Turning with a Bedan tool?

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Woodchipper

Woodchipper

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I was watching a video where the guy was demonstrating using several turning tools to turn an aluminite blank. I was wondering if anyone has used a Bedan tool for turning blanks. If so, is it best on certain materials as wood, acrylic, etc.? I made a Bedan tool a while back and used it on a couple of turnings. TIA.
 
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I have a bedan. I find that its great for removing a lot of waste quickly, and also for making tenons. I've never mastered the art of turning beads with it.

I almost never turn plastic, so my experience is limited to wood.
 
Well, a bedan is basically a flat scraping toold so you could use it to hog off sections evenly and probably fairly quickly. Don't how well it would work for shaping but I imagine it would be good for smoothing out the final shape if it is uniform in shape.
 
SabertoothBunny said:
Well, a bedan is basically a flat scraping toold so you could use it to hog off sections evenly and probably fairly quickly. Don't how well it would work for shaping but I imagine it would be good for smoothing out the final shape if it is uniform in shape.
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I find that it performs much like a skew chisel, only one that is much thicker. Can produce very clean planing cuts. But like a traditional skew, things can go really wrong really fast.
 
Bedan is very much in use in France, for making tenons (using it as a parting tool) and for shaping (using it as a skew): both tools in one. I use it a lot for both wood and resin.

Escoulen's advice : "One egg every morning is the best exercise." Turning it, not eating it...
 
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I use one sometimes as the extra mass helps prevent vibration. However I use my 1/2" round skew much more .

with the bedan tool I ground the edges ( corners) off the shaft of the tool slightly which improved its ease of use for me.
 
I purchased one of these years ago, got a bad catch the first time I tried it and have been hesitant to try it again. I have seen some debate about which side should be up when using this tool, seems to be 2 schools of thought. Thanks for the video, I plan to watch it and take another shot at using this tool.
 
bradh, you are most welcome. Getting back to turning and penmaking. Need some way to spend $$$$. Wife asks when I'm getting a cheap hobby. Anyone know of one?
 
bradh said:
I have seen some debate about which side should be up when using this tool, seems to be 2 schools of thought.
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There are naturally two schools of thought - the tool has two totally different sides.

Seriously, I normally use mine with the bevel down, but sometimes I use it bevel up. I don't think it matters much when making tenons, but for making a bead, the bevel up orientation seems more natural to me.
 
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