Turning Chisel advice please

[rob12770]

Hi all,
I am very new to woodturning, :roll: i have bought a SIP 01360 36 lathe and i initially bought some cheap clark chisels to get me started, i have now bought a set of Faithfull WCTSET8B HSS woodturning chisels, but they are much thicker than the clark, which is good, but i find that i cannot use them very effectivley on turning beads etc as the are too thick to get right in and down, I have not sharpened them yet as I am going to get a grinder and stone very soon,
I read somewhere that you should grind a gouge to the shape of a lady's fingernail, is this right and would it solve my problem ?

hopefully my question made some sense many thanks Rob

 

[chrisbaker42]

Although it is not the easiest to use, the skew will get into most of those awkward little places

 

[rob12770]

Although it is not the easiest to use, the skew will get into most of those awkward little places

yes thanks , but i find that skew sometimes wants to move up or down the workpiece by its self, im not sure why its doing that... :roll: maybe it is not sharp enough ?
also, with respect, it dosent answer my question, i dont want my new expensive gouges to be limited in use.

 

[myturn]

Hi Rob

You probably don't want to hear this but the Faithfull set does not seem to be an ideal starter set.

According to the spec I've seen it has no spindle or bowl gouge and has 3 roughing gouges, although looking at the picture what they call the 8mm roughing gouge looks more like a spindle gouge to me.

The diamond point "scraper" and parting tool can be used to roll beads, as can the skew but the latter can bite until you have had plenty of practice with it. What you describe as the skew moving up and down on its own is typical of it not being used properly and you catch a point which ends up in a nice spiral over your wood!

A fingernail profile is favoured by many for both spindle and bowl gouges but it's all a matter of personal preference and depends what you turn and how you use the tools.
I would say that for a beginner the fingernail profile is better as it is more forgiving and less prone to catches.

Have a look on youtube for Bob Hamilton's (bobham5) excellent videos on using the various tools. Search within his uploads for skew for a series of skew practice demos, well worth watching.

Best of luck

 

[Deejay]

Hello Rob and welcome to the forum.

I can recommend a good book, regarded by many as the 'bible'.

'Woodturning a Foundation Course' by Keith Rowley.

Cheers

Dave

 

[rob12770]

Hi Rob

You probably don't want to hear this but the Faithfull set does not seem to be an ideal starter set.

According to the spec I've seen it has no spindle or bowl gouge and has 3 roughing gouges, although looking at the picture what they call the 8mm roughing gouge looks more like a spindle gouge to me.

The diamond point "scraper" and parting tool can be used to roll beads, as can the skew but the latter can bite until you have had plenty of practice with it. What you describe as the skew moving up and down on its own is typical of it not being used properly and you catch a point which ends up in a nice spiral over your wood!

A fingernail profile is favoured by many for both spindle and bowl gouges but it's all a matter of personal preference and depends what you turn and how you use the tools.
I would say that for a beginner the fingernail profile is better as it is more forgiving and less prone to catches.

Have a look on youtube for Bob Hamilton's (bobham5) excellent videos on using the various tools. Search within his uploads for skew for a series of skew practice demos, well worth watching.

Best of luck

thanks yes the 8mm is a spindle gouge, to be honest i am not very happy with the faithfull chisels, they arrived with 1 not straight in the handle and another with varnish all over the brass ferrule and the "faithfull" lettering not printed properly, but rather than return to amazon, i phoned faithfull and a chap named malcom said he was sorry and that he had never had a complaint about the chisels before and the would send out 2 new chisels, that was 2 days ago, but they are not here yet..
i cannot return them as i have used them now, so i guesss i will have to just buy extra gouges if need be..

on the plus side i dont seem to get the horrendous catches i was getting with the clark set, almost broke my wrist :evil:

i am also looking into getting or building a sharpening jig, this might be daft but could i not "utilise" this http://www.amazon.co.uk/DRAPER-DRIL...8US0/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1300553323&sr=1-2 drill sharpener for sharpening gouges ?
it looks simiar in nature to a woodturning sharpanar jig, it has an angle set and a foot to rotate , and maybe even a slot for the chisel to fit.. just a thought..

 

[rob12770]

Hello Rob and welcome to the forum.

I can recommend a good book, regarded by many as the 'bible'.

'Woodturning a Foundation Course' by Keith Rowley.

Cheers

Dave

thanks , il look into it.

 

[myturn]

Rob,

That drill sharpening guide won't do for turning chisels.

There are plenty to choose from if you do a search and a lot of people will tell you you don't need one and can do it all by hand. I would advise a beginner getting at least a jig for bowl & spindle gouges, the others can be done without a jig with a bit of care. If you don't want to buy a jig you can make your own and again there are plenty of DIY guides on doing this.

When you buy a grinder make sure it has stones suitable for sharpening HSS tools, not the standard grey stones, and you will need a platform that is adjustable for angle.

The Creusen HP7500TS is one of the best grinders you can get (in my view) and it is expensive but if you can afford it you won't buying it.

Have a look at the PETER CHILD site where you will find a lot of useful practical information.

 

[rob12770]

Rob,

That drill sharpening guide won't do for turning chisels.

There are plenty to choose from if you do a search and a lot of people will tell you you don't need one and can do it all by hand. I would advise a beginner getting at least a jig for bowl & spindle gouges, the others can be done without a jig with a bit of care. If you don't want to buy a jig you can make your own and again there are plenty of DIY guides on doing this.

When you buy a grinder make sure it has stones suitable for sharpening HSS tools, not the standard grey stones, and you will need a platform that is adjustable for angle.

The Creusen HP7500TS is one of the best grinders you can get (in my view) and it is expensive but if you can afford it you won't buying it.


Have a look at the PETER CHILD site where you will find a lot of useful practical information.

thanks, I know that the drill sharpener is not for woodturning chisels, it was just a thought.
i would not pay the £230 plus for the Creusen HP7500TS, i am going for the £50 Record Power RPBG6 6 " grinder, (also featured on the peter child website) it has along with the standard grey stone it has a 40 mm wide whitestone , aluminium oxide i think, which will do for a start, i will later buy a Microcrystalline stone for the gouges etc,

i dont belive in paying silly money for tools, but not too cheap either, a happy balance , i believe, is needed :mrgreen:
plus i have just bought a new shed,£ 560, a lathe £300, and many tools £ 400, my other half would go mental if i spent a further £230 on a grinder when i can get one for £50 :lol: but yes, im sure the Creusen is worth every penny mate.

I have been looking at the DIY jigs etc, and they seem pretty good, but i cant quite figure out the angles, so i might build one with a thumbscrew for and adjustable angle, but knowing me, (hammer) i will probably give up and just buy one, but im not paying over £70. given what they are, i think thats more than enough..

i have tried to add a photo of what i have done so far.. such as it is , but it just says "The image file you tried to attach is invalid"
strange as its a standard jpeg, and i can find no info on this site about image size :?:

 

[myturn]

I think you need to have a certain number of posts before you can upload images here.

You can probably post a url to it though, if you have a website or photobucket etc.

 

[rob12770]

I think you need to have a certain number of posts before you can upload images here.

You can probably post a url to it though, if you have a website or photobucket etc.

thanks, thats seems rather silly.. :roll:

 

[gus3049]

I think you need to have a certain number of posts before you can upload images here.

You can probably post a url to it though, if you have a website or photobucket etc.

thanks, thats seems rather silly.. :roll:

No, not really. Once you have been on the forum a while you will see that some nice folk try and load images and links to rather unsavoury places. They just register and try and spam us. As I understand it not allowing pics for the three or four posts, puts off the spammers.

 

[CHJ]

rob12770, If you give an indication of your location in your profile there may be a member close at hand who can give you a quick run-down on tool shape and reasons for them.

1. For starters you do not know how to sharpen turning tools, this is a fundamental pre-requisite to learn before attempting to turn, if you do not understand the importance of the tool bevel on safety and how to achieve it then accidents are bound to happen. My advice; as previously mentioned above is to get Keith Rowleys Book where he discusses the basics in Chapters 3 & 4. (easily visable fingernail profile only really applys to a solid shallow flute spindle gouge)

2. Regardless of what make and form of tools you have you are not going to be able to turn anything in a satisfactory manner unless they are sharpened before use, and on a lot of woods several times during a project.
3. There is some discussion re tool types preferred by members as a basic set and other useful information in the Sticky at the top of this forum.

4. Basic support jig details are given in the Rowley book and several members have web site links to easily constructed jigs to aid with bowl gouges and fingernail grinding. a simple example here on my site. and several guides to preferred angles and means of measuring them are around if required.

5. The links posting by new members is restricted for several posts to avoid spammers flooding the forum with unwanted garbage.

6. Image size in Pixels is not restricted but image file size is restricted to 256Kb to conserve server space, if you attempted to attach a valid format image file above that size you will have received a warning regarding file size.

(A polite query regarding how to use the forum if you are having difficulty would be appreciated rather than making judgments.)

 

[rob12770]

ok ta, i do know how to sharpen tools, i just dont have a grinder yet, at least, i have a fair idea..all in good time, to suggest that one should know how to sharpen before he starts to turn, i would guess, almost never happens, after all, we all got to start somewhere ..
i am sure that book is great and all, but i would have thought that the fact that forums like this and all the youtube videos etc exist, would mean that you one would not have to buy books etc.. hmm

also, the Bits & Pieces site, great stuff Chas (hammer)

 

[chrisbaker42]

It is often said that leading a horse to water is the easy bit!

 

[rob12770]

It is often said that leading a horse to water is the easy bit!

hmm, ok, il buy the book :wink:

 

[gus3049]

It is often said that leading a horse to water is the easy bit!

hmm, ok, il buy the book :wink:

Ah good, so you have had 'enlightenment'

I have had to edit my posts on several occasions having thought better of the first!

 

[rob12770]

It is often said that leading a horse to water is the easy bit!

hmm, ok, il buy the book :wink:

Ah good, so you have had 'enlightenment'

I have had to edit my posts on several occasions having thought better of the first!

so ? we ALL have, no need to make an issue of it...

 

[gus3049]

Just passing the time of day. :lol:

Welcome to the forum.

 

[Silverbirch]

Hi Rob,

[*ok ta, i do know how to sharpen tools, i just dont have a grinder yet, at least, i have a fair idea..all in good time, to suggest that one should know how to sharpen before he starts to turn, i would guess, almost never happens, ]

I think the point is, learning to sharpen is part and parcel of learning to turn. You won`t be able to safely and efficiently be produce anything on the lathe without having the means to do it and a little bit of sharpening practice under your belt. Your turning will improve along with your sharpening and vice versa.

Ian