Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Skew Chisel Angle
Jim Engel
>In reading up on sharpening, I find vast differences
in recommended skew chisel included angle.
Leonard Lee and the Sorby Literature recommend
25 or thirty degrees.
Ernie Conover specifies 42 degrees.
If these are both workable angles, it would seem
that almost any angle would work, which kind of
goes against common sense.
Comments ?
Re: Skew Chisel Angle
Anthony Yak in SE PA
>I've been turning for ten years and have never checked an angle on any of my tools, also I don't know the speed of my lathe when turning execpt it's fast. If I don't like the angle I change it until I do it's mostly a personal thing.
Anthony
Re: Skew Chisel Angle
John Lucas
>Jim
I've tried a lot of angles on my skews from around 25 degrees to 45 degrees. they all work but I find that an angle that gives a bevel that is twice as long as your skew is thick seems to be easy for most people to control.
The really narrow angle can be grabby and the 45 degree angle will not cut some woods cleanly. Somewhere inbetween is a good choice. I'd choose somewhere around 35 degrees. You'll probably find that this closely matches the idea of the bevel being twice the width of the thickness of the skew.
Re: Skew Chisel Angle
Russ Fairfield
>The thicker angle (40-45 degrees) is more "user friendly" with less tendency to have a "catch". This comes at the cost of a rougher finish and having to move the tool handle a greater distance when turning beads.
The thinner angles (25-35 degrees) cut a smoother surface, and require less handle movement. The cost for this is that they are very "catchy" and difficult to use. A 25-degree Skew is one for the "experts" only.
Another advantage of the thinner angles is that can be made to a keener edge and that it will stay that way longer.
It would be good advice for the beginning user of the Skew to start with a 45-degree angle between the bevels because it is easier to use. Then reduce the angle to improve the quality of the cut as they gain experience.
90 degrees!
Mike Schwing from Md.
>Only one I can control is a skew beveled at 83 degrees. Course, some folks call that a scraper.
Re: 90 degrees!
John Lucas
>Mike
I frequently use my parting tool as a skew and it has a very blunt angle. I tried the Ellsworth parting tool grind and don't like it. It is very steep. I think he did that so there would be more mass under the cutting edge. It's a diamond shaped parting tool.
I want more of a clean cutting peeling action so I sharpen my parting tools about 60 degree included angle or less. When I'm making tenons I part down to a size just a hare bigger than I want and then I twist the parting tool to a shear angle like a skew and clean the tenon down to the proper size. I've also turned beads when I'm in a hurry. I already have the parting tool in my hand and a cutting edge is a cutting edge no matter what tool it's on.
Re: 90 degrees!
Mike Schwing from Md.
>Thanks John. I am able to use a "detail gouge" in a manner similar to that of a skew, with similar results. I haven't determined if its the convex bevel on it rather than a straight one on a skew that allows me to use it without the catches I find on a regular skew. It may be the rounded tip, not sure. I can hold the detail gouge at a perpendicular to the rotation axis, and ride the bevel on the workpiece, rotating and pushing the gouge where appropriate, in the same manner I see others using a skew. But get that skew near me and its BANG! DAMN! in a hurry. I'm ok with it for now, I mostly turn bowls using nothing other than the Ellsworth grind. Every now and then Mrs. Schwing wants a vase or candlestick....
I figure I have another 30 or 40 years to learn that skew, no hurry.
Thanks
Jim Engel
>I am sure that many very successful wood
turners never think in terms of angles
or specifications but just make it
"feel right."
But being cursed or blessed by an engineering
background I have a compulsion to try and figure it
out before I jump in.
Thanks for the help.
Re: Skew Chisel Angle
Fog Tanner
>Jim,
I use 40 degrees on all my skews (1", 3/4", 1/2" and 3/8"). This is just what I have gotten comfortable with. I tried 30 and 35 on one of my 1/2" skews, but it was way too prone to catches. And I did spend some time practicing with this angle, but life is to short so I reverted back to what was working. The rule of thumb is the width of the bevel is 1.5 times the thickness. I use a Tormek and set the initial angle at 40 and then just match it every time I sharpen it.
I also use a slightly radiused edge like Raffin. Ricard got away from the really radical radiused edge, but still some curve. He sharpened one of mine and I have kept the same profile. Works for me.
If you want to learn how to use the skew, you can get a light pull drive or one of the "safe drivers" which drive through friction and allows the piece to stop in the event of a catch. When you get a catch, look at the tool and see where it is on the wood. You can learn alot about what you are doing when things go wrong. My starting point was the Raffin video and books. He tells you why you get a catch and how to avoid it. I then spent a lot of time getting catches. If I had the light pull drive life would have been a lot better. The downside of all this practice, is I can use the skew but not the gouge. I approach the gouge with the same trepidation that most people do the skew. I always try the skew first and gouge last..Its just practice, practice, practice.
Fog