using the ringmaster and great grain patterns

Remember, that when using the ringmaster you’ve dealing with 1 board versus a large chunk of wood for lathe turning..I prefer to design my own projects first by drawing it full scale on graph paper with protractor etc…most of my wood is 3/4” so I mark off each 3/4” ring on graph paper…next take your board …mine are usually 8’ X at least 7”...and mark off a square for each ring ..I usually start at the bottom of my drawing and measure the ring size and add approximately 1/2 inch and transfer that to your board (example…a 3” ring would be a 3” square on your board) I add 1/2” to be safe…as you add your ring sizes to your board, number each one.as you go up the board…this allows for a consistant grain pattern throughout the enitire piece..once the outside of each ring has been cut, re number and match end grain to end grain on each ring (end grain gives you the great pattern match) now cut the ring itself..I usually make mine 5/16” thick..why? don’t know!....my projects are anywhere from 25 rings to 11 rings tall…after sanding the bottom and top of each ring, I’m ready to glue to…on my vases and lamps, I usually make the bottom two rings “solid” for stability…and usually glue up 4 rings at a time using CA glue, I sand and finish the inside of each vase as I build it up…once assembled I sand the outside starting with 40 grit and ending up with 400…then it becomes “fun” time for me..re..finishing the vase….used to finish steinway pianos in my “previous life”...so finishing is like the “cherry on top of a steak and shake malt” to me!!! Here is the unique thing about using the ringmaster..when you cut each ring you STILL have a solid inside left..SOOOOOOOO..you have created a clone of the vase you just made, but smaller …just add the two bottom pieces, because they were solid on the first vase and BINGO you have the outside already cut for another vase..there is very little waste using the ringmaster…I make wooden braclets and napkin rings with the small scrap left…hope this helps…marshall

-- marshall, murphy, north carolina