Sources for Blanks

Teaching the skew

John K Jordan

>>>I was never brave enough to give a rank beginner a skew as first chisel choice

I start with a blank already turned round , saving the roughing for later. They learn about the bevel and tool rest and how to hold the tool. Then I rotate the spindle with the hand wheel while they experiment with using the bevel and edge together to make a shaving.

They can see and feel what happens if the bevel isn't providing control, if the tool isn't slid along the rest, if the angle of the cutting edge is too flat or too steep, if there is too much or too little pressure, what happens when the long point touches the wood. Everything happens in slow motion, very relaxed, all without trauma.

As the skew is the simplest possible cutting tool, it takes very little time until they can feel how the tool is supposed to work and how to make nice, controllable, continuous shavings - some "get it" in just a few revolutions. Then I turn the lathe on at the slowest speed and they make more shavings, all while I'm watching, making suggestions as needed.

When they have that down, I turn the speed up a little, then higher. If everything is going ok, I go away and let them play. After a bit of this we review, reiterate things like stance and relaxed grip, and talk about turning a smooth cylinder and watching the profile, not the tool.

I've never had anyone fail to learn to plane with the skew successfully in 10-20 minutes. Then we go to roughing a square blank, v-grooves, beads and coves. The student may turn two or three square spindle blanks down to nothing in this first lesson. Once you learn the basics of edge and bevel with the skew, everything else is easy!

The v-grooves are probably the hardest due to the angles, clearance, and motion. For illustration I made an oversized model skew from a 2/4 and a 4" diameter spindle with a v-groove.

I don't tell them that so many woodturners are afraid of the skew. If you start with the skew, there is no mystery, it becomes the norm rather than the exception. Others have mentioned they use this method.

JKJ

BTW, cherry is fine for these lessons too and with a sawmill I have a barn loft full. But I usually start with pine, cedar, or soft maple/box elder since they are soft and easy to cut when rotating the work by hand. Basswood or buckeye should be good too.

Re: Plywood

ebd

I would never turn plywood. The glue destroys the edge of any tool.

Re: Plywood

Stuart Johnson

That's why I have a grinder

buy better tools.

john lucas

I've turned a lot of plywood. I use mostly thompson tools and don't really have a problem. Of course I sharpen very frequently with any tool and any wood so if I think a tool is getting dull I stop and sharpen.

If you want to try a wood that dulls tools try turning barnwood. That outer gray wood will dull a tool sometimes in just one pass across a piece the size of my hand mirrors. And I'm not talking dull like maybe it doesn't cut as clean as you want. I'm talking dull like it will hardly even cut. Once you get through that 1/8" of so or outer wood the barnwood cuts like any other Oak.

dulling tools

John K Jordan

>>>If you want to try a wood that dulls tools try turning barnwood.

I have a thick slab of walnut that dulled a brand new Starrett bimetal bandsaw blade in a very short time - maybe 18" or so of cutting. I was told it was taken from a very old house being demolished, used as a mantel. The guy said they suspected it was perhaps 100 years old.

If anyone wants to do some turning tool dulling tests, you can have it.

JKJ

There's an old joke about wood ........

JamieDonaldson

...that dulls tools, goes on about salvaged Osage fence posts. If an old farmer offers you an Osage fence post to turn, you know he's not your buddy! (;-D)

Re: buy better tools.

William Duffield

A century or so of dust and sand blowing from farmers' fields and embedded in the cracks and checks and bark of the outside surfaces will do that.

The skew, the skew

Jorge

and nothing but the skew.

That was the policy of the shop teacher at the local HS when I learned to turn in an adult ed program. Ten nights of 2 hour sessions, the first night with an 1 1/4" skew, the next seven sessions with a 3/4" skew the last 2 with a 1/2"

The spindles got more and more complex designs. I am not a spindle turner, but I sure thank the fellow, he sure conveyed the basics and gave me a lot of confidence.

Re: The skew, the skew

John K Jordan

>>>the first night with an 1 1/4" skew, the next seven sessions with a 3/4" skew the last 2 with a 1/2"

That's a good point and one I forgot to mention - the bigger skews are much easier for the beginner since there is a wider "safe" zone for planing. I always do the skew lesson with a wider skew. Also, a larger angle is more forgiving so for students I use one ground to about 40 deg instead of 25 or 30 deg.

It also seems to me that a skew with a curved edge is gentler to use than one with a straight edge. I wonder if the curved edge makes it a little more like a flat gouge, taking a slightly smaller bite than the straight edge.

Frank Penta teaches the 1/4" skew made from round stock and gave me one - skew on one end, point tool on the other. I started using the little round skew on small spindles and found it easier for rolling beads. Frank teaches a method of using the index finger to help judge the rotation.

BTW, I do something with the skew on relatively thin spindles that is never taught - I often cut with the upper half of the edge (but still away from the long point). This makes the edge last longer between sharpenings! I have always heard one must never cut above the mid point but having tried it, it is no problem at all as long as there is a wide enough bevel for support. You just have to pay closer attention!

JKJ