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I always wanted to try my hand at a segmented bowl, but there’s still the fear that holds you back. I got my hand on a set of turning DVD’s from Malcolm Tibbets that go thru all the detail steps of creating segmented art and objects, check out his site the TahoeTurner for more information.

The first Bowl he demonstrates is out of a single board, I used a laminated piece to do mine. I kept the board in two parts instead of cutting it apart while cutting out the circles to cut out the segments.

I draw lines to cut at 45 degrees to create a large mouth bowl. By keeping the board in two pieces, it allows me to use my bandsaw to cut out the angle half circles. Malcolm shows this method by cutting the board into two pieces.

Once this task is complete, I glued the half circles together after verifying both sides is flat and perpendicular.

For the glue up I taped the two side together with 3M SchotchBleu painters tape, flip the complete circle over and add a small amount of glue in the gap that open when slightly lifted. I add a longer piece of tape at the top to keep it together with some mild pressure while leaving it on a flat surface to dry. I use the same method when gluing small miter boxes together. Learned that trick from Matt Kenny initially.

I waited about 2 hours for the glue to dry, but it all depends on the temperature. I am fortunate enough to have a 20-inch disk sander to sand both side to make sure it is smooth and flat before starting the assembly process. You can also use a sheet of sandpaper on a flat surface like a table saw wing to achieve this.

Malcolm explained this in more detail in his DVD set. I stacked the rings on top of each other rotating them 90 degrees to create an offset pattern. The base got a chucked mounted to it that will apply weight alongside the 1-gallon glue bottle for some pressure while it drys.

Once the glue dries, I started the turning process. I did the outside of the bowl first to stabilize the bowl so I could go faster to get a cleaner cut. Next, I cleaned out the inside of the bowl. Sanding it was not to bad since I scraped it first. The finish was excellent once sanding was complete.

I enjoyed making this and will try a proper segmented bowl for my next turning project. It was a lot of fun an not to difficult after watching Malcolm’s Videos