Left-Handed Turning

Alan,

You will find you will become a better turner if you learn to be ambidextrous. With turning some things work better right-handed...........others left-handed.........as you have discovered.

Barry

Greetings and Salutations....

On 30 Aug 2004 18:58:04 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@verizon.net (Alan Van Art) wrote:

Well, for what it is worth, I put the chisel on whichever side that cuts the best. There is, happily enough, no totally "wrong" (or totally right) way to do it. As long as you are getting good cuts, no catches to speak of, and, feel comfortable and in control of the tool, you are doing the right thing.

Some folks may as well only have one hand, considering how strongly sided they are. I, like you, use my right hand for some things, and, my left for others. I write with either hand, although my writing sucks a lot more with my left hand (and, interestingly enough, I tend to mirror image the text), and, I do eat with my left hand... I find it to be handy (as it were) to be able to get good results with either hand. I suspect that part of the reason for this is that I have been a touch-typist for 30+ years...and that sort of thing goes a long way towards ensuring that one can use both hands quickly. It was one of the few courses I took in High School that has proved continually useful to me through the years.

Join the club! One of the enjoyments of woodturning is that it has a fairly shallow learning curve, so is fairly easy for most folks to pick up the basics and produce something fun after only a few minutes instruction. On top of that is the fact that it has enough depth and complexity that it seems as if there is always something new to learn.

Ok...although the BEST way to approach this is for you and a mentor to be standing over a lathe, I will suggest a couple of things. Catches happen for different reasons with different tools. 1) Scrapers - Almost always a problem with not finding the "Sweet Spot" for cutting, and just pushing the tool into the wood to try to make it cut via brute force. When I say "Sweet spot", I mean that when the scraper cuts into the wood at a certain angle, it produces long, fine shavings. If touched to the wood at a higher or lower angler, it will mostly produce dust, or very short shavings. It also takes more force to cut. This assumes of course, that the scraper is sharp. Dull tools are the most dangerous things in the shop, so, if the quality of cut has dropped, perhaps it is time to step away from the lathe and spend a bit of time with the sharpening tools, and the burnishing tools, to get a new "hook" on the tools. 2) Gouges - It has been my experience that most catches happen with gouges when either the upper corner corner (end) of the bevel digs into the wood as the turner is cutting, or, the point that is doing the actual cutting moves AWAY from being right over the point that the tool contacts the tool rest. There is a LOT of force going on at the tip of the tool, and, if that force is not translated directly down into the rest, the gouge will rotate and (surprise, surprise), dig the corner of the bevel into the work surface. 3) Skews - These are really challenging tools to use, as they are very powerful tool for shaping, but, like a race car can be real bears to control. For an annoyingly excellent example of control...rent or buy any of Richard Raffen's videoes. (and note that EVEN Raffen gets catches). Now... in most cases, the catches with the skew come from either allowing the point doing the cutting to go up more than the half-way point on the blade, or, allowing the skew to rotate slightly. This may be clear as mud...so let me expound a bit more. Hold your skew up, horizontally in the air in front of you, and, look at the side of the blade. Take a sharpie (or other marker), and, make a mark that runs down the centerline of the blade and across the bevel. In general, if the cutting point is below that line (whether you are cutting with the point UP or DOWN) the likelyhood of a catch is much lower. To work well, skews have to be razor sharp, too. Much sharper than the other turning tools need to be. If, for example, you hone the gouges, etc, to 220 or so grit, the skew should be polished to 400 grit or better. Finally, I hope that you are seriously looking to find and join a woodturning club. That can be an invaluable resource for discussing techniques, seeing demonstrations of new techniques, and getting help when you run into problems. The AAW (American Association of Woodturners) can be a great resource for tracking down groups and such. Although there is not much there yet (working on it...slowly) there are some links, etc, at OUR club's website:

regards Dave Mundt

Greetings and Salutations....

On 30 Aug 2004 18:58:04 -0700, snipped-for-privacy@verizon.net (Alan Van Art) wrote: *snip*

Sorry about that...I meant to address the spiral problem, too, but, got distracted and hit the "send" button too soon. This seems to happen very easily with the Skew, and, is usually caused because the tool is not at an exact right angle to the tool rest when a catch happens. WIthout telling you all I know, if the skew is not perpendicular to the toolrest/wood, it will end up with a strong (read - unstoppable) sideways force that will cause it to run down the work, creating a deep, spiral gouge. I usually like to kind of hold onto the toolrest while using the skew, to ensure it is anchored there, and will stay more or less on target, no matter what. Regards Dave Mundt

I don't think it's a matter of right or wrong--the main reason I switch hands while using a skew or any tool is to be able to see the cut I'm making. If you are turning a bead ( a ball shape on a spindle, for example), when you are cutting the right side of that ball, you can see your cut better if you stand to the right--with the skew's handle in your left hand, and guiding the blade with your right. Vis versa for the other side. Otherwise you have to peer over your guiding hand, and the skew's blade to see what you're doing.

Ken Grunke

Alan

turning the right hand side of a bead is probably the best way to do it, if you can. Doing it left handed forces the body into a less than ideal position against the headstock, and the head is not in a good position to watch the profile you are creating.

IMO, being ambidexterous is a great asset to any woodturner, and I would encourage anyone to try to develop that skill. Having said that, whatever works for any individual is fine, just don't become blind to fresh opportunities by saying I can't do that!

One way to avoid the problem of dig-ins is to cut with a beading tool, Bedan, or even your 1/4" parting tool if the beads are broad enough. Second way - grinding your skew slightly convex, so it has a bit of natural clearance to help minimize the spiral.

I've never really thought of spindle turning being different regardless of "handedness," at least not like bowl turning. Toolrest close, guide on the bevel, and cut downhill, regardless whether it's toward or away from the headstock. The "off" hand just holds the tool to the rest, anyway.

You have two options regarding turning (and most other endeavours) - do what works for you, or worry about what someone else says is "right". I'm in favor of the first, personally. Results are what matters.

I guess I hadn't had enough caffeine when i wrote that nonsense. This is what I think I meant to say:

"Turning the right hand side of a bead with the left hand is probably the best way to do it, if you can. Doing it right handed forces the body into a less than ideal position against the headstock, and the head is not in a good position to watch the profile you are creating."

Or you can put the lathe in reverse and turn from the other side.

Peter Teubel Milford, MA

I have to say that I disagree with that diagnosis Dave. I turn nearly all the time with the skew tool at anything but perpendicular to the toolrest. May I ask whether you are cutting beads with the short point, or further in along the edge?

My preference is to use the edge rather than the point. Some of the reasons that I have identified as causing catches are:

1- as you get further around the bead you move from cutting side grain to cutting end grain. This is harder material and puts more pressure on the tool...... 1a- This may cause the tool to kick back, the bevel becomes unsupported and you get a catch. (The tool moves back in a straight line, rather than backing around the curve by which it came.) 1b- The tool doesn't want to move forward as quickly as it did before, but the turner continues to swing the handle at the same rate. This lifts the bevel off the bead and you get a catch. 2- as you move around the bead, more of the cutting edge comes into contact with wood. This increases the force on the blade...(see 1a and 1b). In the worst case scenario, so much of the edge comes into contact with the wood that you start cutting on the short point. This in itself is not a bad thing, but the sudden change in forces acting on the tool can be difficult ot control. 3- the bead hasn't been roughed out very well, and you suddenly find yourself cutting more material, which puts more pressure on the tool..... (Or, you suddenly find yourself cutting no material and shoot forward out of control and hit the next door bead)

To condense that, if the bevel becomes unsupported you are likely to get a catch. The bevel typically becomes unsupported because of a sudden change in dynamics, or just by the force on the tool reaching a threshold that the turner can no longer control.

To avoid this, one has to work with the wood. Be prepared for the wood to get harder as you go around into the endgrain. Be prepared to slow down the feed rate (the forward movement of the tool). Be prepared to slow down the rate at which the handle is being steered around. Keep an eye on the length of blade that is in contact with the wood. Keep the cutting edge snugged up into the ridge of wood it is cutting. Feel the force acting on the tool and react accordingly.

Try to develop a deep empathy with the forces acting on the tool which you are in control of.

HI Im a lafty and usually turn on the left side but for bowl a nd vesels I go to the rigth side look a t my page

and look at the shop

I write right, eat either, shoot pool left, brush my teeth left...

I turn with either but left is preferred. I think that a lathe is a left-handed tool.

Now, the reason I've joined in here -- I suggest that you treat yourself to a

3/8 beading and parting tool and learn to roll beads with it instead of a skew. The learning curve is shorter, the results just as good, and there are lots of Brit production turners (Martin Pidgen, for one) who use it with great success. Further, for really small beads

-- try a standard 1/8" parting tool -- works great.

Bill

But is it possible to roll a 'large' bead with a 3/8" tool? Like, say, a 2" bead?

to a 3/8 beading

learning curve is

beads -- try a

I'm cutting with the short point down at the end of the cut, but whether I use the point or the edge... I haven't settled it yet, sometimes one, sometimes the other.

Translation: "Use the Force, Luke..."

Sorry, I couldn't resist ;-)

I have that book, but I found that I liked the Raffan book better. I also have the companion Raffan Video.

I disagree, my forward hand is doing quite a bit of guiding, at least when I do it left-handed.

Yes.

Bill

Doesn't anyone roll beads with a 1/4" or 3/8" gouge? It works really well. The gouge is a much tamer tool than the skew.

Barry