May issue - Wood Mag - skew

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ed4copies

ed4copies

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FOR YOUR INFORMATION!!

The May issue of Wood mag has an article on using the skew. At the risk of sounding vain, this article shows ONE way to use it, I SELDOM use ANY of the angles it shows and I believe MY way is easier and safer than the method shown. HOWEVER, if you are struggling and want to see a LOT of pictures - this article has them.

Other opinions encouraged!!!
 
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Originally posted by MikeInMo

I saw the article.

What is your way Ed?
Click to expand...

Mike, a while ago, Ed suggested that you hold the skew upside down!!!! At the time several people thought he really was nuts. I've always struggled to use a skew, so I gave it a go. It worked!!!!

Well, Ed still is nuts, but that was one of his rare golden nuggets:D
 
I use the skew in many different directions, which is why I claim there is NO RIGHT way, just preferred methods.

Having said that, I prefer, most often, to have the "long point" down and the skew near a 90 degree angle to the toolrest. In this configuration, I CAN (after a LOT of practice) run the long point into the material while it is stll large and take off up to a quarter inch at a time. (to clarify - I hope- once the long point is touching the material, my "push" is toward the headstock, parallel to the material on the lathe, so its what some call a "peeling cut") I use a LARGE skew (one inch plus - some metric thing) to reduce vibration. As the pen nears completion, I switch to a 3/4" skew that is VERY sharp and finalize, sometimes with the same 90 degrees to the toolrest, other times nearer to parallel - but these are "pretty cuts" for final shaping, not "business cuts".

If you keep the long point down on a one inch skew, you will only "catch" if the "short point" hits the wood (or plastic). That requires a BIG mistake. IF the skew is only half an inch, a smaller miscalculation will result in a catch. IF the skew is parallel to the toolrest, a "catch" is MUCH easier. Skew "catches" CAN rattle your nerves, especially if the lathe is turning in excess of 3500 rpm!!! So, in short, this is the method I showed last year at the MPG. SOME went home and tried it, I got several e-mails. This method was initiated out of "sheer" stupidity. I had not seen HOW others used the tool, so my math background told me to use the sharpest part if you want to CUT something.

Works for me!!!
 
hmmmmm.....I just tried what I think you just described on a piece of scrap. I ended up with what looks like a stack of pennies. Do you have the tool flat or on edge?
 
Mike,

The tool is perpendicular(ish) to the toolrest. Long point down. As I enter the material, my right (back) hand brings the handle nearly parallel (20 degree angle) to the mandrel (or material to be cut now that I am not using a mandrel). The long point is doing the cutting, just above center of the material (early in the turning - this will take off some "chunks" making plastic fly - in my face, hence the need for the "helmet" we discussed a few days ago- but a sharp tool will not make divots into the real "pen part" and as I get closer to finished dimension, my method becomes far less aggressive.)

Ya know, it was a LOT easier to DEMONSTRATE, than it is to describe.
 
Thanks for the offer, Jeff.

BTW, have you seen my "still" photography??????

And you invite me to doing movin'pitchers??????

WOW, that's FLATTERY!!!!!:D:D:D:D
 
Originally posted by ed4copies

Mike,

The tool is perpendicular(ish) to the toolrest. Long point down. As I enter the material, my right (back) hand brings the handle nearly parallel (20 degree angle) to the mandrel (or material to be cut now that I am not using a mandrel). The long point is doing the cutting, just above center of the material (early in the turning - this will take off some "chunks" making plastic fly - in my face, hence the need for the "helmet" we discussed a few days ago- but a sharp tool will not make divots into the real "pen part" and as I get closer to finished dimension, my method becomes far less aggressive.)

Ya know, it was a LOT easier to DEMONSTRATE, than it is to describe.
Click to expand...

Ed, If I understand your method right, I think I taught myself this just this weekend. I was not nearly as aggressive as you though. The way I was holding and positioning my skew, it seemed to be the only way I could take off a halfway decent amount of acrylic each pass. I would love to see a video, if possible.
 
I'd love to see a video tutorial dedicated to the skew. I have seen Russ's videos and they are helpful, but they are not dedicated to the technique, they are tutorials on producing items and the skew technique is secondary. I would love to see a tutorial on how to use the skew, with explanations of the do's and dont's, right's and wrong's and should and shouldn'ts.
I picked up a 1" Robert Sorby oval skew. Absolutely beautifully piece of equipment. The problem I have with it is, when I try to lay the bevel flat and roll into the cut, the toe edge digs in and catches. Of coerce this is not a good thing. It has already ruined a couple of blanks. If I try to roll in with the heel edge, the same happens, just not as severe.
Is this why I hear a few of you suggest putting a slight arc on the cutting edge?
If there is a tutorial on using the skew, a video tutorial, that I don't have to pay for, that is dedicated to the use of the skew, please tell me. Before I give up on the skew. Right now I use the skew at an angle, like the article suggests.
 
Last year at a craft show Ed gave me a lesson in his style of using the skew and it is the only tool that I use now. It takes a little practice because it seem contrary to the normal instructions for using a skew but it works. Thanks Ed.

Dale Pace
 
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