Improving with the skew, a few questions

[McAldo]

Hi everybody,
I recently went back to turning. Typically I steer clear of the skew for the final cuts, but I very much love the finish it leaves and, catches aside, I enjoy using the skew a lot.
So I am spending a few hours every week practising.
I have a second hand Henry Taylor rolled edge curved skew, 1 inch wide, 7mm or so thick, and a few quite small ones.
Before stopping turning I had the not so brilliant idea of regrinding the bevels to a domed shape. Accordingly to a youtube video, it would help with catches. It certainly did make a difference, I was suddenly getting many more than before
Today, I finished grinding it back to a standard Alan Lacer grind (70 degrees skew angle, the edge runs straight for around 1/3 and then curves). I ended up with an angle of 55 degrees instead of 40, which I might fix tomorrow, but I honed it anyway, the same way I sharpen my planes, and I am quite happy with the surface it leaves.
Practise helps, I guess, so I got less catches too.

I have a few doubts, if somebody can give me an opinion:

1) The bigger the better. Is it true that a bigger skew makes your life easier? (aside of particularly small pieces and tight spots of course). I am about to place an order with toolpost, and I saw they stock an hamlet rolled edge which is 1 inch and a quarter.

2) Honing the tips on a rolled edge skew. In his sharpening video, Alan Lacer hones the tips after honing the two bevels. Just, on a rolled edge skew the sides are of course round. Is it a good idea to flatten them on the grinder where the bevel is, before honing the tips?

3) Angle. I understand most people use around 40 degrees, and that narrower angles are better for soft wood. But, does a wider angle help avoiding catches?

Thanks so much for reading

Aldo

 

[duncanh]

1) Bigger may be better but if you get a catch with a larger tool it could be a bigger catch. The skew I use the most is about 20mm. Smaller is also easier to shallow curves and coves. I have a large one that's maybe 40mm for long planing cuts. In addition to my regular skews I also have some made from round bar 10-15mm diameter and I also use bedan tools as skews.

2) I don't hone mine. If I did I'd just leave the rolled edge as it was. If you're worried about the hone rolling over the edge then try honing at an angle so most of the hone remains over the centre of the tool.

3) No idea what my angles are. They're probably not the same on the skews I have. I'd say grind to 40 degrees and leave it at that. Just practice a lot!

Hi everybody,
I have a few doubts, if somebody can give me an opinion:

1) The bigger the better. Is it true that a bigger skew makes your life easier? (aside of particularly small pieces and tight spots of course). I am about to place an order with toolpost, and I saw they stock an hamlet rolled edge which is 1 inch and a quarter.

2) Honing the tips on a rolled edge skew. In his sharpening video, Alan Lacer hones the tips after honing the two bevels. Just, on a rolled edge skew the sides are of course round. Is it a good idea to flatten them on the grinder where the bevel is, before honing the tips?

3) Angle. I understand most people use around 40 degrees, and that narrower angles are better for soft wood. But, does a wider angle help avoiding catches?

Thanks so much for reading

Aldo

 

[woodpig]

You might find this interesting, I did.

http://youtu.be/XTAGmTEr_Mo

I mostly use a 3/4" rolled edge skew.

 

[McAldo]

1) Bigger may be better but if you get a catch with a larger tool it could be a bigger catch. The skew I use the most is about 20mm. Smaller is also easier to shallow curves and coves. I have a large one that's maybe 40mm for long planing cuts. In addition to my regular skews I also have some made from round bar 10-15mm diameter and I also use bedan tools as skews.

2) I don't hone mine. If I did I'd just leave the rolled edge as it was. If you're worried about the hone rolling over the edge then try honing at an angle so most of the hone remains over the centre of the tool.

3) No idea what my angles are. They're probably not the same on the skews I have. I'd say grind to 40 degrees and leave it at that. Just practice a lot!

Thanks so much for the advice!
20mm, so 3/4 of an inch or thereabout.
I have two which are around 10mm, I get more catches that with the bigger one, but then, my skills are limited right now.
I see what you mean about honing at an angle not to roll over the tips. What I meant is honing sliding the hone on the sides of the tool, so 90 degree of the normal honing direction. Alan Lacer seems to do that as a last touch. Not sure whaty it does, perhaps straightening the tip if it is pointing slightly to the side.

Out of curiosity, what kind of steel rods do you use for making your own tools? I saw some HSS on the cheap on ebay, but the diameter was a bit small.

Yesterday I made my first rolling pin. Good thing it was for my kid, who is not too demanding, the handles are not exactly twins, more like very distant relatives

Aldo

 

[McAldo]

You might find this interesting, I did.

http://youtu.be/XTAGmTEr_Mo

I mostly use a 3/4" rolled edge skew.

Thanks so much.
Another vote for the 3/4" then.
I agree that it is a very good video.
Actually, I had spotted it before, but I did not check it out.
I know that one should never judge a book by its cover, so to speak, but the title "screw the skew" did not sound too promising..
Instead, it does explain quite a few things not mentioned in other videos and it is very much to the point.

Actually, I have three sets of unhandled carving blades which I got from ebay.
Probably I should follow the example and turn 20 handles or so. I was putting it off until I got better with the skew, but in the end the worst it can happen is that the first 10 will be rubbish and I'll have to remake them

Aldo

 

[Dave Brookes]

Aldo,
Before you place your order with the Toolpost, talk your issues through with Peter (the owner), he is a turner, won't sell you something you don't need and will give you sound advice.

Dave

 

[lurker]

Aldo,
Before you place your order with the Toolpost, talk your issues through with Peter (the owner), he is a turner, won't sell you something you don't need and will give you sound advice.

Dave

+1

 

[duncanh]

1) Bigger may be better but if you get a catch with a larger tool it could be a bigger catch. The skew I use the most is about 20mm. Smaller is also easier to shallow curves and coves. I have a large one that's maybe 40mm for long planing cuts. In addition to my regular skews I also have some made from round bar 10-15mm diameter and I also use bedan tools as skews.

2) I don't hone mine. If I did I'd just leave the rolled edge as it was. If you're worried about the hone rolling over the edge then try honing at an angle so most of the hone remains over the centre of the tool.

3) No idea what my angles are. They're probably not the same on the skews I have. I'd say grind to 40 degrees and leave it at that. Just practice a lot!

Thanks so much for the advice!
20mm, so 3/4 of an inch or thereabout.
I have two which are around 10mm, I get more catches that with the bigger one, but then, my skills are limited right now.
I see what you mean about honing at an angle not to roll over the tips. What I meant is honing sliding the hone on the sides of the tool, so 90 degree of the normal honing direction. Alan Lacer seems to do that as a last touch. Not sure whaty it does, perhaps straightening the tip if it is pointing slightly to the side.

Out of curiosity, what kind of steel rods do you use for making your own tools? I saw some HSS on the cheap on ebay, but the diameter was a bit small.

Yesterday I made my first rolling pin. Good thing it was for my kid, who is not too demanding, the handles are not exactly twins, more like very distant relatives

Aldo

I wouldn't get hung up on honing the tool. I suspect that most people don't bother and get along just fine.
The steel rods I use are regular HSS, about 10mm diameter. The handle I made has a ferrule made from plumbers fittings and I've threaded it to take a grub screw. This lets me have a point tool grind on one end of the bar and skew on the other - just undo the screw to change the tool.
If you're having problems making matching handles you could intentionally make them different and then claim it's to help tell left from right to get the rolling pin the right way round

 

[Bodrighy]

I have a number of skews as a lot of the work I do is spindle work and using a skew is a lot quicker and easier. I don't personally like the rolled type and mainly use flat ones, half of which are old carbon steel ones that I grind once in a blue moon and hone on a buffing wheel with grinding paste the rest of the time. Couldn't tell you what angle they are. Main problems I have seen people having is that they come at the wood from below instead of almost horixontally, think of skew use as planing. As Duncan suggests, small ones are fine for coves and beads and the finish on amost all woods is good enough to sand with 320 or above just to finish off. Just use the bottom 1/3rd of the skew, keep it just off the bevel to cut and come at the wood on the horizontal or fractionally below.

pete

 

[Dalboy]

I have a selection of skews from 1 1/4" down to 1/2" each has there use. My smallest I tend to use when making pens or turning finials.

A video I have found many find useful is this one by Richard Raffan

 

[Dalboy]

And yet another Skew video HERE

 

[McAldo]

Hi Everybody,

Thanks so much for all the helpful replies!
And apologies for not having replied at all, I didn't realize that email notifications were off by default, so I missed your messages.

Aldo

 

[McAldo]

Aldo,
Before you place your order with the Toolpost, talk your issues through with Peter (the owner), he is a turner, won't sell you something you don't need and will give you sound advice.

Dave

Thanks Dave,

Before posting I did get in touch with Peter, actually.
I have to say, he was very helpful and honest with his advice, as you say.
In the end, I got the skew and it should be with me tomorrow, hopefully I'll be able to give it a go tomorrow.

Aldo

 

[McAldo]

I have a number of skews as a lot of the work I do is spindle work and using a skew is a lot quicker and easier. I don't personally like the rolled type and mainly use flat ones, half of which are old carbon steel ones that I grind once in a blue moon and hone on a buffing wheel with grinding paste the rest of the time. Couldn't tell you what angle they are. Main problems I have seen people having is that they come at the wood from below instead of almost horixontally, think of skew use as planing. As Duncan suggests, small ones are fine for coves and beads and the finish on amost all woods is good enough to sand with 320 or above just to finish off. Just use the bottom 1/3rd of the skew, keep it just off the bevel to cut and come at the wood on the horizontal or fractionally below.

pete

Thanks Pete, I'll keep that in mind.
I tend and put the toolrest higher than the center with the skew, particularly when using a small one, but perhaps I do tend and approach the wood too low anyway.
To be honest, when a catch comes I often don't realize why, but it is all a matter of practising more I guess..

 

[McAldo]

I have a selection of skews from 1 1/4" down to 1/2" each has there use. My smallest I tend to use when making pens or turning finials.

A video I have found many find useful is this one by Richard Raffan

Thanks, they are both very clear.
Out of curiosity, do you use a straight or curved profile?
I see opinions diverge on that side. Do you think it is a matter of having practised more with one kind of grind?
My skew was second hand, it came with a radiused edge, which sounded like a good thing having read Raffan's turning manual.
I made a few mistakes sharpening it, but now I should have reshaped it reasonably well.

 

[McAldo]

I wouldn't get hung up on honing the tool. I suspect that most people don't bother and get along just fine.
The steel rods I use are regular HSS, about 10mm diameter. The handle I made has a ferrule made from plumbers fittings and I've threaded it to take a grub screw. This lets me have a point tool grind on one end of the bar and skew on the other - just undo the screw to change the tool.
If you're having problems making matching handles you could intentionally make them different and then claim it's to help tell left from right to get the rolling pin the right way round

Thanks
Good thinking about handles, but my wife has already politely declined an offer of a bigger rolling pin for her, suggesting to make a breadboard instead.
I suspect she thinks I cannot mess that up if there are no handles involved. She is an optimist at heart but I might surprise her once more

What you say about using a grub to make a reversible blade is very interesting. I have seen something similar from Simon Hope, a woodtuner who gave a demonstration at my club.
I like the idea but for the fact that I would probably loose the allen key in shavings more often than not.
So, you tapped through the ferrule to thread it and drilled the wood so the screw can go all the way and secure the blade?
Probably it's a silly question, but, I would have thought it would require two grubs to keep it still when turning, given the socket is not a very tight fit?

 

[duncanh]

I have several rare earth magnets at various places around the lathe and when I've finished with an allen key I just stick it to the magnet. I also have a set of allen keys fixed into a plastic handle (think similar action to a pen knife - just fold out the one you need) and that's pretty hard to loose in shavings.

Yes, tap the ferrule and through the wood. Because my ferrule is made from a fairly thick plumbing fitting the thread is a reasonable depth.

I only used one grub screw - the socket is a reasonable fit. On the first length of hss that I used I ground a flat for the grub screw to locate on to but on subsequent ones I didn't bother and it still works find.

 

[Robbo3]

You can do tiny work with a large skew but (IMHO) it can be positively dangerous to attempt large work with a small skew - it does depend on your proficiency of course.

Q2 - I can't see any benefit to grinding the edge of a rolled edge skew. Even if you use the side of the skew as a scraper you would have to grind the edge for at least the depth of the vessel that you are scraping which negates the point of having a rolled edge.

Q3 - As to cutting angles. I usually stay with the ones they come with & hone to save a trip to the grinder. There can also be a benefit to softening the heel with a hone to prevent it leaving marks in soft wood.

 

[Steve J]

McAldo,
I am a production turner with over 35 years experience.the majority of my work is spindle work and the skew is without doubt the most versatile tool and the quickest with the best finish.
I would say that the only real advice is practice.
I recommend a 1" skew not 3/4".
My choice is a flat skew not the oval type as you have more control with the flat skew once mastered. I also favour the Ashley Iles type with the rounded edge , this does not damage your rest.
I do not hone my skew unless it is used on softwood.
I use the rest only slightly above centre. As I said practice is the most important but don't be hesitant with a skew always be positive. I too soften the bevel on the edges to prevent it leaving marks on the wood when turning sweeps. If the cutting edge is around 45 degrees to the wood you will be unlikely to catch but try to imagine the skew to be on a wedge so it is not flat on the rest. I am a very poor tutor and my videos are not tutorial but more of a demonstration of how the skew can be used. to view them go to woodturner21 on youtube