Thread: My Jumping Chisels,..

Gooday. The angle of approach is wrong. You are on the wrong side of the lathe. Chisel is being used wrongly. Tool rest is too high. Possibly wrong tool.

I could only watch a few minutes.

I would suggest that you join a club or buy Keith Rowleys book: Woodturning: A foundation course before you hurt yourself.

& watch 's & Brendans clips...

There is a French technique for turning from that side of the lathe, and I've see lefthanders do it with the lathe running backwards,

but... that's a white knuckle ride if ever I saw one! Do as says, join a club.

I highly recommend Keith Rowley's book, and the accompanying dvd (sold separately, unfortunately). They taught me all of the initial basics I needed to get started, although I don't use his methods of sharpening - I adapted my initial jigs from the plans given by Eddie Castelin on youtube and on his website.

If you can't/don't want to join a club (I never have) then you have to put in a lot of hard hours on youtube And also generally surfing the web. I'm no pro, but I've turned out a few nice pieces without ever having had a lesson

As said you going about this all wrong. The way you are using the chisel for a start, you are using it as if it were a scraper not a cutting tool you need to use the bevel of the tool. Also looks to be the wrong type of gouge for small bowl work. You need some good instruction on how to go about this before you get into serious trouble.
regards Rod.

A couple of hours of instruction will save you days or weeks of trial and error.

You can learn by looking at books and videos, but some basic instruction from someone experienced will give you a fast start.

Check out these folks: Glendale Woodturners Guild

This is funny to read. I'll explain. I've been an arborist for like a decade. I spend a lot of time on arborist forums and there are always guys that come along with downright dumb questions and people often ridicule them.

Now I'm the one with the dumb questions!

Thank you guys. I'll get the book, the DVD, watch the YouTube videos. And thank you for the link to the Glendale Club. I'll see if they are still active.

I didn't realize that the chisel choice made THAT much of a difference. I'll post a picture in a minute of the one I was using in the video.

Can you recommend what I should be using?

I feel like the guy that asks the arborists, "whenever I'm standing on a ladder and I cut a big limb it swings down and knocks the ladder out from under me. How do I make that not happen?"

Thanks for taking it easy on me!

Oh- here's a pic of my first project. I don't know how I did it. Beginners luck, I guess. ImageUploadedByTapatalk1364950647.024736.jpg

This was a piece of apricot wood I had cut down earlier that day.



love
nick

Well, a one on one lesson would do best and/or find the nearest club, which would be just as good. In spite of you sharpening the chisel, it still looks like it is dull. The gouge is more of a continental type gouge, and can be used on bowls, but isn't really a bowl gouge. The flutes/inside of the chisel is more ( shaped, and needs to be more U shaped. When you turn the inside, you have the flutes straight up rather than at a 45 or so degree angle, which means you are using it more like a scraper. One reason for getting dust, and not shavings. Because it is more flat on the tool rest, it wants to roll into the cut and causes the catch. The inside of the bowl is more difficult to turn than the outside for a number of reasons. I also have a couple of clips up on You Tube if you type in robo hippy.

robo hippy

Thanks you guys SO much! I have to say...this is a little funny. I'm an arborist and have been on the arborist forums for about a decade. Every once in a while someone new comes in with some dumb questions and some of the guys really let him have it! Now, here I am showing how green I am!!!

Thank you for your honest help. I've ordered the Keith Rowley book already on Amazon. Thanks, ! Should be here in a couple days. I'll look into the Glendale club. Thanks Paul39 for sharing it.

I will be honest- I am just making it up as I go. I've done 3 small bowls thus far (apricot, apricot, and lemon) and they all looked great when done, but then cracked like crazy. I'm reading up on how prevent that from happening. 2 methods that spoke to me most were putting the bowl in a brown paper bag with the shavings and I also read you can drench it in denatured alcohol and let it dry that way.

Yesterday on one of the catches, the piece flew off the lathe at HIGH speed. I was lucky it went away from me. That's when I realized I could get hurt. I do physical labor for a living. Injuries are not welcome! I decided I best seek advice from those in the know.

Thanks for your help. Your advice is well heeded. Thanks for taking it easy on me!

love
nick

Originally Posted by Paul39

A couple of hours of instruction will save you days or weeks of trial and error.

Actually, a couple of hours will save us all a mountain of words and frustration!

Once you get someone capable to show you how, I'm thinking that within a couple of minutes you'll get the basic idea... and at the end of an hour you'll have forgotten that you did it any other way.

Originally Posted by TreeClimberNick

This is funny to read. I'll explain. I've been an arborist for like a decade. I spend a lot of time on arborist forums and there are always guys that come along with downright dumb questions and people often ridicule them.

Now I'm the one with the dumb questions! .........

love
nick

There are no dumb questions! It not so smart to not ask, but like most forums they wear thin after being asked so many times.

G'day Nick

I would be only too happy to personally teach you the basics of using a lathe.

Just send me a ticket and I'll be on my way.

Qantas business class preferred.

Cheers and good luck.

Tim

Nick

I'll be in Santa Monica on the 15th-16th June. Can always spare an hour or so to give a lesson and let the wife fend for herself.

Brett

That would be SO awesome!!!!


love
nick