The taming of the SKEW

[thefixer]

G'day all

I spent a few hours today cutting up pen blanks from bits of stuff that was too small and or too cracked to use for anything else. After I had done this I started looking at a better way of drilling the hole for the pen inserts. Don't like drilling in the lathe, the drill bit gets too hot. So I drilled a hole in my drill press vice so as to locate the blanks centrally and drill the hole. Hmmm, not accurate enough as the wood was cut on a triton rip saw and was not perfectly square. So I reckoned I would turn the little buggers round on the lathe then they would line up better in the drill press vice. Yep, worked perfectly. Then while I was turning the blanks round with the bowl gouge I heard that nasty, evil SKEW CHISEL calling me. Well, it's evil being overpowered me so I touched it up on the grinder, gave it a couple of wipes with the diamond sharpener and approached the lathe more than a little trepidation. I have previously tried to be mates with this thing on more than one occasion with little success but today we hit it off really well. I highly reccomend practising using the skew on small stuff like this as it doesn't bite as much and helps enormously with the confidence factor. It was quite awesome to see finish on timber that was shiny straight off the chisel. Who knows, with some more practice we just might become good mates after all. I certainly hope so it would save an awful lot of sanding.

Cheers
Shorty

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

:yes: Practice makes perfect.

It's also a good idea for a beginner to start with a wide skew (eg. 1") even for small jobs, as it gives them a slightly larger "safe zone" to begin with. At least until they start feeling comfortable with planing cuts.

After all, it's when you move out of that safe zone that the skew starts to show it's fangs. :U

[Chipman]

Yep, once you get the hang of a skew it is a mighty nice tool. I was practising again with mine Thursday night. (I have to teach kids at school woodturning and I don't want to embarrass myself:D) I was planning bits of radiata pine spinning on the lathe and like you say, it comes off smooth and shinny...sanding is optional if you are good at it (still need more practise).

If you really want to experience something special, get yourself a bit of green timber and just watch the long ribbons of wood shavings coming off:2tsup: but not for too long otherwise you get distracted and you get a dig in. (I was using some cypress I cut down last week)

I find that to use it I need to:

1. raise the tool rest up a little higher

2. hold the skew at about 30 degrees down and out and then rub the bevel (edge not yet in contact with the wood). .. Point of the skew UP

3. slowly bring the handle up until the CENTRE of the blade just starts to cut then slowly guide the chisel along the rest. The point MUST NOT EVER get near the wood or you get a dig in:oo:

Now I need to practise cutting beads, fillets and squaring the ends...make sure the point is DOWN.

Well that is what works for me.

Cheers,

Chipman :)

[madcraft]

G'day all

I spent a few hours today cutting up pen blanks from bits of stuff that was too small and or too cracked to use for anything else. After I had done this I started looking at a better way of drilling the hole for the pen inserts. Don't like drilling in the lathe, the drill bit gets too hot. So I drilled a hole in my drill press vice so as to locate the blanks centrally and drill the hole. Hmmm, not accurate enough as the wood was cut on a triton rip saw and was not perfectly square. So I reckoned I would turn the little buggers round on the lathe then they would line up better in the drill press vice. Yep, worked perfectly. Then while I was turning the blanks round with the bowl gouge I heard that nasty, evil SKEW CHISEL calling me. Well, it's evil being overpowered me so I touched it up on the grinder, gave it a couple of wipes with the diamond sharpener and approached the lathe more than a little trepidation. I have previously tried to be mates with this thing on more than one occasion with little success but today we hit it off really well. I highly reccomend practising using the skew on small stuff like this as it doesn't bite as much and helps enormously with the confidence factor. It was quite awesome to see finish on timber that was shiny straight off the chisel. Who knows, with some more practice we just might become good mates after all. I certainly hope so it would save an awful lot of sanding.

Cheers
Shorty

Hi Shorty :2tsup:

I know what you mean , I won't use anything else now to turn from square to round . I use a 30mm one for this and find I don't even get the bump bump any more , haven't had a skew hit in I don't know how long { knock on wood}

I love working with the skew now especially for the long planes and for detail stuff

Cheers
Glenn

[artme]

Great video by Mike Darlow "The Taming of the Skew' Watched it several times and put everything I could remember into Practice. Amazing!

I managed a deautiful finsh on some old Radiata.

[Alastair]

When planing with the skew, the "formal" advice is to keep the cutting area within the half of the skew nearest the toolrest, (and hence the short point), usually 1/3 up. While this is not mandatory, and you certainly can cut in the red zone with experience, it greatly reduces the risk of a dig.

Conversely, when using the short point to roll beads, it is essential only to cut right on the short point. Allowing the cut to move off the point onto the edge of the skew is begging for a dig. Similarly when using the long point to cut v-cuts, or clean up endgrain.

regards

[Sawdust Maker]

Alastair
Ah, it now almost makes sense
thanks
now for more practise

[Toasty]

I have to admit my love affair with the skew only started after I gave pen turning a go (before then it was definitly hate hate). Made the decision to exclusivly use the skew for pen blanks and other than a couple of early hiccups I have never looked back.

[ficfac]

the skew is the scariest part of woodturning full stop. that said, it can produce a nice finish, just not while I'm using it :rolleyes: (yet)

[Chipman]

the skew is the scariest part of woodturning full stop. that said, it can produce a nice finish, just not while I'm using it :rolleyes: (yet)

Do a search on google, there are some great videos on youtube on using the skew and other woodturning techniques (JET have a whole series)

Chipman

[AndyCJ]

Does anyone have a copy I can loan of the Mike Darlow DVD? It looks great - I've read Mike's book at the library - some of it was a bit over my head as yet, but I'll come back to it later I think.
Cheers - Andy

[ficfac]

Hey chipman, that fella, Nick Cook on you tube (Jet) is really good at explaining things. His skew looks scary sharp and it's a nice close up camera shot. the way he shows to start on the bevel and work your way to the cutting edge looks good to me!

[rsser]

There's also a vid of the skew in shoulder cut mode here: http://www.woodturninglearn.net/

Lacer advocates the use of a dead centre to allow the wood to slip in the event of a catch.

[orraloon]

I am a bit challenged with the skew myself but I want to talk about drilling the blanks.
I had tried on the lathe and the drill press with varied results from both. I then ditched the spade bit and got better results with a sharp twist bit. The final breakthrough was when I got pin jaws for the chuck and drill bits with a steeper shoulder. This is a lot quicker than the drill press and there is no messing about lining things up. I can churn out blanks in no time at all. I found the bits at the big B by the way.
Regards
John

[rsser]

Another, better, option esp for end grain is spur bits; they wander far less than twist bits in woods with a lot of diff between early and late growth.

Ctec sell them; can't give you a link sorry cos their website is down.

[Pat]

Ern, do you mean Brad point (http://www.carbatec.com.au/drilling-boring/drilling-boring-sets/boxed-drill-bit-sets/brad-point-drill-bit-set-8-piece)or these (http://www.carbatec.com.au/drilling-boring/drilling-boring-bits-individual/cmt-high-speed-steel-brad-point-drills)?

[rsser]

Thanks for the naming Pat; brad point here, spur point o/s; sigh.

I use the set in your first link.

Can't see any diff in design with the 2nd, only the material.