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ciscokid
8th March 2007, 10:39 PM
I've been turning just shy of two months now. All I've managed to produce is roughly thirty pens, three audio knobs for an amplifier, and a huge pile of shavings and sawdust. I'm thinking of trying a small bowl soon.
My question - how close is the tool rest supposed to be to the workpiece? I figure I've been keeping it somewhere between 9 and 12 mm away. Is this too far for good control? Are there safety issues involved here?

DJ’s Timber
8th March 2007, 10:45 PM
You want it as close as you can get it without the bevel of the tool sitting on the rest

Skew ChiDAMN!!
8th March 2007, 10:53 PM
My question - how close is the tool rest supposed to be to the workpiece?

The simple answer is: as close as you can get it without interfering with either the work or presentation of the tool. If you're scraping, the cutting edge needs to be below the tool-rest (ie. handle high) so the tool-rest needs to be further away than it does for gouges, skew chisels, etc.


I figure I've been keeping it somewhere between 9 and 12 mm away. Is this too far for good control? Are there safety issues involved here?

That's about where I keep it for larger pieces. For pens and fine work, a bit closer. Tool-rest height is probably more of an issue when you're in the right range.

Safety? Just keep the principle of leverage in mind. The less tool overhanging the rest, the more leverage and fine control over the tool. The more overhang, the higher the risk. Which is the major part of what makes hollowing out a challenge. :wink:

ss_11000
9th March 2007, 03:49 PM
i usually have a clearance of 3-8mm.

joe greiner
9th March 2007, 05:36 PM
Ummm. A wee clarification on height of the toolrest. Critical relationship is location of the cutting point with respect to the "equator" of the workpiece.

On the outside of the bowl, gouge or skew cutting in slicing mode should be above the equator; for scraping, should be below the equator - this is to allow the wood to turn away from the cutting point.

On the inside of the bowl: For the wall, scrape above the equator - again, to let the wood turn away from the cutting point. For the bottom, better to have the cutting point below the equator. You can accomplish this by rolling the tool, so that a pseudo-equator is at an angle, which the cutting point is now effectively below.

Much of this position control can be accomplished by levering the tool handle, rather than continually adjusting the actual height of the toolrest.

Cisco, I'd recommend a distance about half your original assumption. For odd-shaped workpieces, of course, you'll need a much greater distance until you've knocked off the corners. And stand left of the headstock when you start up an out-of-balance piece.

Joe

ciscokid
9th March 2007, 11:02 PM
Thanks, fellas. And Joe, that part of standing to the left of the workpiece... I already learned that the hard way. It is simply amazing how fast and how hard a piece can exit an improperly tightened chuck. :B