Thread: How to cut spirals?

It is mainly done by hand.

How to Turn a Single Barley Twist | Article | Woodworking

Good Link

Yes sadly its either by hand http://www.turnersanonymous.org/PDFb...int_feb_08.pdf

There is a simple device (name eludes me right now) which uses a router of course the Router Lathe https://www.woodworkforums.com/f221/router-lathe-114361/

or outlay $$$ for this machine.

YouTube - Killinger Barley Twist Lathe!

If you just want a small decorative spiral ,the Sorby spiralling/texturing tool will do it, but you have to select the right wood .Do a Google search and you should find a video of using it.
Ted

• Place a skew vertically on the toolrest.
• Lean it slightly to one side or t'other.
• Jab it into the spinning blank
• Curse loudly
• Change your pants

(Not recommended if you want accurate copy turning though! )


FWIW, 's method turns the best looking spirals/barley twists. IMO. A router lathe just doesn't leave the same crispness of detail... unless, of course, you finish by hand. In which case, why spend the money on the router lathe in the first place? Doing it by hand can be just as fast, with a little practice.

Well... OK... maybe a LOT of practice.

Yes, a decorative spiral can be done on a spindle piece as Ted posted.

With the Sorby, see the Spiralling vid here

When kept sharp, this does a surprisingly good job even on soft woods.

And for some reason, a less than fine finish seems less obvious with these spirals or stacked decorative beads ('beehive') than you would expect.

Place a skew vertically on the toolrest.
Lean it slightly to one side or t'other.
Jab it into the spinning blank
Curse loudly
Change your pants


Did that today by accident!!! Drove the skew into the chuck jaw!! Whoops, get the file out, dress the ding out, then change your pants. It all happened in an instant.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Enfield Guy

Place a skew vertically on the toolrest.
Lean it slightly to one side or t'other.
Jab it into the spinning blank
Curse loudly
Change your pants


Did that today by accident!!! Drove the skew into the chuck jaw!! Whoops, get the file out, dress the ding out, then change your pants. It all happened in an instant.

Cheers

Powderpost reckons when you do this its a mark of a real pro............he did it often at our Sydney GtG.

Well fancy that!! And all I was trying to do is make a glue block so I can make a lid for my first hollow form.

Yep, I will post pics for critique.

I still feel like a bit of a dill though.

Cheers

Here ya go. This is what happens when you don't have proper control of your tools. Nice spiral though.

Cheers

Originally Posted by Enfield Guy

Here ya go. This is what happens when you don't have proper control of your tools. Nice spiral though.

Cheers

Gees, you are not trying.

LOL.

No, that's a gentleman's spiral.

Now a catch with a 1 1/4" skew will give you one that's almost too big to photograph

Do you mean something like this?

G'day Colabus and welcome to the madhouse!!

Some start, monkeying around with "spirals".

By the way these are NOT spirals, they are helixes"

Just thought I'd be pedantic.

I turn the vessel, leave on the lathe and cut the sprials by hand:
First mark lines horizontally then vertically and cut by hand
See if it shows.
Youtube, Simihacker