Materials

[Sappheiros]

I know there's a ton of different materials you can use in segmenting, but I was wondering what sorts of materials everyone likes to use and where they get them.

Also, I'm excited to try metal segmenting especially. I tried the Michaels near my house, but they didn't seem to have anything. I've seen the sheet metal at Blicks. What thickness is okay to turn on the lath? (I've been using my full-size EWT rougher for turning since I got it.)

 

[Skie_M]

I generally see people using the lighter metals (aluminum, brass, copper) in pens for segmenting.

It can be paper thin foils or sheets as thick as 1/16th of an inch ... You do need to exercise additional care during the drilling and turning process, as segmented blanks have more of a tendency to blow out during drilling or fly apart during turning when you get a catch.

Many people who segment prefer the use of a skew, as it has more of a shearing cutting action that leaves a finer finished surface behind and has much less chance to catch when used properly. All I can say for this is practice, practice, and more practice, and I still have a VERY long way to go for my practice!

To help prevent blow-outs during drilling through thin metals sandwiched in the wood, it may be a good idea to VERY LIGHTLY dull a set of your drill bits, to reduce the aggressiveness of their bite. As the bit chews through the last bits of metal that are in the way, if it's a very sharp bit, it will try to force the entire piece of metal that is left into the hole behind the leading edge. This will have the effect of wedging that slice of metal between your pieces of wood and yanking it as hard as you can while twisting it down the drill bit, ripping the wood apart on the way ... in other words, a blow-out. By using a slightly dulled bit (and keeping a set of bits in that condition), your drilling will be much slower, but it won't aggressively rip through the metal and pull like that.

The same can be used for plastics that are used in segmenting, as well as for drilling thin sheets of plastics and metals in general.


If you are a fan of carbides, you can quite certainly use them on segmented items. Just keep in mind that a segmented blank is quite a bit more fragile than solid wood blanks. Take very light passes to avoid a catch.


I would suggest that during the final finishing processes, you do NOT begin sanding before you seal the wood. Fine metal particles often don't even resemble the metal they are from, especially embedded in wood. I would apply BLO or in my case, Minwax stain and seal, followed by at least one coat of CA to seal the wood, and follow with a few more coats to ensure that the pores are all sealed up before I sand the CA back down just to where the wood is showing through again. At that point, I can then start finish sanding and applying the real finish to the wood, and polish it to it's final shine.


Your Easy Wood Tool rougher is for what it was intended for ... roughing something out to round and to approximate size. It's not intended for finish work or for delicate work like segmented blanks. If you're careful with it, you can certainly do the job with a delicate touch and very light cuts, but you'ld be better off learning the proper use of a skew.

 

[jttheclockman]

I know there's a ton of different materials you can use in segmenting, but I was wondering what sorts of materials everyone likes to use and where they get them.

Also, I'm excited to try metal segmenting especially. I tried the Michaels near my house, but they didn't seem to have anything. I've seen the sheet metal at Blicks. What thickness is okay to turn on the lath? (I've been using my full-size EWT rougher for turning since I got it.)

This entire section of the forum is dedicated to segmenting and there is a ton of information here. I would suggest that as you find some time that maybe you can look through some of the threads here. makes for some good reading and may help with future questions. It at least gets your feet wet.

This question came up not long ago and and I posted to it so I will copy and paste my answer here as well. I also suggest the skew for turning but the carbide inserts have a good record for turning segmented blanks. I disagree with the dull bit theory that only creates more heat and heat is an enemy of segmenting. One other thing to mention, depending on the type of segmenting you are doing it will be imperative to learn to drill on the lathe because drilling in the center of a blank will be crucial.

The type of segmenting you do and the amount you do per blank will determine how much care you need to take to both drill the blank or to turn the blank. Good luck and welcome to the world of segmenting. Now for the OP answer I gave.

Quote:
Originally Posted by Drewboy22
So, where does everyone buy them? Amazon seems to be about 20 for 3sqft. Is that a good price?

Well Drew I will help a little but will tell you there are many many places to get different materials. As far as metals go, you can get aluminum in your Home centers. Cheapest place. Use anything from roof flashing to thick sheets, tubes, rods and the such. Other metals I get from here
https://www.speedymetals.com/s-137-sheet.aspx or here Aluminum Sheet Craft Metal: All Sizes FAST SHIPPING

As far as wood veneers I make my own. But for colored veneers I get them either at Woodcraft (no link) or Atlas Billiards ttp://www.cuestik.com/ Which is also where I now get my thin colored plastic from.

As far as pickguard material again there are various places such as this Pickguard Materials | stewmac.com ebay is another source.

Acrylic sheets of various thickness I get from here https://www.delviesplastics.com/ but again can be found many places

I get my thin sheets of black and white from here Sheets


That is a start and these are my sources. I am sure others will have more. But like I said look around the segmenting forum and you will find a slew of info that will be helpful in the upcoming projects you will do. As mentioned scuffing of any material for a better bond is a must. I like to use epoxy on most my segmenting but will occasionally use Med CA also. Depending on what I am doing. Good luck and I look forward to seeing what you can do.

Just one other note if you are buying wood veneers for effect, to me that is a waste of money. You will only see end grain and that is basically all the same color unless you use woods such a ebony , maples or holly, also bloodwood would give you nice contrast. But again if you have the ability to cut your own you would save a ton of money. Veneer is not cheap. It is designed for other things than segmenting. Now colored veneers is different because it is just a soft wood dyed in color.
__________________
John T.

 

[Sappheiros]

Well, I celebrated this Black Friday heading over the Blick's Art Materials. They have a 20% off storewide coupon with many discounts. I was able to buy a couple sheets each of copper, brass, and aluminum. The copper and brass are 0.025 and the aluminum is 0.032. I thought that would be a nice enough thickness that would be quite noticeable. I also bought a metal puncher thinking it would give the drill a bit of a head start. I'm glad I kept my jeweler's saw from that time I took a jewelry making class (just bought some extra blades)!