Bob Hackett
Two excellent tricks I was shown to help me get started with the skew was to use a dead center (the ring type dead center) that you would usually use in the tailstock of the lathe as a drive center. Instead of those horrific catches that corkscrew up the spindle and ruin it the spindle just stops as the ring center loses it`s grip and spins. The dead center as dive center trick also helps teach you to use a light touch and not crowd a cut.
The second tip I found helpful was to take both a red and a black magick marker and color in the bevel of the skew.Black for the "sweet spot" and red (to let me know I was wandering off into trouble) everywhere else.