Thread: Skew for practice - oval or square?

Can't say I'm any sort of authority on using a skew, but the I'm formation I was given was that a square skew was easier as it didn't have a tenancy to 'wobble'. After a bit of practice I would say I like the square skews for larger work, but use the oval one on pens (planing cuts that is) so maybe it's a case of personal preference..... I have found that I tend to go for about a 19mm skew...


As I said, I am only a beginner but that is what I have found.

Cheers
Gab

Originally Posted by rtyuiop

Hi folks,

So I'm planning to make a concerted effort to improve my skew skills. Mainly for planing cuts, I'm not a big fan of beads!

I only have a couple of square skews, am I better off learning with an oval skew? Is a large/medium or small blade best for a beginner?

Cheers,

Danny

Hi danny,
I made all kind of stuff up, s with a old skew I had
And I decided to buy a decent one , I got a P&N ,
It has a rounded side and a square side , my skew
skills improved out of site ,,,,,,,, still not great ,,but a
vast Improvment on what they were before.....
I think It, s a 19mm,,,, hope it helps.....

Ah! I didn't realise there was such a thing as oval on one side, square on the other. Maybe that's the way to go for now, and I can play with both sides on the same chisel and figure out what works best for me.

I think he means a rounded edge, Rounding of the heel,short point edge makes planeing and rolling beads easier. I bought an oval skew early on but never use it, a cow to sharpen !
I like big skews, you have a longer"safe" half cutting edge. A smooth toolrest and lots of practice will help.

I prefer a square skew over the oval section I find it much easier to control I always soften the sharp corners of the chisel so as not to catch or drag on the tool rest and my preferred size is general spindle work (table legs) 1"-1 1/4" skew and small work 1/2" skew. For a beginner I would say a 1" chisel would be a good starting point it offers a slightly larger contact area for the cut a bit easier to control.
Regards Rod.

Originally Posted by smiife

Hi danny,
I made all kind of stuff up, s with a old skew I had
And I decided to buy a decent one , I got a P&N ,
It has a rounded side and a square side , my skew
skills improved out of site ,,,,,,,, still not great ,,but a
vast Improvment on what they were before.....
I think It, s a 19mm,,,, hope it helps.....

Smifie, how do you get square on one side and rounded on the other on a skew I am intrigued.
Regards Rod.

Originally Posted by Rod GIlbert

Smifie, how do you get square on one side and rounded on the other on a skew I am intrigued.
Regards Rod.

Hi rod , be Intrigued no more.......
A photo explains better me thinks!

Ahah, I see. A rounded edge does sound like a good idea, will add that to my list of considerations!

Originally Posted by Rod Gilbert

I prefer a square skew over the oval section I find it much easier to control I always soften the sharp corners of the chisel so as not to catch or drag on the tool rest and my preferred size is general spindle work (table legs) 1"-1 1/4" skew and small work 1/2" skew. For a beginner I would say a 1" chisel would be a good starting point it offers a slightly larger contact area for the cut a bit easier to control.
Regards Rod.

I agree with Rod. A lot of wonderous tools promising to make you a master turner in one hour, especially if there is a name of a Famous Turner attached, have the biggest advantage of increasing the profit of the seller.

20 hours in front of the lathe with the skew you have will make you quite good. I have not used an oval skew, but can see it being useful for lots of beads and coves. A round skew would be even better. For planing cuts, having the edge of the skew parallel to the bed of the lathe, I like a flat skew sliding on the tool rest. I think a curved bottom of the oval skew would tend to wobble and dig in the toe.

I slightly round off the square corners of all my tools to make it easier on my hands, and in the case of the skew tilted up for smoothing cuts, to not make notches in the tool rest.

I used the toe of one of my Chinese junk skews a lot, and in sharpening made the cutting edge a slight curve, I found that helpful in come cases, especially planing as there was not a sharp corner to dig in.

I also bought a used Henry Taylor tool very cheaply that had a rectangular section like a skew, but was ground on one side and straight across. I use it like a skew, and it works just as well.

Some of my skew adventures: https://www.woodworkforums.com/search...rchid=15464519

Both have their devotees. I prefer the profile of what are called radiused edge or RE skews from Hamlet, and I have modified my Thompsons with the RE on both short & long point edges. Oval skews are very much lighter in sectional profile so are more suited to "light" work imo. I prefer the heft of the rectangular section and the smoothness of moving a skew with RE across the tool rest. Also less maintenance of the tool rest as a skew with sharp corners will damage the tool rest in a good catch, a RE skew won't.

One item that I would suggest for learners on the skew is that you get a "safety drive" centre, McJing sell them. They are effectively a ring drive (dead) center that has no drive prongs so it and the live centre in the tailstock perform like a clutch in a vehicle. The work piece will spin if you experience a catch but the setup will provide sufficient drive proportional to the amount of tailstock pressure applied. I often turn small items between points only.

Start with small stock no more than 30 mm square, mark the centres of the blank with a centre punch, then mount between the safety centre and live center with only sufficient pressure to engage the centre points and just enough tailstock pressure for the ring on the drive centre to engage. Set lathe speed on the low side of the recommended spindle speed for that size blank, then practice taking off the corners with the skew taking very light cuts. If the skew catches the work piece will spin. As you gain confidence try taking a little more off with the skew using heavier cuts, add more tail stock presure as required. When you reckon you have sufficient skills move to a standard 4 prong drive or a Steb Centre, which is a good choice for spindle turning.

Forget the standard "beads & coves" skew exercises, and look up Jon Siegel's recommendations on making repeated cove cuts, or bead cuts. You will learn much faster, by reinforcing muscle memory with repeated cuts and waste less material. When you get confidence then make a story stick of beads & coves as a momento / trophy / brag stick.

Very good resources

Alan & Stuart Batty clips on you tube / Viemo.
Doc Green
Jon Siegel (big tree tools)

25mm flat skew, rounded bottom edge like P&N, cutting edge hollow ground and honed to about 30 degrees included angle with a slight curve from toe to heel.
Start with a 30-40mm blank of soft straight grained timber rounded with a roughing gouge.
With the lathe stopped place your skew so the cutting edge is about 45 degrees to the lathe axis. The tool should have three points of contact, the cutting edge about 1/3 of the width up from the short point, the heel of the bevel, and the corner of the short point edge resting on the tool rest.
This gives a stable platform for planing the surface smooth.

Steve.

What I called a planing cut in my post #10 above is apparently called a peeling cut. I was laboring under the delusion that holding the skew to cut like a bench plane would be called a planing cut.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hkOv_z9LIP0

Spindle turning - the planing cut

I prefer rectangular cross-section skews for making long tapers with a square or angled cutting edge. Oval skews will do okay but they show their best performance in outside radii of bowls and vases - anything with a convex and rounded profile. Radiused edge skews are helpful in those areas where there are rapid changes of curvature in concave curves such as the transition from bowl to neck of a vase. Truthfully, if you do much turning you'll find yourself wanting them all.

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