Bzguy, yes it is a typical segmented bowl, but I did not use a molder to cut the design. Rayking, thanks for the compliment!
Unfortunately, I was dumb and did not take photos of the cutting of the grooves, but I just mocked up what I did and took a photo.
I have a small CNC machine and brainstormed how I could use it on a segmented bowl. This is my first prototype.
I cut the segments as normal, and then mounted them in the hand screw clamp that is clamped to the table. There is also a stop clamped to one of the jaws. This allowed me to unscrew one clamp to quickly run the router through each segment.
I cut the design about 3/4 of the depth of the segment.
Then I filled the slot with tinted epoxy. I taped the ends to prevent the epoxy from leaking out.
After the epoxy cured, I had to clean up the ends of the segments a little and then glued them up as normal. Once I turned through the 1/4 of the segment on the inside, the design appeared on the inside of the bowl.
It turned out pretty good. As you can see in the first photo, I messed up the alignment a bit. I think that was just sloppiness on my part. I am not super happy with how the slot turned out. I used a Sine Wave generator in sketchup to draw the curve. I have some ideas for other patterns, but if you guys have some ideas, let me know!
I think I might try one without tinting the epoxy, so it would be clear. That might be cool.
Hopefully my explanation makes sense with the photo!
Thanks for looking!
Justin