Briefly, I've been using a lathe to make sawdust for 40 years. I'm right-handed. I use scraping tools, but have some facility with spindle and bowl gouges, and a hook. I make some of my own tools. The skew has always been my nemesis. Assorted arguments aside, regarding the pros and cons of the skew, I decided to start practicing with a couple of new skew chisels and alternating left and right hand techniques. I have scrap softwood material, mainly 2x4 stuff and have decided to start out on this stock and just the skew chisels - a 1 inch standard skew, and a
3/4 inch oval cross-section skew. The oval skew has a significantly flatter bevel grind than the standard skew has. I'm starting with turning a basic cylinder from square stock. I'm also working on simple symmetrical beads of assorted sizes. Attempts at coves have been unsatisfying so far. I'm using both chisels, trying to learn the differences between them, and also working on left-handed stances to complement my usual right-handed stances. On the basic cylindrical project, I am noticing very smooth surfaces on about half the cylinder circumference and less smooth on the other half of the circumference. I believe this to be perfectly analogous to the surface quality of a planed board edge when going the "right" direction or the "wrong" direction with the plane. In addition, the circularity of the cylinder is affected by the alternating hard and soft grain in the wood. Coves are the worst for me, so far. With no place for the bevel to rub, a nice spiral catch is almost always the result, unless I make a small notch first, to start my efforts. Somewhat similar to my turning a bowl, I must start with a small scraped notch at the rim, so there is a place for me to start the gouge. None of these remarks is a complaint, just observations of my early efforts in retraining myself. I am continuing to study assorted videos for technique, as I become more aware of what my questions are. A turning club is out of the question in a mainly rural area like mine. The turning season is upon me, as my outdoor pursuits wind down, and so this is what I am doing for now.Just wanted to post this, as the board seemed pretty quiet except for the odd spammers. Maybe new turners monitoring this board will be encouraged to continue their learning, cuz an old fart is still trying and making his messes.
tom koehler