Smartflix: What, exactly, is “segmented wood turning”?
Bill Kandler: Simply stated, a Segmented Turning is an object you construct out of pieces of wood or other suitable materials rather than starting from a monolithic chunk of wood and making piles and piles of shavings or sawdust. For most of us this means a project composed of radially segmented rings, but there are other sorts of segmented projects.
Smartflix: How did you get into the craft?
Bill: When I purchased my lathe, I read the user manual and found a short section on segmented projects. It seemed interesting and I tried one. It only took one to get me hooked!
Smartflix: What do you love about it?
Bill: I really like the requirement for precision. It fits well with all of my life training and experience in the computer software industry. And, I get to make things that Mother Nature could only dream about.
Smartflix: What has been your most fascinating project?
Bill: My most interesting project was probably my first attempt at a piece using second generation laminations for a design element. These were diamonds composed of Zebrawood, Maple, and Lacewood.
Smartflix: What has been the funniest project?
Bill: I made a spittoon. It was sort of on a lark and I was feeling playful. The result was an interesting piece.
Smartflix: What advice do you have for fellow woodturners?
Bill: With respect to segmented projects, the principle key to success is taking it easy, doing one step at a time. Try to take a short cut, it’ll come back to bite you.
Smartflix: What essential element(s) can your DVD teach someone about the craft?
Bill: The DVD presents a method for attacking each every problem to be
encountered along the way in the construction of segmented projects. They aren’t the only methods that work, but they all will work.
Smartflix: What upcoming projects/DVDs are you working on?
Bill: I have no planned DVD projects at this time, but I learned everything I’ll need for making the next one if I come upon an interesting project. Right now I want to concentrate on bringing some of my backlog of design ideas to reality.
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