Samples from the Segmented Woodturners

Our last demonstrator, Donald Derry, commented that he has received negative comments from people related to coloring his turnings. These may be considered woodturning “purists” since they prefer the natural appearance of wood. These same people would probably not appreciate segmented work either. But to each his/her own.

As a member of the Segmented Woodturners chapter of the AAW, I frequently check out the goings on at the website. Looking through the photo of the week history, I couldn’t help but want to share some of the absolutely amazing work being done. So here are a few pieces that can be viewed on the Segmented Woodturners website (membership not required to view gallery):

The Charioteer and Quadriga was created by Al Fox from Hummelstown, PA. This piece was created with 461 pieces of Wenge, Canarywood, Black Veneer wood and a Maple floating base. Carved handles and acrylic figures.

Al also created The Gathering which was created from 1326 pieces of Gabon Ebony, Sapele, Wenge, Maple, Pheasant Wood, and Black Veneer wood. With Acrylic Figures.
During the latter part of the sixth century B.C., scenes of women at a fountain house became popular on black figured terracotta vessels.Here women gather to chat and fill their hydriai.

Euclid’s Dream was created by Art Bodwell from Dundee, Michigan. This tubular sculpture was designed using Google Sketchup. It was titled in honor of the father of modern geometry. The sculpture is approximately 14” wide and 14” high, including the base. The woods are Maple, Walnut, Bubinga and Koa. The sculpture is attached to the Vermont granite base with 3/8” diameter clear acrylic rods. There are 194, 2” diameter rings, and a total of 1552 individual pieces. The finish is spray shellac sealer, several light spray coats of Deft gloss lacquer and a final coat of Deft semi-gloss lacquer.

Arts and Crafts Vase was created by Thomas Knapp and consists of 239 pieces. This is an interesting piece to me for many reasons. First, it was made from quarter sawn White Oak which is not a generally friendly wood to turn. It has open segments which adds interest and the piece was fumed for five days after it was turned and final sanded.

Buffalo was created by Hans Finsterwalder. This is a large segmented Bowl which was made from Maple, Ebony, Bloodwood and Turquoise.

Scalloped Rim Bowl was created by Craig Kirks from Andover, Minnesota. It was crafted from Ebony, Curly Maple and Bloodwood. Craig states that making a stable bottom with the flower design was a concern. He constructed it using two 1/8″ thick segmented rings with staggered seams. Only the top one has the design and the bottom one has a center disc that is 1/4″ diameter larger than the one in the top ring