Beading tool. Bevel on one side, longer, not skewed. Alternate, single-sided skew. More clearance in narrow quarters, no nose to catch with the beading, and all plane real well. Don't have to buy one, as you probably have a couple cheap scrapers you can convert.
The best tool for any job is the one that does it best in your hands.
Funny, but after posting my last response to Derek, I chatted with a friend in California--a long-term woodturner--who said the same thing--"use a beading tool, fer cryin' out loud." After almost 30 years of turning, he claims he still cannot make decent mini-beads with a skew. I guess I shouldn't feel so bad.
I do have some cheap scrapers, including one narrow one I never use, that I'll try to convert. Now I face the problem of being able to make a nice set of half-coves on the tool with a small ledge in between. OR, Robert Sorby has one for not too awfully much money, if I fail.
Max
Max I am confused. to me a beading, or rather beading/parting tool, is a square or rectangular tool used either as a parting or as a beading tool. The idea is to use the narrow edge of your tool in a similar manner to a skew. For instance, you wish to turn those 1mm beads on the edge of the bowl, as you were discussing . Use the point formed by the conjunction of the two sides of the parting tool to make a v cut leaving your 1mm ridge. Round the ridge with the point formed by that conjunction in a similar manner to a skew. However, in this case the skew is 1/8" wide and much easier to maneuver. Those other beading tools are dedicated scrapers and likely work well but this is more versatile.
"Derek Andrews" wrote: (clip) " Another common problem is trying to cut beads which are too small. The problem here is that the skew still needs to swing and rotate through the same wide arc, but on a small bead it has to do so over very little forward movement. This requires considerable coordination. " (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ That makes considerable sense.
What is often called a "beading tool" today is a scraper. The tool traditionally referred to a beading tool was a chisel with a fairly long bevel. Provides clearance on the non-bevel side to keep down those annoying heel bruises caused by impacting the bevel on the opposite side.
As I posted earlier in this thread, skews used to come in left and right flavors too. That way as you went to a steeper angle to cut and begin the peel, you weren't butting up against the opposite bevel. Think of it as a low-angle plane.
I'll pop a picture of mine and put it up tomorrow if the bright sunshine calling me outside doesn't get in the way.
Actually, to turn a bead on a bowl I would use a three point tool which only has one point but three cutting edges. Why is the darned thing not called a pyramid tool? Whichever the name, it cuts well and is great for this application.
By the way, to grind a radius into a scraper, mount a drill based grinding wheel into your drill press, radius the edge with a grinding wheel dresser, rig a table to stabilize the tool being presented, and grind the radius. Do not make it complicated.
Tiny beads are really hard. I made a special tool out of a very small
1/4" square shaft spindle gouge which I rarely if ever used...re-ground it so it now makes perfect beads as a scraper with a U shaped grind.
You don't sound confused at all, Darrell. And thanks for the suggestion--I'd never have come up with that. I'll definitely give it a try. Thanks for your website, too--it's full of great ideas.
Max
I don't have one of these, but it looks fairly simple to grind.
Max
I saw a local turner's works last summer, and several of his pieces had lovely tiny beads decorating the rims or occasionally on the throat of a hollow form vase. I should have asked him how he did them. They seemed to be around 1mm in size, but measured from valley to valley, I suspect they were larger. As you say 1mm is really small.
Probably good advice for me, especially since I'm not that adept yet with a skew. And while on the subject, will a skew cut endgrain smoothly? I've never tried.
I'm far from there at this point, but it would be nice to be able to do some finer detail work that might help distinguish my work in the future.
I have a small detail gouge with which I'm getting better. I can do far better beads with it than with a skew. It's really a great little tool, and I'm sure I'll be inclined to use it instead of the skew if I'm doing some piece for keeps.
Your advice is greatly appreciated, Derek.
Max
I guess that is what I was thinking of as a "beading tool."
Max
Not 1mm, but I've used this idea from Ken Vaughn and it works well:
(Thanks again to Ken and his site, I've gotten a lot form it)
Mac
Those are cool, and do a nice job.
Max
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