(apologies for the subject - just sort of flows
- like Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered)
I?d read about the bedan but hadn?t found a good picture of one, what it was used for or how it was used. Jean Francoise Escoulen uses one on his tembleurs (leave it to the French to come up with just the right word for the wood working world?s seismograph - a slight tremble - meaningful word if you live in California - and the trembleur translates it into a very noticeable swaying at the top of the piece) so it was worth looking in to. Appeared to be much like a mortising chisel - thick rectangle, flat backed with a single bevel. Simple - no rounds, fingernails or skews to grind - shape and sharpen just like familiar bench chisels or mortising chisels
I recalled that there was, in a Chinese set of what was labeled ?carving chisels? I?d picked up years ago at a woodworking show for $20, a tool that might be made into what I imagined a bedan would look like. Got on the fine grinder and beveled the sides a little, in hopes of cutting down on the side friction with the wood in deep cuts. I was thinking of the bedan as a wide parting tool or cylinder maker.
Split, what I now thought might be a pseudo bedan, out of its short, carver?s length, handle, turned a longer one out of a green mellaleuca branch, used a 1/2? to 3/8? copper reducer fitting for the ?bezel? (?), drilled a hole and tapped the socket shouldered ?bedan? into it. A little clean up of the bevel and back, a little stropping and it was read to go.
Bevel towards the wood, cutting edge parallel to the axis of rotation, I raised the handle slowly and a 3/8? square shouldered, smooth, flat bottomed groove began appearing. Sweet! Tried a longer straight sweeping cut with the edge angled like I?d dew with a skew. Nice! Wonder what?ll happen if I roll It like I do with a skew? Half of a bead appeared. Rolled it the other way - the way a skew gives me grief. No problem - the other half of the bead appeared. Cut a wider bead to the right of the first one, another wider one next to that and eventually a ball. Went back to the other side of the initial bead and ?bedaned? a series of ever narrower beards. Had only one catch, rolling right - my nemesis. Rolling left I can clearly see the edge at the wood and the corner waiting to catch. Not so for rolling right. Probably should learn to use my left hand on the handle on right rolls but . . .
If you haven't tried a bedan, or are intimidated by a skew - try it - you'll like it. Other than the Escoulen web site, I have no idea where you'd buy one, but one shouldn't be hard to make from bar stock,
Just something to think about - and perhaps try.
charlie b
sure are a lot of types of turning tools and even more grinds of each