1. Stave Vessel Design & Construction
Tom Kenyon
May 2012

2. The Art of Segmented Wood Turning By Malcolm Tibbetts
10” is too Tall - looking for about 6”
6/4 wood required for staves - prefer 4/4

3. First Prototype Symmetrically scaled plan to 6” high
Simplified construction
Eliminated veneer layers
Eliminated multi layers splines

4. Revised Design Prototype too round Top out of proportion to the body
Center divider too thick
Created lip for top/body joint
Second prototype looked good

5. Parts
Neck
Top
Separator
Splines
Staves
Bottom

6. Stave Cutting Jig Based on Replaceable Throat Sled
My Friend!

7. Stave Cutting Jig
First Ten Vessels

8. Dedicated Segment Cutting Sled
Designed to accommodate Bridge City Tool’s Angle Master
Large rear fence opening
Removable segment slide

9. Vessel Holding Fixture
Used for;
Initial glue up of staves
Initial turning of the base
Final turning of the base
Design from PBS TV show and Malcolm Tibbetts book
Duct tape help donuts slide

10. Ring Sanding Jig Shown previously in Show-n-Tell
Descriptive article posted on Segmentedwoodturners.org

11. Templates Templates cut out of 1/16” plastic on the laser
Outside only one that proved useful

12. Production Production of 20 broken into three groups - 10, 5, and 5
Manageable number of parts
Doable task - not overwhelming
Assessed mix after each group
Wood combinations that worked or didn’t work
Appropriate mix
Available material
Timeline (best recollection)
Design started late Sep, done by third week of Nov
Lots of time finding material (tops) and making prototypes, jigs, and templates
Four weeks to the first prototype
One to two days to prepare material - almost independent of number of vessels
Two vessels going simultaneously
About a day for each

13. Parts Preparation

14. Parts Assembly and Glue up

15. Top
Top opening drilled after finishing - fits tailstock plug - helps alignment during glue up
Inside finished with shellac

16. Base/Bottom Lots spinning ! Slow is OK Watch out for those bolt ends!
Inside bottom base cut to blend in with bottom plug, also gives reference for turning inside

17. Turning Base Inside & Outside
Trick is getting a tight fit with top
Inside finished with shellac

18. Finishing the Vessel
Last step is to make plug to center vessel’s top on the jig

19. All Done ! Used General Finishes sealer and oil/urethane
Buffed with brown paper sack after a week