Woodturning - The Open Segmented Helix

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Question of the month: What are the biggest challenges in woodturning? What possible project could follow from an open segmented helix?

[@floriandubath784]

Did you ever try to turn triangular or square bowl by de-centering the piece in another direction for each border?

[@_JLY]

A double helix 😎

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

@@floriandubath784 Hi Florian, do you mean like a 3 or 4 corner bowl?

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

@@_JLY There would be an easier way of doing this, but I don't have the machinery. To do this by hand would be beyond me I think! Thanks for the suggestion!!

[@floriandubath784]

@@RayWhitbyCreations yes exactly! My most challenging piece on the lath was a 3 corner bowl for which I had to design an adjustable counterweight with washers to be removed during the shaping process.

[@ezeddie9747]

Your narration was like listening to a animal documentary. Very articulate entertaining and descriptive.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Wow, thank you!

[@cherylconoly3071]

The concept is mind boggling. The work is great.

[@chrisherald2338]

Very clever jig and amazing work pulling it off. The result is lovely!

[@andrebourque2165]

As a kid I used to carve these spirals from green branches. I am really impressed with the non-linear jig for the bandsaw. Really well done!

[@mmgross144]

Challenge successfully completed! And great voice-over, you have a gift!

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Wow, thank you Michael!

[@jamescraig5421]

Ray it's still a Bloody great 👍 piece of work Bro.always a pleasure to watch you work .👌👌👌

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thank you so much 😀 I wish I could have made it thinner (more elegant). Some feedback on this video has given some ideas, but I really don't want to try it again... too much time and too many headaches!

[@jamesriddle4299]

Ray that is amazing!!!!!! Great job

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thank so much James!

[@brendaspeight2106]

Brilliant as always Ray. You have such patience. I love it, particularly with the little robot on top!

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks so much Brenda. I wonder how many saw him too! A while ago I was going to put in a series of these mini-figures for a treasure hunt through my videos to spot them all to win one of my creations. All the best. Ray

[@lottaleissner497]

A wonderfully interesting challenge, and a lovely piece! I believe most skilled craftsmen feel the flaws of their creations staring them defiantly in the face, even when they are hardly visible to others. The Corkscrew is both impressive and beautiful. Also, I do some work in precious metals, and have been experimenting more and more with building support structures when smithing. This certainly made the cogs upstairs turn, so thank you! =)

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thank you very much Lotta! Do you publish any of your work?

[@JiggsysShed]

That is an incredible feat of ingenuity. Awesome work Ray

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks Jiggsy! Appreciate that!

[@simoncollier9855]

You continuously blow my mind. Thank you!

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

You are too kind Simon! Thanks for watching and commenting. All the best. Ray

[@bonitagoodwin5086]

I think it is absolutely gorgeous!!

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks so much Bonita!

[@billklement2492]

Very nice! Great problem solving! Not sure where I would even start.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

You and me both! I had the concept in mind a year ago, but really couldn't figure out the best way to start. Thanks so much for watching and commenting Bill. All the best. Ray

[@beverlyledbetter4906]

Wow, that's really nice! I love it when they sand it down and shine it up.😁

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thank you so much Beverly! Appreciate you watching and commenting. All the best. Ray

[@Ronalcock1]

WOW!!!!! Ray and I thought that I had patience, great job I love the jig you made too.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks Ron 👍 Appreciate your feedback!

[@alessandrosuppini943]

Amazing piece indeed! I know other woodturners have been able to achieve a helix by carving out with Dremel like tool the hollow spaces in between rings using indexing. This way you have a helix from a full piece of wood adding strength but it’s incredible how you came up with the bansaw jig to cut complex 3D mitre, would love to understand the calculation involved in shaping the curve 😉

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks Alessandro! It was a crazy idea, but was happy to have worked out how to do it, even though more difficult than other approaches. I hope to get a device which will allow me to do this more easily and hopefully turn a twin helix. If you need help with the calcs, let me know! All the best. Ray

[@lilliekelly3406]

Wow! Nice. You are so creative. Thank you for sharing Sir.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thank you so much for watching and commenting Lillie!

[@bobcriss600]

That is so cool looking! And no doubt you do have a very long patience! Good job sir!

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks Bob. Really appreciate your feedback!

[@stevenparaons9347]

Just Awesome. Coolest thing I've seen in a long time. Weldone.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Glad you liked it Steven!

[@ThePontiacmann]

Absolutely amazing and beautiful

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@drstrangefart]

Dude, that is amazing. SO MANY of the steps in this took testicles the size of church bells. You made an amazing thing that people will appreciate but people who have spent time in front of a lathe will be absolutely mystified by.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks Curiosity Forge. Not sure I could do that project again, but happy to have got it done! All the best. Ray

[@BrailsfordWoodworks]

Ray! Another amazing piece!

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks so much Mike. Always appreciate your feedback!

[@margaretzuelke9761]

Simply incredible. There's no way I would have the patience for it all. I would have given up

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks for your feedback Margaret. After the 3rd time it broke, I was about to dump the lot in the bin. Glad I kept going, but wish there was an easier way to do this! All the best. Ray

[@frankvanderwal4571]

Absolute stunning, Ray. My oh my, what a wonderful peace and thanks for sharing your experience and guidance! Cheers, __Frank

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks so much Frank! Appreciate your feedback!

[@ezeddie9747]

Nice work by the way

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thank you so much Eddie 😀

[@BAILEYWOODWORKS]

Great project Ray!

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks so much Chris. Appreciate you watching and commenting. All the best. Ray

[@edkirby7775]

a fine bit of work ......by the way your voice reminds me of the actor Bill Nighe

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks Ed! It was a challenge, looks too blocky, but glad to have finished it!

[@Mauroiltornitore]

You're great, my friend!! Wonderful channel, just subscribed! All the best. Mauro

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks and welcome Maurio!

[@WoodenItBeNice]

Very very clever Ray and the end result is amazing. Take care my friend. Cheers, Huw

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Many thanks Huw!

[@colleenkopp56]

MARVELOUS!!

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks so much Colleen!

[@oneturnatatime6309]

I think it's awesome and beautiful! Very impressive Ray 👌

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thank you Jojo! Cheers!

[@michelricher8718]

Amazing! Realy inspiring me to try it

[@annettehawkins8467]

You are so amazing and attention to detail is awesome! Great piece as always

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks so much Annette!

[@JordanWoodwerx]

Wow Ray, that’s beautiful man!! You are the helix master! 👍🏻👍🏻

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

You are too kid sir! Really appreciate you watching!!

[@ThePapa1947]

Very cool Ray! Lots of work but well worth it. Got me thinking of a pattern I made in 1986 for a large pump. The shape tapered from a large cross section to a much smaller on. What was cool as it climbed upward while wrapping over itself at the 360 rotation point and look pretty cool. Built in a similar way but the helix was carved to shape. I should send you a picture of it. Anyway that was a trip down memory lane but great job on this one my friend, Gary

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Hey Gary. Yes, would love to see the picture. I think carving the helix is an easy (or maybe only easier) work around which may invalidate all the ingenuity I thought I had with the bandsaw jig! I'm now going off to over engineer the wheel... All the best. Ray

[@Pu1gcerda1]

Hi Ray, Best video in a while, the challenge would be to round off the blocks to make the helix a spring. I will leave that challenge with you Kind regards

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Hey Phil! Thanks so much for your feedback. A helical spring might be easier if you did a few toroids and deconstructed them into sections that you could re-glue into the spring. Malcolm Tibbetts is the master of this approach, definitely worth searching his work if you haven't seen him before! All the best. Ray

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

I've just seen this by Malcom called Global Spring tahoeturner.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/globalfront.jpg

[@jimrosson6702]

Absolutely amazing and beautiful you do such amazing work can’t wait to see what you do next

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks Jim. I've got 1 final step to this mini-series, then some resin pieces planned. As for challenging work, I'm going to have to regain some energy. This was a lot of effort that I hoped would capture a lot of imagination. Perhaps time will tell. All the best. Ray

[@markbahlke9091]

That is a truly amazing project! I am very impressed by your ingenuity and creativity. Presented in such a way as to inspire an attempt to reproduce this work. If I were to try it, I think I would attempt to glue the segments together with wood glue, in pairs first. A small clamping jig for that should be simple. Then to glue the pairs into quads. That would be my attempt to improve upon your excellent method. If I can preproduce all of the jigs and tools you have, I may try something like this - just to see if I could do it. Thank you for your attention to detail.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Hi Mark. I think your approach would certainly be better for the stability of the system, but I think I would not be careful enough to ensure that the whole thing would assemble into the helix correctly! Perhaps one could anchor a segment lower down and 1 further up, both clamped into position from the support structure, and then glue and brace the intervening segments. If you ever try it, please let me know how you got on and would love to see your final piece! All the best. ray

[@Destros2ndone]

now this is somethimg special it really is i saw a lot of wood turning creations, but never something like this this is totally out of the box or rather "right out of MYST" what i like to call because those interiour decorations from those games are always beyond the norm great job :)

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks so much Dominik! I know there are some clever woodturners out there (Malcolm Tibbetts being one), so I'm hoping I can create a style of my very own. All the best. Ray

[@woodturninghomemade]

Great job 👍

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@bawbreizhartwood]

Hello Ray, You are doing a remarkable job here and you are taking up a real technical challenge 👍👍👍 A big congratulations 😉

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks so much! It's hard not to be a little disappointed at the response data and finding increasingly more difficult to know what sets the algorithm alight. I doubt I'm the only creator scratching their head at this! Thankfully life is more than numbers and it's been interesting to be pushing a boundary of woodturning, especially as a novice (okay not quite novice anymore I guess). All the best. Ray

[@josephinelarosa635]

Beautiful.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thank you Josephine! Cheers! Ray

[@DaveGDesigns]

Ray this is amazing you are very talented my friend 👌🏻

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thank you so much Dave 😀 Talented or glutton for punishment??!?

[@DaveGDesigns]

@@RayWhitbyCreations a little from column A and a little from column B 😂 where are you based mate? If I’ve asked this before apologies it’s old age lol

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

@@DaveGDesigns Eastbourne UK!

[@calvo9624]

Looks great 👍

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks Calvo 👍

[@judylucas7596]

Very nice!

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks so much Judy. Appreciate your feedback.

[@TurningStarkers]

excellent project, also nice to know I am not the only person that uses duct tape.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Vitally important equipment to have in the woodturners arsenal! Thanks for reaching out. I had not come across your channel so will be looking through some of your videos later on!

[@DonnyRP]

Wow amazing

[@grammybear4226]

🐼 Big Panda Bear Hugs from a 69 yr old grandma in Texas, USA. 🐼 ❤ 🎀 👍 🧚‍♂ 🐈 🧚 🍀 💐 🌸

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Hey Grammy Bear! Thanks for watching and commenting! All the best. Ray

[@Dysiode]

Stunning! I love how depending on the angle it looks like a continuous curve or a segmented piece because the segments still reflect planar. I wonder if you could increase stability on the lathe by using biscuits between the segments. They could be horizontal since you have plenty of material in each segment, though alignment would be tricky it would possibly make compression gluing more realistic

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks Patrick. Biscuits between the utile segments? That's an intriguing idea and would certainly solve the stability issue. Alas the views haven't reached the levels needed to buy a festool domino system, I think the dominos would work a little better for the small area of each segment. Really appreciate your feedback! All the best. Ray

[@pryere]

I admire your patience and tenacity. A fine result from a problematic project.

[@jackpons4877]

awesome 👋👍

[@charliemckay6402]

DOWELING ALL THE BLOCKS TOGETHER WILL MAKE A MUCH STRONGER AND SAFER HELIX AND A SMALL JIG IS EASY TO DO SO.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

With the right jig, that could probably work really well. Thanks Charlie!

[@raydriver7300]

My biggest challenge: this week I’ve completed my first wood and resin hollow form and used my steady rest for the first time. I discovered the wing nuts were too big and it wouldn’t fit where I needed it to! I tried your maths but forgot to carry the 2 😂. In a nutshell: I am in awe 🌞

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks Ray! You can see my steady rest is a work of convenience, it shakes, rattles and rolls but just about works, but really useful. The real pain for me is that lathe is old style and I really could do with these new cam locks for the tool rest. The original lever style always, ALWAYS gets in the way! All the best. Ray

[@rogerparkington3837]

amazing. I don't think that too many of us will try to copy this! Way too hard for me.

[@danchadwick1495]

Wrap the coil in a cloth and lace the connecting edges for a corset style "clamp"

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks Dan, if I had assembled all the pieces together at once then this would be very useful. But I need the compression after 4 to 5 segments at a time and without anything sticking to the epoxy resin glue!

[@sailuj2342]

I'd love to recreate your lovely piece! Do you mind sharing the math behind your project? The furthest I got was finding helical length but the 3D aspect always trips me up.

[@crackerjack3359]

Very creative. I think you would have found it more secure to eliminate the core ad instead have full radius segments.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

That would be provide better stability but the changing angle of cut on the bandsaw would be difficult to achieve the closer to the central axis the piece was extended. Practically speaking there is a limit to the amount the piece could be angled to the blade on the bandsaw, but maybe it needs some creative thought about how to take it further. Food for thought, so thank you for your input! All the best. Ray

[@butthedd0233]

Very tedious but spectacular.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

It really was! I wonder if there's someone else out there that's willing to try it, but make it better... and less tedious!!

[@jomanes5371]

Nice

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

thanks so much Jo!

[@merlinmagnus873]

Maybe drill a hole through each segment and run a steel cable through the whole spiral and have a threaded end in the base with a nut that could bring the whole thing under tension. Or for absolute insanity, you could dovetail each segment. Or both.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Dovetailing each segment! I'm not convinced I have the ability to do it properly. Although I thought about 3d printing each piece and then resin filling those. It would be more accurate. I've got one other idea, but would take too long to engineer and another creator is going to try it with his CNC router, so he'll probably beat me to it!

[@michaelbarker8713]

Wow, VERY DANGEROUS PRACTICES THERE! You’re lucky that thing didn’t fly apart and hurt you seriously. Take the time make whatever jigs you need to make, or, as you suggested, turn from the other side in reverse. Very nice project though

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Not too dangerous. At least not to the person. I always assess the risks, but knew that I could lose the project very quickly. Thanks for watching and commenting Michael. All the best. Ray

[@UTube354]

Insanity set in before you were through with the math, I’m living comfortably with this new(ish) state of being. For additional strength while turning I had a few drawing board ideas, so they may not work in practice. Gluing up the sacrificial support pieces-it looked like a very porous wood and CA doesn’t have as much strength filling those gaps. Poss epoxy between most of the segments between maybe 3 of the 12 of a complete turn for a less permanent glue. Or a less porous wood. Double sided turners tape may have helped temporarily connect the helix to sacrificial helical support and maybe to central column. Sanding after removing the support blocks, with some kind of center column in place, may have been done with the lathe at a very slow speed or turning by hand. After each project that severely stretches my abilities I sit back and consider whether I have completed my objectives as well as ‘mastered’ my new techniques. I never have yet but must choose between perfection of product or technique. After all, there are so many new things to try and only 48 hours in a day (multiple personalities working both in serial and parallel). Great work.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks Kevin for your detailed feedback. I do go through a similar process and often find myself saying "why didn't I do it this way instead" almost immediately after doing it a different way. I've got some ideas of how to "cheat" and produce a similar continuous segmented helix, but got to find the time to play! All the best. Ray

[@peterfairburn6596]

i think you should of encapsulated the whole thing in clear resin for strength without the glue and then started milling it

[@cfrefrigeracao7320]

Tem que tornear pelo outro lado

[@costrio]

Well, if someone beat you to it, you could always up the anti by creating a double-helix as in DNA, perhaps?

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Brilliant idea Olivier! I'm just not sure I'm up for to the challenge!! All the best. Ray

[@Americal1970]

try using heavy string like the Japanese use. pull it tight.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

If I wood glued it then I probably could, but not sure how to cure the resin under tension with a few blocks at a time. Appreciate the feedback!

[@Americal1970]

@@RayWhitbyCreations there is a release product that will not stick to epoxy . plastic sandwich wrap works on silicone.

[@giuseppebacci6340]

👍👏👏👏

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Thanks Giuseppe!

[@drucker03]

I didn't see such a piece on a wood lathe before. On a metal lathe it would be much easier, because there you have a lead screw with which you can move a tool synchronous with the speed of the workpiece, for example when you cut threads. So it could be made of a single piece of material. But wood is not metal, so you have to invent other methods.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Hiya. I've seen the ability to combine a palm router and a controlled lathe for spiral work and I'm hoping I can reproduce something like that for this project. But I'm not an engineer and this would take some time. I think I could do it on a smaller scale with a laser, so hopefully can get the project completed more quickly!

[@drucker03]

@@RayWhitbyCreations On another channel I saw a method which is technically much easier, but needs a lot of annoying work: Ths guy there marked spirals with a pencil on the wood and then cut it with a file by hand. It works and the results are stunning, but doing it this way must be a real pain in the a**.

[@Burn77oas7]

14:05 that's Duct tape, not electrical.....

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Good catch!

[@summerstorm5652]

Too much maths. Makes my head hurt. 🤕 I like the project, however it would be far too dangerous for me. However, you could also go with a full resin pour after taking out the pine section. The colour and wood together, in this form, would be totally amazing.

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

Hiya Summer Storm. I was thinking about a resin pour into this but really wanted to retain the segmented look. Definitely had to check the maths a dozen times to ensure it was right!

[@rogercouture4372]

wOW

[@RoundTownWithMike]

Is this video narrated by Chris Hansen?

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

It's all my own. I could probably do with his bank account though!

[@kellywilkins8043]

Yikes!

[@RayWhitbyCreations]

In a good way?