The taming of the skew! Help

wrote: (clip) I am able to round the 4"/4" with a 1"

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ It's almost impossible to teach the use of the skew by writing about it. The best thing would be a teacher. Or buy a video that demonstrates the techniques. I did both, and still had some trouble, and the advice I got from our club chairman was: "Start doing EVERYTHING with the skew." I know it sounds nuts, but you can even do the roughing on your legs with a skew. You get LOTS of experience, and your mistakes don't cost you anything, because most of them will be on the waste wood that's going to be removed anyway. The brain works in mysterious ways. The more you do something, the better you get at it, even if you don't understand why. You need to strive for a level where you think about the form you are creating, and your hands make the right moves without demanding most of your attention. It's a lot like driving a car.

In message , snipped-for-privacy@charter.net writes

For me I only recently "Got It" after a few hundred pen blanks to practice on. I too find I am good at right to left, but left to right is a nightmare. One thing I have found is the type of Skew makes a lot of difference to the learning process.

I have seen three basic types of tool listed a Skew

1, Thin oval cross-section 2, Rectangular section with rounded edges 3, Plain Rectangular

Additionally the slope of the cutting edge makes a difference

1, Long face 2, Short face

With the short face I found it harder to present the tool to the work at the correct angle, with the longer face, it was considerably easier

I also found the thin oval section to be easiest as you just rock the tool on its body to provide a slight tilt, which is easy to control, unlike the rounded and square edge.

I also found that the best cutting point was 1/3 of the way from the lowest point of the cutting edge, this tended to keep the furthest point above the work, reducing the risk of a catches it should be tilted away from the work.

Not sure if that makes sense, but its what I have noticed during my hours of practice.

Try an oval skew... Because it's natural to rotate it, you can have the cutting edge at a sheer angle and the tip down.. You have to really try to get a catch in this position..

I also like the arched type slew, with tucked in points..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Mike Darlow has a DVD literally called "Taming of the Skew" see:

Alan Lacer in his DVD advocates using a stub center versus a spur center so that when you catch, the spindle stops spinning versus gouging the turning. Finally, for someone who does *everything* with a skew, see Richard Raffan: ~Mark.

others have given good advise - here are some more thoughts

1. you are cutting, not scraping -
2. put the lathe on a very slow speed and practice - don't worry about finish. Try and make it catch - see what you did
3. a catch happens when you are cutting in the wrong quadrant of the work, or with the wrong part of the tool - stay away from the trailing edge, stay at or above center
4. a gouge is just a skew with a bend in it - you can rub the bevel just like a with a gouge
5. if you can do shear cutting with a gouge, you can handle a skew

Keep the skew as high up as possible. Some free video's on skew turning here:

What he said, I tried practice and videos, a lesson did the trick. I just (this weekend) used almost nothing but the skews for some work (including roughing). I don't "have the skew", but it's closer

I'm going with Leo on this. I have turned for years, have my own favorite grinds, tools, etc., that I have developed to suit myself. I was sure I could use the skew.

Nope.

Yeah, I could do some planing cuts and a little beading. But I was so timid about it I had other tools that would do the same job faster.

Years ago, we had an open house at our club. "Bring the tool you own that gives you problems" was the theme. So many had given up on the skew that I was the only one that showed up with mine!! I was teaching sharpening, so I had a lot of time scheduled, so I didn't really have much for myself.

But we have a skewmaster in our group. When I got with him, he had me cutting well with the damn thing in about 15 minutes. For some reason, I just couldn't understand the geometry of the approach. With him standing there, I was good, and cut nice lines, cut coves, beads, etc. without a lot of fuss.

TIP: To make sure I didn't hurt either of us, he loosened the belt on the lathe, that way it would slip if I got a catch.

I was pretty happy, but didn't go home and practice with it as I didn't see it as my "go to" group of tools. My skills with it deteriorated, and now I am back where I was.

The moral of the story: Find someone that is comfortable with the skew, have them help you get your skills up, and PRACTICE to build that memory of stance, approach, and angle of cut.

Robert

I use a skew, mainly a half inch, a LOT, for just about everything

- some uses I probably shouldn't do.

When I first started turning, the straight edged skew was my worst nightmare. If I got it anywhere near moving wood all hell would break loose. Didn't matter if the rpms were low or high, get it near spinning wood and it'd go psycho on me.

Then in a conversation I struck up with a guy at a woodworking show - who happened to be a wood turner - I mentioned the grief the skew was causing me. He offered to have me over to his house and he'd show me some tips and tricks.

The first thing he did was take my skew over to a sanding disk mounted on a face plate on his lathe. In 30 seconds he'd reground the edge to put a slight curve in it. A couple of changes of grit and he hands me back a VERY sharp curved edge skew.

This helped with two of my problems with the skew. A sharp tool is much better behaved than a not as sharp, or dull skew.

By putting a curve in the cutting edge, that scary long point was pulled back - still there to use if needed - but back out of the way of the middle 2/3rds of the cutting edge - the sweet spot for p laning/peeling cuts. And the heel corner was pulled back a bit as well. That wasn't so significant since I seldom intentionaly use it.

But the big AHA! was when he mounted a chunk of wood on his lathe and started a skew cut - with the long tip down and first to contact - and begin cutting - the wood.

The idea of starting a cut by poking that long point into spinning wood seemed crazy as hell. But when you think about it, you've got almost a single point of contact so that sharp point isn't cutting much wood at all. And THAT has been the trick for taming the skew - for me.

Once the long point starts the cut it's not hard to get, and keep, the bevel rubbing the wood as the rest of the cut is made. Have a look at the illustration and animation at the bottom of this page

Then have a look at the illustrations on this page Pay particular attention to the third illustration - the "top" view of a rolling cut. It's the last two parts of the cut that can cause problems as your tip approaches the adjacent vertical face. If the long point, which is down and out of sight, happens to contact the adjacent vertical face - bingo - you've lost control of the cut and a catch or spiral cut will happen. You want to keep the cut going downhill - on YOUR side of the valley or cliff. If you don't, the edge will want to climb up the other side - or up the cliff - up into the end grain rather than down acrossed it. the steeper the sides of the "valley" the easier it is to accidently start climbing UP rather than cutting DOWN. Cut with the long point - THAT is the secret - for me. You're mileage may vary. Void where prohibited by law

Plenty of good advice already, to which I add, practice skewing with confidence. Don't believe the doomsayers and don't be up tight. Pay attention to your catches, but lighten up or you'll miss the fun and advantages of using a skew.

The skew is not a shrew. It's a great turning tool and it doesn't need "taming" (IMHO, a cute, but a wrong and counterproductive phrase). I don't advise waving the skew or any turning tool, but a mild 'devil may care' attitude is probably a better way to learn how to skew than white knuckles and knee-kick fear.

There is an epiphany to enjoying a skew. A time for all of us when it will suddenly come to you like learning to savor scotch whisky neat or riding a bicycle, 'no hands'. It's all about ignoring the skew's bad reputation and believing in your abilities.

Everybody gets catches when using a skew, but it's the same with a gouge except for liars. For me it's usually when I'm showing someone how easy skewing actually is. So why can't I tame my bowl gouge and keep it from making funnels? :)

Turn to Safety, Arch Fortiter

Thanks Charlie for the information. I think I will go to the grinder and change the shape of the skew this evening. I have got to learn the skew. I have pretty good luck with smaller spindles but I have been flying by the seat of my pants with my turning.

Your work is very nice, I looked through your web sites. Also the illustrations are great.

Again thanks for your input, hope to see you around.

Everett

Many Thanks to all that replied to my plea for help. All the information is appreciated. I will try and apply all of it as I practice on the lathe on much smaller wood stock. One thing that I wish could be answered is, would using a larger than 1" skew reduce my chance of a catch? Looks like it might keep the toe and heel further away from the cutting area. I am working on 4" popular stock "trying to turn" the legs for an Island.

Thanks again

Everett

Many thanks

Everett

You may be able to find a post from me several years ago bemoaning much the same thing as you are.

I got much the same response from the group and read all of it in detail. Downloaded some vids... and then?

:-)

And then I just worked it and worked it.

My advice:

Start by rounding the stock with a roughing gouge or your favorite tool. The practice riding the bevel of the skew without any cut at all. Touch the stock gently from there. Make sure your skew is sharp at ALL times. Once you get some confidence, start playing with the heel and the tip of the thing.

Then, it's the same question and answer as "How do I get to Carnegie Hall?"

Practice. practice, practice.

Larger skews are easier to use. I converted both of my 1/2 skews to scrapers

There has been a lot of good advise given on this thread. Many years ago, when I was trying to learn to use the skew, I stumbled onto a product that made a real difference. The product was called the Stabilax for stabilizing the skew chisel. I purchased one at the Joint AAW/Utah Woodturning Symposium in about 1991 or 1992, I don't remember the exact year anymore. The Stabilax slips onto the skew chisel and is held in place with a set screw. It provides a round surface to ride on the tool rest and some additional weight. After I used the skew with this device for awhile, I discovered that I could also use it without the Stabilax. I don't know if they are still making the device or not, but here is the address in my files:

Beech Street Tool Works Dick Lukes, 440 Beech Street, Los Angeles, CA 90065. TEL: 213-223-0411 This company makes the Stabilax for stabilizing the skew chisel and making scrapers into shear scrapers. Also make precision parting tools

If Dick Lukes is still making this device, I highly recommend it for people having trouble with the skew.

Fred Holder

In message , snipped-for-privacy@fholder.com writes

Here is a link to a source, if its no longer available from Fred's contact details, with image

Looks a very simple design, but I can see it could be very effective for a beginner

My personal favorite is a 3/4" oval skew, but I use the 1" "normal" skew a lot, also.. For my use/ability, smaller skews are for small work or tight spots.. Why try to use a 1/4" skew on a 3' long cut, for example..

If you DO stay with a normal, flat skew, save yourself a lot of grief and file or grind the edges of the shaft, where it rides on the tool rest, round.. Even if you don't want to roll the point down to avoid catches, the worst time to find a little nick on your tool rest is when your skew hangs up on it during a cut.. DAMHIKT

If all else fails, get good with scrapers.. ;-] I turned a set of stool legs for a friend and used mostly scrapers for the rounding and shaping..

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

I'm not sure how to put a curve on the skew with a grinding wheel. Even a low speed grinder - the width of the wheel is too narrow - for me. I use the side of the VERY slow speed Tormek - or the top of the glass wheel on the WorkSharp. DO NOT use the sides of regular or even "low" speed grinders.

Make contact with the bevel - then roll a little to either side - removing more metal on the ends than in the middle 2/3rds. If I get some "faceting" I can fix that with a diamond paddle

- or ignore them and use the skew as is.

And choke up on the skew with your left hand - with my thumb over the top - out past the tool rest. Once the cut is started - with the long point - the left hand applies pressure to keep the bevel on the wood, the right hand doing the rolling and raising (lowering the tip into the reducing diameter).

I find the skew easier to control than a spindle gouge since you only have to keep track of ONE cutting edge, not the edge on the other side of where you're making the cut.

There's a video on YouTube that shows cuts made with a bedan, cutting with the corners of the bedan that shows the basics of the cut - woth a bedan or skew. Search for "Bedan Practice"