Thread: Any suggestions for a newbie on how to stop...

It's not as hard as it sounds.

Have a play on a blank that doesn't matter.

Here are a few photos I took of showing us how the turn thin things at our recent turn-fest. The fingers are lightly running on the wood.( And yes he can turn in both directions using either hand.) Have your thumb on the skew as it is approaching the wood (skew is coming in already on the rest.) and your fingers around the stick gently steadying it. Your hand is not really in front of the skew but beside it, so not really in the firing line. Pressure is very light anyway so it really isn't going to go flying across the room and cut your finger off. (I hope doesn't mind me posting pics of his hands and appalling fingernails. Maybe he can explain things better if he reads this. )

Skew explained it pretty well. The pics just make it easier to understand.

As for tool sharpening. Eliza, get a Woodcut TruGrind sharpening system and use that until you can free hand sharpen.

Have you tried a round nose chisel???
I have sent quite a few novices thru their paces with just a round nose. It doesn't cut a great deal, easy to sharpen and cuts inside and outside. Round nose minimizes tearout and you can get a really smooth pre-sanding finish as well...sorry you are having so much trouble, there are quite a few YouTube segments on turning techniques and practices if you can get to those....
Keep trying....it's kinda like learning to back a trailer, there is an "aha moment" that happens and for a moment or two it almost kinda makes sense....

G'Day Eliza

Might find this site interesting http://web.hypersurf.com/~charlie2/T.../Turning3.html

cheers
Bernie