corrections and take the sled with me to show how it's done.

Having said that, I know some people use hose clamps to hold their layers in place while the glue dries. I learned a new trick from my Navy Days. I tie two or three bights of line around the layer and tie the ends onto a dowel. Then I twist the dowel like a tourniquet and it tightens the layer perfectly spreading the tension around the entire piece. That's what 20 years of, more or less, honorable service to your country gets you, apart from enough money to make a house payment.

We will be talking more as I progress. Love wood turning but can see where I'll get mighty tired of making bowls. Adding in the segments, however, opens up a few more doors; Thank You.

Jerry
 
I couldn't agree more, Jerry. Whenever I make a sled, I incorporate a way to make micro-adjustments. Usually I use my Dubby sled, though, (http://in-lineindustries.com) because it has a protractor to the outside of the miter fence and so I can split a degree as much or should I say as little as necessary. I have no interest in the company, but Jerry Cole (the owner) is a long-time friend of mine and of the wood hobbyist market in general.

Generally speaking, if I can save time without sacrificing quality, I'll gladly do it. I tend not to use a lot of pressure when gluing segments because the segments are either on the money or they're not and it's very easy to spot when they're not at which time I switch to gluing half rings.

Lloyd
 
Lloyd,
Good to hear there's someone else out there that believes angles can be cut accurately enough that making a correction is a waste of time when you can get it right the first time. My layer clamping system works well and allows me to apply as much, or as little pressure as I want. Usually I twist until I see glue seeping out of each joint. That tells me they are totally flat together, and it really doesn't take much pressure to get it there since all the angles are dead on correct.

Got the CD today; thank you. I've been tampering with the program trying to figure out all the Bells and Whistles. Crafted an 18 piece bowl today will vertical staves to try everything out. Got my new sled built and cut a handful of pieces that were so dead on equal that it scared me! Now, I need to spend a couple hours with the Cutting Summary in hand and look over my wood stock. I want to make a fairly simple, but deadly accurate bowl where I match the outside grain pieces. Probably work off a piece of Maple with either Purple Heart or Walnut accent pieces. But it's going to take some time to sort out the wood stock. The Summary is particularly helpful there because I can see well in advance exactly what I need to carry into the shop to get ripped and plained.

We attended the AAW conference this year. It was our first year and I managed to hook up a class with David Ellsworth that I'll tell you about some day. Quite the character David. Anyone that can get a class with him needs to do it without hesitation. While he does march to his own drummer, it's not a bad tune.

I'll be in touch, you can bet on it.

CU
Jerry
 
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