Welcome to Tom Lohman’s website!

Another Energizing Symposium!

The Southwest Association of Woodturners
(SWAT) symposium held August in Waco Texas August 25, 26 and 27th is a great opportunity to connect with other woodturners and take away some new ideas.    I will demonstrate on the following topics:

  • Segmented Woodturning using a gluing jig
  • Bowl from a Board – Beyond the Basics

If you attended any of my demonstrations, I hope they are helpful to you!

Vase with 40,896 pieces
Kitchen Utensil Holder, 7″ x 7″, a little under 9,000 pieces with 180 segments per row.
Two Tone, 14.2″ wide x 9″ tall. Each row has 288 segments, with over 18,000 pieces total. It took around 250 hours to make.
Bowl from a board (BFB)
Swirl
Swirl Bottom
Very Hexy
Solitude
Weaved Bowl
Spring Flowers
All Flowers

Evolution of a Glue-up Jig

My aluminum index wheel was machined by a local technical college.  It worked great but it wasn’t inexpensive.  A number of segmenters contacted me to find out where I got my jig and how they could get one.  Those contacts got me to thinking that there might be a market for them if I could figure out how to make them myself.

Since mine was metal I tried that first.  But the cooling system needed to keep my CNC from overheating wasn’t feasible.  I tried wood, but it wasn’t stable enough.  Polycarbonate sheets were available online but required cross-country shipping to reach me in Duluth, MN.  The shipping expense, long delivery time and occasional warped sheet made me wonder if this was worth it.  Finally, I found a local supplier of polycarbonate sheets and began selling my Glue-up Jig Kits.  This jig is targeted for projects with 48 or more segments per row.

The Glue-up Jig Kits include an index wheel, hub, T-bracket and knob.  A variety of index wheel sizes and hubs for several different lathes are available in my store.

My Work