# NON stepped spiral on a segmented bowl



## Dominic L (Aug 10, 2015)

Does anyone know how to construct a "non stepped" spiral on a segmented bowl or vase ?


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## saculnhoj (May 18, 2015)

Not sure what your asking. Are you wanting a spiral with a smooth flowing line from bottom to top without the steps? Not sure how you would do that.


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## 9thousandfeet (Dec 28, 2014)

Seems like I've seen this question come up before. I think the result the questioner has in mind is something like a Barber's Pole - a smooth-flowing helix kinda thing.

I can't remember where I was reading a discussion about it. Nor can I remember if anyone came up with a workable solution. I don't think anyone did.

It would involve getting rid of the "steps" which are formed by the square-cut ends of the segments, obviously. 
Which in turn would involve cutting the ends of those segments which comprise the spiral on some kind of bias such that they followed the helical pattern as it wound it's way around the bowl.

Since just the very thought of putting together even a fairly simple pattern causes me to realize I don't have the kind of patience that segmenters need, I can't even begin to speculate about a realistic strategy. 
In fact just thinking about it makes me want to go lay down.:yes:


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## Bill Boehme (Feb 9, 2014)

It can almost be done with some big caveats that prevent it from being worthwhile and it isn't exactly like true segmented work. The biggest caveat is that only a cylindrical shape will work. Basically, it is a bit like the process for creating a Celtic knot, but as you know as Celtic knots have a curve that is continually changing slope like a sinusoid so at best it would be like creating a bunch of Celtic knots, cutting them apart, gluing back together using only the part with the greatest slope and discarding the rest. Even then, it wouldn't exactly be a smooth and continuous curve. I think that I would rather have bamboo shoots stuck under my fingernails.

There is a bendable wood product that is very expensive that was mentioned in a recent issue of American Woodturner. Maybe a rabbet could be routed and then inlaid with the bendable wood.


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## saculnhoj (May 18, 2015)

Actually now that I think of it there is a way. Don't know if I can describe it. There was an excellent article in American Woodturner a few years back about how to cut vertical staves on the bandsaw to create a segmented vessel. The neat thing about it was that after you cut all the staves and put them back together you could twist one end and all of the staves would rotate creating a spiral but the joints would all stay closed. 
There were 2 separate articles about a year or more apart. One showed how to build the jig to cut the staves accurately. The next one showed how to twist and glue up the staves to create the vessels. I'll see if i can find it.


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## Quickstep (Apr 10, 2012)

I created a similar post a while back. Here's a link 

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f6/there-any-way-lay-up-blank-so-its-spiral-when-turned-73001/

There a link within that post that describes a way to make a spiral, but it's not quite a helix. Here's that link. 

http://www.hillcountryturners.org/Projects/Laminated_Rolling_Pins.pdf


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## Jerry Maske (Dec 29, 2013)

I remember the post in the AAW mag about the spiral. I looked it over pretty carefully and found that his method was so complex that it was way beyond me. However, I'm not put off easily and found an alternative.

You'll need a cylinder six inches or more across. Stand it on end and draw cut lines across it. Then cut along those lines any way you can; band saw should do it. You'll never get the pieces dead on accurate but as long as you keep them in order so they fit together, it doesn't matter. No one will ever see the end and the sides WILL be aligned. 

Set them up around a piece of PVC and use rubber bands to hold them on. Now, grab the entire bundle and twist. The more pieces, the more you can twist. Gluing them together is pretty sticky but you can figure that one out. The trick in the twist is to focus on wall thickness and not twist to the point that you don't have any. Of course, you need individual pieces wide enough to allow for that as well.

Check their archives. The last article was pretty well done and gave some great ideas.

Jerry


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