Tapering from the end with a skew

[Jamie Straw]

Once again practicing tapering, left and right, with a skew tonight. I had beginner's luck the other night, a little more challenging tonight. But the main question I have is, what are the details of how to taper from the very edge (end) of the stock downward toward the body? For instance, if I were making a wine stopper, and I wanted the taper to go from the top of the stopper (pinned by the tailstock) toward the middle? It seems the skew isn't going to like that "air" (no wood) at the starting point.

I can see where, in the above case,the solution is to start the taper in from the end, and then part off the excess (Sometimes, just typing the question gives me the answer.:o ) However, what if there was a taper with the big part next to a cove, must the order of cut be #1 Taper, #2 Cove?

**The 2 dogs don't care, so I'll brag here: bought a Larson 1/2" skew at a local tool store (closing out turning chisels), shaped the tip and ground it tonight. Wow!!! By far the best cut I've had. Slick.:)

[willie sobat]

Wish I could help Jamie. But after 10 or so years of spindle turning I have to admit I have never mastered the skew. I turn my tapers with a gouge and clean them up by sanding. Like you I have spent considerable time practicing on my own to try to master my old nemesis the skew. About all I can do well with it is to cut in pommels and turn the half of a bead that goes downhill from left to right. If I were to seek formal education on turning it would be on the use of a skew.

[Ken Whitney]

I'd recommend taking a look at the two videos by Alan Lacer on the skew chisel. He provides great basic instruction on the various cuts, and they certainly helped me to get comfortable with the skew.

Ken

[Dennis Ford]

There is probably a lot of ways to do this, here is mine:
* start with the area that is to be tapered as a cylinder just slightly bigger than the large end of the taper.
* Set the tool rest matching the angle of the taper.
* Make short planing cuts where the small end of the taper will be. Increase the length of these cuts as the taper develops, keeping the tool presentation consistent.
* When you get to the large end, maintain the same tool presentation and make one cut the length of the taper.

Sometimes I can do good things with a skew and sometimes it gives me problems. I believe that over-analyzing tends to lead to problems. Relax and try it.

[Michael Short]

Jamie,

I second Ken's recommendation on Alan Lacer's videos. I checked them out of our club library this month and he goes through alot of detail on sharpening, shaping and many techniques on using the skew and control v cuts, beading and coving. This video is "The Skew Chisel", The Dark Side/ The Sweet Side.

The other video I really liked by him was "The Son of Skew" - This video he demonstrates the use of the skew methods from the first video and the entire video is comprise of projects-- Tops, Duck Calls, Honey Dipper, Door Stop, Lace Bobbin and a Letter Opener all made with the skew and some sanding. Same here, It has helped my use of the skew alot.

[David Walser]

Jamie,

In Allan Batty's video, The Skew Chisel, he addresses your question. He points out you cannot start cutting with the skew at the very end of a blank -- there's nothing to support the bevel at the start of the cut. (Recall the "ABC" three step process of starting a cut: Anchor the tool on the tool rest, bring the Bevel into contact with the wood, raise the handle to start your Cut.) Assume your taper is oriented with the large diameter at the tailstock end so that you want to cut going from the right to the left (so you're cutting from large diameter to small diameter). Batty says to start the cut just in from the end of the blank (say 1/4" or so from the end). Make your cut going from right to left. Then finish up by cutting the 1/4" at the end of the blank by reversing direction and going from left to right. Yes, you'll be "cutting in the wrong direction". You don't have any choice in this situation. The same problem arises when your taper is next to a bead that prevents your skew from starting the cut at the large end of the taper. Cutting "downhill" is an important rule, but there are times when it must be broken.

Here's a link to the video: http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Videos___Techniques___The_Skew_Chisel___batty_skew _vid?Args= It's very good, but a little dry.

[Jamie Straw]

Jamie,

In Allan Batty's video, The Skew Chisel, he addresses your question. He points out you cannot start cutting with the skew at the very end of a blank -- there's nothing to support the bevel at the start of the cut. [snip] .....Then finish up by cutting the 1/4" at the end of the blank by reversing direction and going from left to right. Yes, you'll be "cutting in the wrong direction". You don't have any choice in this situation. The same problem arises when your taper is next to a bead that prevents your skew from starting the cut at the large end of the taper. Cutting "downhill" is an important rule, but there are times when it must be broken.

Here's a link to the video: http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/store/Videos___Techniques___The_Skew_Chisel___batty_skew _vid?Args= It's very good, but a little dry.

Thanks, David, that's very helpful. The kind of info I was looking for, it'll be a few weeks before I have the opportunity (maybe) to browse the AWW video library.