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Skew ChiDAMN!!
18th September 2007, 07:04 PM
Well... I managed to end todays work with a bang. :rolleyes:

I started roughing a blank I sourced from DJ, around 16"x7.5" square. I really only needed a 12"x6" blank, but who am I to complain about it being oversized? (Thanks again, DJ!)

It's still fairly green and is bloody heavy, so I was anticipating my poor ol' "finishing" MC-900 (the only lathe I have which didn't already have something else mounted on it :-) would have difficulties. I call it my "finishing" lathe 'cos it's not bolted/weighed down in any way; I usually do my roughing/unbalanced work on another beast and xfer over to this one for the final touches.

So, mark the centres, mounted up the blank with some trepidation... and it just cleared the ways! Phew! The banjo wouldn't squeeze under, but there was just room enough between the end of the blank and the tailstock that I could squeeze it in there and use a long rest. I love it when it all comes together. Started the lathe up at min RPM and... well I'll be! A minor vibration, but nowhere near as bad as I was dreading. Woohoo! Out with the roughing gouge and full steam ahead! :2tsup: So, I knocked it down to exactly 6" diameter, then used my 1" skew and a parting tool to square the ends, also making 40x45mm tenons for mounting in the chuck.

Stopped the lathe and... Oh, Bugger! Grub holes here, there and everywhere! :~ But... Hmmm... :think: Break out the plans for the vessel I'm turning, transcribe 'em over to the blank and... Wohhoo! My luck is still holding! Every grub hole looks like it'll be turned away in the final form! (Maybe I should run down to the local NewsAgent and buy some tatts tickets? :D)

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So I thinks to myself "That's enough for today, tomorrow I'll start on the form" and started cleaning up. But then I thought, "the grain looks nice, maybe I'll just clean it up a tad so I can see it clearly."

Out came the 1" skew again, just lightly touched it to the wood and... *BANG!* But nothing seemed to go UFO...? Shut down the lathe to inspect the wood. It's fine. No sign of a dig in or anything like that. :? What gives? Start the lathe up again, introduce the skew and it started chattering like the blazes. Then I realised I was bleeding on it... :oo:

Have a closer look and... that's not right! I'd snapped the last inch off (no wonder it was chattering!) and gashed the ball of my LH thumb... :( I think it borke where 'twas resting on the toolrest and my thumb would've been right over it. Didn't feel a thing, until I realised I was leaking! :rolleyes:

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I shut everything down and headed inside to find a band-aid, and on my way out the door noticed the missing piece of skew. Some 15' behind where I was working. Glad I didn't cop that in the face. [Phew!]

And it had been such a good day until then!

lubbing5cherubs
18th September 2007, 07:07 PM
Skew Mate, be careful could of been lot worse. I hope the minister of finance will cough enough $$$ to buy yourself a new one
Toni

Grumpy John
18th September 2007, 07:11 PM
Skew,
Don't worry about your thumb mate, is the timber still o.k. Priorities mate priorities. :D:D

Cheers
GJ

ss_11000
18th September 2007, 07:13 PM
geeez. be careful skew.:)

rsser
18th September 2007, 07:17 PM
Holy moley; bummer Skew.

Glad it wasn't worse.

Though after the goblet worm hole on Sunday, you know you've got one more coming don't you :C

Skew ChiDAMN!!
18th September 2007, 07:18 PM
The wood is fine, mate. That's the first thing I checked! Otherwise I'd have used stronger language than "Bother." :D

In all honesty, the skew was out of one of those cheap'n'nasty chaiwanese sets. I think I paid $30 for 6 chisels quite a few years ago? It has never seen much use, because it doesn't hold an edge. I don't really know why I used it today, except that I was too lazy to unpack my good chisel from the box where I put it after Ern's mini-turnfest. I shoulda known better. :-

Still, I'm hoping to replace it with some real $teel.

One more to come, Ern? :oo: I wish you hadn't mentioned that!

Calm
18th September 2007, 07:24 PM
Skew i think this is fate

The thing now is turn a negative into a positive.

You need to carefully explain that as one of your tools has suffered fatigue it is likely to happen to others, with more serious consequences.

I think the argument to the Minister for Finance would be that with the WWW show coming up you have the ideal oportunity to compare and purchase some new tools, probably a couple of skews, several gouges and whatever else you can get away with. (Maybe a bowl saver, or hollowing tool for that special project.)

As someone once said in a song "never let a chance go by":D:D


Lucky escape all the same. Can you weld it up.:D:D

DJ’s Timber
18th September 2007, 09:22 PM
Glad to hear you only damaged the cheap chaiwanese chisel with only a minor cut on your thumb and with NO damage to the timber :U

funkychicken
18th September 2007, 09:38 PM
Ouch...

I've snapped the end off my spear point before (also cheap and nasty)
Now that was scary...

And as for wounds; once upon a time I punched a peice of eight inch square ply while it was on the lathe. Accidental but still painful

TTIT
18th September 2007, 11:37 PM
Lucky - - could have been 2 ex-Skews :o

Harry72
18th September 2007, 11:50 PM
Better get that Lotto ticket Skew(or is that Skew'd)

wheelinround
19th September 2007, 10:08 AM
Skew'd n skrewed dude.

glad your not posting this from the hospital bed.

the thumb how is it???

jmk89
19th September 2007, 10:18 AM
You could have been Skewered!

Cliff Rogers
19th September 2007, 10:24 AM
Bother..... anybody got any good tips for Skew? :D

Waldo
19th September 2007, 10:41 AM
The wood is fine, mate. That's the first thing I checked! Otherwise I'd have used stronger language than "Bother." :D

G'day Skew,

C'mon mate you only wrote "bother" because Stirlo might read this thread :yes: , what you really said was :censored2: :D

Where's the blood? I don't see any in the shots there?

Cliff Rogers
19th September 2007, 11:44 AM
...you only wrote "bother" because Stirlo might read this thread......
Stirlo????? :oo: He is a teenager..... :cool: have you heard them talking lately???? :rolleyes:

Make your hair curl.... (if you still have any) :D

OGYT
19th September 2007, 01:25 PM
Hadn't read this'n when I posted to your thread about need'n a new skew, Skew.
Hope it heals fast, and I vote for you getting them all replaced, too... what with one of 'em breakin'... you just simply can't trust the rest... :)

MY TURN
19th September 2007, 01:51 PM
Like Norm always says "safety first" Skew were you wearing safety glasses?

This time you were lucky..

ss_11000
19th September 2007, 04:57 PM
Bother..... anybody got any good tips for Skew?
theres a broken one in that pic:roll:


G'day Skew,

C'mon mate you only wrote "bother" because Stirlo might read this thread :yes: , what you really said was :censored2: :D

:roflmao:


Stirlo????? He is a teenager..... :cool: have you heard them talking lately???? :rolleyes:

Make your hair curl.... (if you still have any) :Dthanx Cliff...:2tsup: ( wait...i shouldnt be proud of that should I :doh:)

cheers

dai sensei
19th September 2007, 09:04 PM
Man that must have been close, glad it didn't do more damage.

If it didn't catch, what broke it? Does the break line show an a defect in the metal?

Skew ChiDAMN!!
20th September 2007, 12:37 AM
If it didn't catch, what broke it? Does the break line show an a defect in the metal?

Yes, it's discoloured about half-way through so I'd say it has had a fine crack for some time. I'd just used the same skew in "plunge mode" to square the ends and cut the tenons. which is pretty heavy work and I guess the fracture just "grew" to the extent that it only took a light touch to break it's back.

I'm seriously glad it didn't do more damage... the potential was definitely there.

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(Pic has been Photoshop enhanced to highlight discolouration :wink:)

wheelinround
20th September 2007, 09:38 AM
Yes, it's discoloured about half-way through so I'd say it has had a fine crack for some time. I'd just used the same skew in "plunge mode" to square the ends and cut the tenons. which is pretty heavy work and I guess the fracture just "grew" to the extent that it only took a light touch to break it's back.

I'm seriously glad it didn't do more damage... the potential was definitely there.

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(Pic has been Photoshop enhanced to highlight discolouration :wink:)

Skew had a look at my Record set of gouges yesterday after reading this, they have a destinct mark of temper I'll be keeping a close watch on them :doh: not to close wnat to give the flying bit room to fly.:D

Hardenfast
20th September 2007, 03:38 PM
Yes, I'm afraid I still can't bring myself to fully trust the dreaded skew chisel. Encouraging (well, in some perverse way) to see that the experts still have their sphincter testing moments with these things. Although, there was obviously nothing wrong with your technique - just bad luck in this case.

That was a real "Skew ChiDAMN" moment, huh?

Wayne