When the AAW has an exhibition at the symposium, I try to make a piece based on that theme. Usually there is a size restriction so I do not enter but using their concept is a fun exercise. The theme for 2001 at Orlando was "From Sea to Oddesy". I thought a play on words was in order so My piece became "See Oddity".

It ended up being about 3 feet in diameter but the turned portion was just right for the Jet Mini lathe I had at the time. 

I thought it would be fun to make the inside Maple and the outside Purpleheart by splitting the segment strips. It involved ripping the two woods at the correct angle for a particular layer and joining them to make a composite strip. The segment lengths had to be accurate or the joint between the two woods would not fall within the vessel wall. The Seg-Easy plate was the key. 

 

I did not get as many photos of the process as I now wish but there are enough to get the idea.  

The trick is to cut at the right angle and rip to exact widths. I did get a couple of strips wrong.

This exercise forced me to make a good saw stop. In this project, the length of the segment was critical. This design incorporates a built in dial caliper. It can be used for rip fence settings as well as miter cuts. We might eventually make it a part of our product line.

 

Notice with open segmented construction the segment angle does not have to be perfect. A fancy sled is not necessary. As long as it fits snugly in the plate it is fine.

Stacking the layers went well.

As we are aligning the segments instead of staggering them, About every three layers we glue in temporary shims that will be removed later.

A boring bar is great for this.

Off of the lathe and before clean up.

 

I managed to keep the glue line between the two woods between the vessel wall. The edge will be painted black and any slight variances will be hidden.

The top knot is made by using the stack method of cutting. Shaping was by carving.

The large tentacles were also cut with the stack method. A veneer strip was added for strength. The shape was rough cut with the bandsaw and carved.

Captive cap screws were incoporated into the tentacles for easy assembly and packaging.

A test fit and carving to make a smooth transition.

The blue paper protects an inner vessel that is completely finished. It includes hyroglyphs that represent different events in the span of mankind. It is not obvious unless one looks closely.

 

Final detailing was to carve back the connecting layers to make the strips appear to be continous and unconnected. 

See-Oddity