This open-segmented piece was designed using a CAD program called Woodturners Studio by Jerry Bennett which is sold through Craft Supplies USA.  It was constructed using Jerry Bennett's SegEasy plate which enables the segments to be evenly spaced prior to glue-up. 

A prototype mock-up was constructed first to ensure the design was capable of being built.  The design was adjusted to handle the stresses and strains of such a large piece - it stands 18" - 45cm high.

The piece is made up from Madagascar Ebony and Box Wood and finished in satin lacquer.  It was constructed using a 24 segment template with the segment angle of 5.5 °.  Each layer was 2 cm high and the piece has a maximum width of 20 cm. A large tolerance was allowed on the segment depth to allow for final turning and finishing.

The segments were carefully glued together using Titebond ll - the excess glue being removed using wet pipe cleaners.  Each layer was left for 12 hours at least to fully cure before gluing the next layer.  The layers were sanded flat between each layer using a home-made sanding disc .

The piece was made in two sections - the base and the top.  Both had a common diameter segment layer which was secured using slave layers (MDF) to allow the finished halves to be supported while cutting back the inside to the final size.

Cutting back to the final design was undertaken using a sheer-scraping technique.  Neither a bowl gouge nor a standard scraper would make a clean cut on such a fragile piece - especially with the mix of woods - ebony and boxwood.  The piece was finally sanded using all the grits from 60 to 400 and then wire-wool.  A coat of cellulose sealer was sprayed on, cut back and several coats of satin cellulose lacquer applied.