basic pen tool

[Baldone]

howdy
new to turning but have made 12-15 pens and just looking at basic pentool for starting out. thinking of continue to use round nose scraper? any advice? just looking at some tools a fellow foumorite has for sale. hae not used a skew chisel would it easier tham skew?
cheers for advice

[PenTurner]

O Bob the Bald One, welcome to this addiction called Pen Turning, whatever you can handle best and suits you Bob, though if you acquire the Skill of the Skew, you will have an ace up your sleeve(ps there isn't one up my sleeve yet!) Amos:)

[Avery]

With an incredible 14 weeks of woodturning experience, I can tell you everything you need to know.

Whenever you get the chance to buy , borrow or otherwise obtain a new tool, grab the chance and use the tool. If it doesn't work, sharpen it and try again. If it still doesn't work you are doing something wrong - get help.

There you go, I hope that helped

If you need more, please ask. There is nothing that I don't know about woodturning. Well, there may be a few things, but I don't know about them yet...

[Baldone]

Howdy
Thank you gents for advice will take it on board
cheers

[Rum Pig]

I use a bowl gouge for 90% of my pen turning. I can use it from start to finish so I do not have to change tools.
I do use the Skew but it is a hard tool to master especially with pen turning because you only need a little catch and you rip a chunk of timber from your tube so it must be used with great care but worth practicing.

[Penpal]

A mate of mine said to me do you like to or can you dance. I avoided replying only if I can lead and asked why, he said using a skew is easy when you move with it as you use it and stated he could teach me in an hour or so if I would follow his instructions. I did a verily it worked well however I soon slipped back to using it my old way on the flat just below the centre line for finishing shapes on blanks, it gives me about a 400 grit finish without the excitement of the inevitable catch used conventionally.
I knew a guy who is a pro turner who when making anything large or small (By large I mean Federation homes turned posts up to 5 metres long) only using a Skew from timber cut square or whatever his finish was much higher than mine in fact he said sandpaper was a brief touching up only for him and time wasting if turned properly in the first place. Many pen turners I know only use one or two chisels. Go on the net to U Tube and see the short videos on turning a pen and make up your own mind what suits you. Get in touch with a Wood Group in your area and watch other demos etc before you buy like me so many chisels that languish in a bucket in the corner of your shed.It is not true he who has the most chisels wins.
Have fun and success Peter,:2tsup:

[MarcS]

I bought quite a few tools when i first started but i now use a 1/2 inch roughing gouge (carbatech brand from Carrols) almost exclusively. If i had the choice of only one tool it would be thisone. Very cost effective also. Hope it helps.
Mark

[Barry_White]

Like Rum Pig I rough down the blank with a gouge to within 1 to 2 mm of the finished size. I then finish it with a 1" skew on the flat like Pen Pal and that skew is made from an old file with the teeth ground off and is only about 5" long. Although I can use a skew the way it is meant to be used quiet confidently I prefer to use it on the flat.

I have a full set of turning chisels all made from old files except the gouge that I made 56 years ago when serving my apprenticeship as a Patternmaker but all I use these days is the skew and the gouge.

Now I have heard all the warnings of using files as turning chisels without tempering them but that skew chisel when I first started out was a full length file but has been ground down from sharpening over the years.

All I ever turn now are pens but those chisels have been used to turn patterns up to six feet in diameter and the beauty of using a skew on the flat is that you will never get a catch or dig in that you will get with a scraper. In fact we used to grind the back edge of our scrapers to make them a bit like a skew to reduce the catches.

[Baldone]

Hi
as usual members have been very helpful with advice, its always great to find out how others achieve their final products.
i have been using a round nose scraper and with sanding getting good results but having said that on some nice figured pieces such as gidgee I have had pieces split out. So its helpful to here what the more experienced turners use, saves me a lot of trial error.
big cheers:2tsup:

[texx]

G,day mate i am not far from you , anyway with my pen making i use a super flute bowl gouge , a 3/8 gouge a 1 inch skew and a 1/2 inch skew.
scrapers i never use on a pen , infact i hardly use a scraper on anything i hate them and cant do much good with them ( each to his own ) .
but i would if i was you buy at least one skew and try it ,see if you can learn to use it .
you could always sell it again i suppose or regrind it into another scraper:o , but if you dont have one you will never know.

johno

[Baldone]

Hey Johno
I think from information people have supplied i will break out the skew and give it ago, i had been under the opinion that scraper was easier to use but it seems I need to have ago a with skew, which i do have.
Cheers for advice
bob:2tsup:

[munruben]

i had been under the opinion that scraper was easier to use but it seems I need to have ago a with skew, which i do have.
Cheers for advice
bob:2tsup:Don't get the idea that the skew is easy to use, far from it but it is a great tool if you learn to use it. I use the skew from time to time but have still not mastered the technique involved in using it confidently but I keep trying and each time get a little more confident with it and find it a little easier to use each time. Go for it, you have nothing to lose.:):2tsup:

[texx]

ok just did this quickly with ms paint ( never used it before ) but it gives you the idea .
first keep the skew deadly sharp .
bring the skew onto your pen blank so the bevel rubs then lift the handle just a tad until you start to get a light cut as you move across the blank , the shaded area in my sketch is the area you need to be cutting with .
the angles you need to hold the tool at will be trial and error cant explain that on here .
i am not much good at teaching , and no doubt some one will disagree with me on some thing here ,but thats how i was taught and thats how i use it on small spindle work with success .
the skew has a million uses ,great for getting the angle in your rebate for chucking a bowl and marking ref lines on your spindle turnings , or i start off a my paring tool cut with the point of it before i grab the parting tool gives a cleaner cut off start point .
when you get it right you end up with a nice clean cut and save a lot of time on sanding .

[Sawdust Maker]

I agree with texx's post
easy explanation to follow

only thing I'd add is try and keep the sharp edge at about a 45 degree angle to the piece you are turning

I tend to use a roughing out gouge until I' happy the blank is round and close to final dimensions and then use a skew. I've found I get the blowouts when I'm a little too aggressive with the cut - this can either be with the gouge or the skew (and can be extremely frustrating)

[texx]

I agree with texx's post
easy explanation to follow

only thing I'd add is try and keep the sharp edge at about a 45 degree angle to the piece you are turning

I tend to use a roughing out gouge until I' happy the blank is round and close to final dimensions and then use a skew. I've found I get the blowouts when I'm a little too aggressive with the cut - this can either be with the gouge or the skew (and can be extremely frustrating)
:2tsup::2tsup::2tsup:
thats about what i do rough it down with what ever gouge is the sharpest at the time (mostly my super flute )and take off the last few mill once its round with the skew ,
yep i should of mentioned the angle of the cutting edge to the work .
also ( probably because of my sharpening method ) my skews always cut better in one direction than the other , they cut both ways but normally one is a bit better ,on some woods that matters on plastic it dont make a lot of difference .
so maybe try it left to right , then right to left see how you go .
just shove some old broom handle or some thing in the lathe to practice on .

[rodent]

My favorite tool for final shaping and finishing is a spear point scraper it has a triangular tip which the two edges are ground back at about 55 deg . I can get about a 500 + finish with this tool.:2tsup:

[bdar]

I tend to take the corners off with a 3/8" gouge and then use a 1" skew chisel to the finish. As Penpal said sometimes I use the skew on the flat just below center, I find it is good for hardwoods this way.

[Big Shed]

My favourite pen turning tool is a 13mm Sorby Micro Spindlemaster (http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/spindlemaster.htm), it will do everything from turning the square blank round to finishing cuts.

There are times I may use the skew as well, but usually the Spindlemaster all the way.

I have made a bigger handle for it though, the original was a bit on the small side.

It is also very quick and easy to sharpen.

[texx]

they look interesting fred might have to get myself one of those , have have been thinking about getting a couple of oval skews cos i like the idea of being able to roll them a tad but now i like these too .

[Baldone]

Hi
I have been playing with skew and couple other tools and it is interesting to feel and see the varying results. Also have just had tools resharpened and made lot difference to use. I friend also informed me the tools i have are carbon and there is need to watch heat build up when using them? he said should have water for cooling near and also keep them sharp. Thanks for input fellas
cheers
bob

[munruben]

:2tsup: .
also ( probably because of my sharpening method ) my skews always cut better in one direction than the other , they cut both ways but normally one is a bit better ,on some woods that matters on plastic it dont make a lot of difference .
.I seem to have the same problem, if you can call it a problem. I was thinking maybe its a grain thing, cutting with the grain one way and against the grain the other.Just a thought.

[Penpal]

A highly respected famous Aussie Turner asked me how do I sharpen my Skews thinking he needed my advice and puzzled I said why he said he often sharpened his Skews unevenly that creates two different angles ie on each side one is shallower than the other which he said works well only one way perhaps this is the reason you notice this as well.He said try it it is worth while and can result in a much better finish on some cranky timbers.

Regards Peter.:2tsup:

[clarky]

I am new to the pen addiction and have made about 50 pens. I use a 1" roughing gouge to round the blank and depending on the wood, I shape the blanks with a small bowl gouge and finish with a 1" skew. The skew is great to finish the blank and only tends to dig in if I try to pass it over a convex part of the blank.
I find it important to concentrate on relaxing the muscles in the arms and shoulders when using the skew as when tense I seem to have problems with dig in.
The best advice the forum has given me is to have sharp tools and if pressed for time go and do something else.
Hope this makes sense,
Clarky

[Baldone]

Hey Big Shed
The Spindlemaster would be used on flat like a scraper? orl on edge like a skew

:-

[Baldone]

Big- Shed
I had a look at instructions on web link you provided I can now see how it is used, looks a very useful.
:U
Bob

[texx]

best chisels i have in my kit now is 2 skew's that i bought at the www show last week .
they are oval skews 1" and 1/2" and i love them .
they leave my old skews for dead .
my old ones are henry taylor had them over 30 years and after useing these new ones i am thinking my old ones may be carbon .
these new ones are hss i bought unhandled from mcjing .
i just turned a double knot pen yesterday ( just have to take some pics of it today to put up ) the pen is hairy oak and i turned the whole thing with just the 1" skew never picked up another chisel absolute dream to use .