segments

[Johnlg]

I have been doing segment turning for a while and like it. One problem I am having is when I use both dark woods and light woods, the dark wood will bleed into the light wood when I sand. This has happened several times and is ugly. Anyone have an idea that would help??  Thanks. John (new to this forum, hope this works)

[MichaelMouse]

Welcome.  Sanding sealer like shellac or lacquer prior to final sanding seems to work best.

[Arlin Eastman]

Hi John

It is good to have you here and being able to do segmented work is what I hope to do and teach someday.

When I glue two pieces together like maple and Padauk I do seal it with oil or shellac and have not done the other ways.

I have tried blowing out the dust before with high pressure but it will not come out that way and I even tried mineral spirits and DNA and they did not work either.

I really hope to see your work and like Angus who does it and sells them is really good too.

[Angus]

What wood combinations are you having problems with, what is your sanding procedure/method and how high of a grit are you sanding to? The only wood I I have real issues with is padouk. I don't recommend that wood be used in segmenting at all.

[Johnlg]

First, I want to thank you guys for taking the time to respond to My problem.

My woods I used in my last disaster were Ebony, Hard Maple, Cherry, Zebra wood , and yes Padauk. The problem showed mostly on the Hard Maple with a dark smear(sort of).
I start sanding with 60 grit and finish with 440.  I have done some power sanding with a disk to start out with. 

ANY advise would be great.
Thanks again, John

[Angus]

I would bet money it's the padauk.  Besides the color padauk is a very oily wood. So much so that any oil based finish you put on it will take weeks or longer to cure. The oil itself can stain lighter woods. Ebony has the same issue but I've never had a problem with it. My other complaint about padauk is, it's not color fast. Given enough time it starts to look like bad walnut or mahogany. The other issue is being a very open grain. Below is an experiment I did with padauk, yellowheart and maple. It,s hard to see but both the yellowheart and maple are stained orange. You could try power sanding to a finer grit and wiping it down thoroughly with mineral spirits until the rag shows no color between every grit. Or, make very light shearing cuts and don't sand at all. I'm not a good enough turner to pull that off but there are some here who are. MM may have the best idea of shooting it with a coat of finish between every grit after the mineral spirit bath. The zebra wood is a very open grain wood also and will tend to trap dust if your not real careful. Good luck whichever way you go.

I forgot, about the oil in padauk...I've had pieces that look pretty good when finished. Down the road that orange oil has bled through or around the glue joints and stained lighter woods under the finish. 

[Johnlg]

Is there a chart or book I could buy telling about the different woods?  It would be nice to know about the problem woods.
Thanks for the info.
John

[Leo Van Der Loo]

Here’s info on different woods.

http://www.wood-database.com/

[Angus]

I'm sure there are lists showing different properties including how oily different woods are.  I have just learned by trial and error over the years.  Malcolm Tibbetts book The Art of Segmented Wood Turning covers his favorites and least favorites but he doesn't list all species by any means.

[crokett™]

I've done segmenting on pens and had to learn not to wet-sand those, for the same reason. I keep a vac running to suck up all the dust which helps a lot.