The taming of the skew! Help

I forwarded the original posting to Dick Lukes -- he'll respond if he is interested.

Everett... Before you try training wheels, I'd suggest that you spend $20 or so for an oval skew and "skew" around with it.. You might find out that you LIKE the skew.. lol

I hope you've already done this, but if not, play with some scrap lumber on the lathe before you attempt making those legs.. More fun and you don't chance skewing up expensive wood.. YMWV

mac

Please remove splinters before emailing

Just to re-open (or close) this topic. I was watching Richard Raffan's "Turning Projects" video this weekend - the one where he does virtually

*everything* with skews. This prompted me to "resume training" with the skew (after I finished a couple hollow forms).

Anyway, after watching him repeatedly, I *still* wasn't having much luck

- lots of catches, inaccurate V grooves, etc. I stood watching the wood, trying to figure out why I was having so many problems emulating Raffan.

Then I tried (as a previous poster suggested) *always* using the long point down. For me, this did the trick! I spent another hour planing to cylinder and cutting beads and even a couple of captive rings with the skew.

Raffan is so expert with the skew, it doesn't seem to matter to him whether it's long point up or down. I went back and re-watched parts of the video to make sure of this. For me, keeping the long point down and always using left hand on tool rest, right hand on skew handle does the trick. It got to the point where my death grip on the handle was reduced to a light touch and I was brave enough to try captive rings with which I was successful!

~Mark.

I think I have that same Raffan video. I also have Alan Lacer's skew chisel video. Both videos are good. But I find it interesting that these two experts do not agree about some basic things. At one point in his video Raffan says to keep the point down going one way and point it up going the other way, unless you are left handed, then do the opposite. Lacer does not teach it that way. If my memory serves me correctly, he keeps the point the same going both directions (I don't remember which way the long point goes in his video off the top of my head). My point is that the experts don't always agree. Get all you can from what they say and use what you can. But some of what you do as a woodturner has to be what works best for you. That takes lots of time, effort and experience.

Ted J. thelatentlog.com

point down is misleading- it's a way of getting the angle of the blade so that it will cause a downward force against the tool rest - point up and you get an upward force which lifts the skew up and then you get surprises

think about the force vectors from high school physics

That would be true if you were to turn from the front of the lathe point down and the back of the lathe for point up (or reverse the spindle).