Thread: The tamed skew

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

Thank you for candidly expressing your mistrust, anyway. I assume you have no vested interest in supporting the sale of traditional tools, so, unless you have been bribed , you genuinely represent the conservative view that keeps progress honest.

I value the opportunity for discussion that you provide.

I'm representing the conservative view? I'm only saying what I think. Not speaking for anyone else.


Anyway, I'm off to do something more productive.

Originally Posted by Sturdee

and



Or maybe along the lines of the way that Robert Sorby markets their spindlemaster which is another alternative to the skew that a lot of turners use.



Frank how do you think yours compares to the spindlemaster?


Peter.

Thanks for the reference, Peter, I had absolutely no knowledge of that tool. I just watched a youtube demo and now I know what it is. The way I see it the spindlemaster is really a flat spindle gouge that can be used on the side because the wing is straight instead of curved (clear as mud?). Up to a point (no pun intended) the mechanics are similar to using the corner of the square cutter in the same way. Excluding the issue of sharpening v non-sharpening, I think that the main difference would be in the square v round profile. One works better than the other depending on the profile of the curve you want to produce. The problem with the square three sided blade is that it is not practical unless an insert is used.

Edited to add, after seeing Jim's comment: another main difference, of course, is the angle of the bevel(s). I could not tell from the video, but I would assume that the spindlemaster sharpening angle is like a skew's.

Originally Posted by Frank&Earnest

I could not tell from the video, but I would assume that the spindlemaster sharpening angle is like a skew's.

Frank from Sorby's website "The Spindlemaster is one of the easiest tools to sharpen. Simply hone on the top face. Do not touch the polished bevel – unless it has been damaged. " and this set of instructions.

The more I look at this and my bedan and your tool I feel that they all overcome some of the difficulties the skew gives in the hands of the inexperienced turner.

Whilst these tools will help to get you started it will become necessary to become proficient with the skew. I am getting better but nowhere as proficient as others.

However if by using an alternative a newbie can do some useful turning whilst regularly practising getting experience with a skew on practice bits he will not get disillusioned and give up.

Hence Brendan's comments about his mate is really relevant. Looking forward to the further reviews.


Peter.

Peter, those instructions puzzle me. It is true that sharpening one side is equivalent to sharpening the other, but the end result has to be that a good edge with no rounding is achieved. If it is the flat side of the spindlemaster that is sharpened, that means that the flat side has to be lowered to the point where the rounding of the edge has been eliminated. This means that after a couple of dozen sharpening the bottom bevel is gone. Where am I going wrong here?

IIRC you're only sposed to hone the top face. Say a wear bevel gets to one thou before you 'run out of edge', you need to take the top down at least that much with each honing. Would take some time to hone through to the bottom of the bevel.

Cheers from Burra

The bottom radius is a polished bevel and the top is flat and honed with a very fine diamond lap. The bottom can be polished on a strop or a stiched mop on your grinding wheel.

So to lose the bottom bevel would take a very long time.

Thanks Ern and Jim.

Ignoring the fine distinctions between sharpening, honing and polishing, in essence the duration depends on how quickly an edge gets round and how often metal has to be taken out to reform the edge. Touching up the bevel as well, as you say Jim, makes more sense to me.

The logic here seems to be the same as for carving chisels. Take out less more often so as not to ruin the precise profile. Reasonable for the slow carving work, but with turning it seems to me that the amount of time spent away from the lathe for polishing could become rather tiresome. I haven't sucked it, though, so I haven't seen.

BTW, if I understand correctly, "one thou" means 1/1000 inch, 25um. If that is enough to blunt a blade, a tool would stay "sharp" for a very short time indeed. Have any reliable tests been done of this?

Frank,

It's the same sharpening method as for a few other Sorby tools eg their captive ring tool and their easy beader but let's not hijack this into a sharpening thread.

I haven't tried their Spindle Master as yet but it's another way of handling the dreaded skew in inexperienced hands. Maybe those that use one would care to comment.

All these various tools reminds me that the skew is the turners plane similar to a No 4 Stanley for flat woodworking. But let's not forget that Stanley brought out lots of different planes so why not different types of planing tools. Something for the purists to think about.


Peter.

At 's invitation I had a tryout of F & E's new tool. purposely did not talk to me about it so he could not influence me prior to my tests and the tool was unhandled.

Using redgum blanks I first roughed a blank to round, then cut V shapes and rolled beads. The roughed down finish was not as smooth as my roughing gouge produces but acceptable. The V cuts were not as deep as with the skew and the beads were not as smooth as with a skew. Because of the shape I could not roll very acute beads.

I had some dig ins with the tool and because of the shaft shape it had a tendency to twist over and dig in on the side to side cutting movement. This is because the acute trapezoidal shape means the side edges are not supported directly by the tool rest.

I then used it to hollow out an edge grain box. Again I had to fight the tendency to twist on the side way movements and had quite a bit of chatter. Inside side finish was acceptable but would require a fair bit of sanding.

I then repeated the same tests using my Bedan tool holding it the same way.

On each test the finish was smoother and easier to use. With the Bedan the side cutting edge is more acute which means that the side cutting edge is still sufficiently supported by the tool rest so that instead of fighting to keep the tool level all I had to do was guide it.

Upon reflection I feel that as a beginner's tool the Bedan would be better as it is easier to use and gives a smoother surface (and can be sharpened) whilst learning to use the skew.


Peter.

This thread is being continued here. https://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/roa...fetool-125029/