Skew chisel instruction?

[Brian Kent]

I can't even begin to use a skew chisel. I know nothing about angles and approaches and lathe speed and all of the other etceteras. I think I would do well to learn for the outside of my communion chalices.

Can anyone recommend a video or written description or book to start with? There are a lot of videos on You Tube, and I would prefer to start with the best technique teaching to practice.

I would love your tips too.

Thanks in advance.

[John Keeton]

Brian, this is a recurring question - check this thread - http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?115051-Are-there-any-good-videos-for-skew-demos-on-the-web

And, this one - http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?130921-New-video-Skew-Practice-session

[Brian Kent]

Thank you sir. I appreciate it.

[Michael Mills]

Here are some others later than the other threads.

The first two are mainly problems.
Richard Raffan - only about the first 1/2 is the skew.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOvF5f1phhY

[Michael Mills]

I didn't know it was one video per post.
Here is one by Brenden which is part one of two.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMIwqFDMIhA

[Michael Mills]

Here is the last by Alan Batty.


Here is one by Alan Batty. While much is showing pommels it is still skew work and clearly presented.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KfeLAHQSbqk#t=15

[Thom Sturgill]

Michaels picks are probably the best skew videos available online. Don't forget Alan Lacer's two DVDs.

[robert baccus]

Make sure your ego is healthy and you have a good first aid kit.

[David DeCristoforo]

Most turners are terrified of the skew, including me! I watched all those videos and guess what? Yup... you guessed it!
There is nothing like practice. John Lucas's "skew practice" video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vA91yJ9KhKU) should be included in any list.
Watch it and then do what he shows you. It's very basic. Practice a bit and you will get a feel for it.
This is a timely subject for me because I just had my first successful outing using the skew for a very unorthodox task. I'm working on a hollow form
from some very punky spalted maple on which no tool would produce a clean surface except... The Skew... AHHHH!

[Reed Gray]

I don't use a skew much, but after years of learning to rub the bevel (the bevel should rub the wood, but the wood should not know it.. unknown author), I can do that much, and generally do an okay job, but far from what I can do with bowl gouges. Alan Batty was a master. I do like John Lucas' approach to turning as well. I haven't watched the Alan Lacer clips though. I think the thing I most have to work on them to learn is the sharpening. I don't hone my bowl gouges. Eli Avesera is interesting because he uses skews with a convex grind which is more user friendly. I have to watch his video clips as well. Yea, of course, 10,000 more times.....

robo hippy

[Mark Greenbaum]

I, too, was very afraid of using a skew. Then I made about 20 Magic Wands for my daughter's Harry Potter themed birthday event. Like any chisel, learn to ride the bevel, and with a skew I stay way above center. I think of it as a freehand pencil sharpener. I used it angled, and shaving lightly as the wood comes to it. If you're on the bevel, no cutting can occur until the edge grazes the wood. Try it with the lathe off, and hand turn the wood to see how it cuts. If the edge gets too low to center - IT WILL CATCH, and get thrown down, so keep the tool rest very close to the workpiece. Practice on spindles, and watch the Raffan video. He's the master of skews.

[David Walser]

Adding to the suggestions already made, check out Brian Haven's excellent series of videos on using the skew. Start with "Peeling Cut with a Skew" and go from there. His other videos on making cuts using other tools are also worth watching. Here's a link to his channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/BHavensWoodworker/videos

[terry mccammon]

This may be obvious but it took awhile to dawn on me. I got better at the skew (and other tools as well) by turning my lathe dead slow and thereby taking the energy out of the system. Running slow you have to move slow of course but you can feel what is happening and feel a potential error as it is happening. This allowed me to watch a video from Raffen or Lacer and then try, fail, watch and so forth without scaring myself, ruining my work or otherwise simply giving up. That trick of turning the lathe speed way down to try stuff has been huge for me.

Also, I started sharpening skews like woodcarving tools and demanding the sharpness I would ask my woodcarving knives to be at and that improved things a lot. I had the opportunity to see a day long demo with Lacer who is constantly honing his skew on a pocket diamond hone. I also shaped the edge in the Lacer (and others) fashion. I will not try to describe completely it is a straight starting at the toe and then a curve to the heel. That was huge as well.

Finally, I got better by making myself do a ten minute skew practice every time I went to the shop. My neighbor plays violin in the Chicago Symphony. Every single day he plays scales for an hour before doing anything else. It seems that we do have to practice the basics every day.

[Geoff Whaling]

Alan Batty's video on the skew is one of the best ever made imo.

For years I have been advocating setting the lathe to its slowest speed position and to use a ring drive centre when we teach using the skew'

When you are starting out with skew, learn & practice with a blank approx 1.5" (30mm) square and use a ring drive centre (a ring dead center) such as the one on the right at this link http://www.rockler.com/how-to/clearing-common-misunderstandings-woodturning/. Set up the blank with dead center in the head stock and a live center in the tail stock as per normal.

The ring center will act as a clutch in the event of a bad catch and simply stall while the ring drive continues to rotate. No dramatic catches. By using the ring drive centre the student must learn to take light cuts with the skew other wise the blank will start to stall.

If you have variable speed lathe that goes down to 30 or 50 rpm set up a round spindle blank of about 1.5" (30mm) dia in the lathe then set say 50rpm speed and introduce the skew long point down in a vertical position then experiment by leaning the skew slightly left or right from the 12 o'clock position to 11.55 or 12:05 position. This will induce a "catch" and send the skew into the dreaded "spiral cut" but in slow motion which will allow you to see what is actually happening. Simply play around at slow speed to see what happens then gradually up the speed as you feel more confident.

[Brian Kent]

Great ideas I would not have thought of.

[Frank Drew]

Master the skew and you master the world!

Geoff, using a ring center for the drive so that it acts like a clutch is a great idea.

[Geoff Whaling]

Master the skew and you master the world!

Geoff, using a ring center for the drive so that it acts like a clutch is a great idea.

Most of the spindle shafts in my spin tops are turned from 5/8" (15mm) square blanks approx 4" (100mm) long. I turn them between centers using a standard but small 1/4" (6mm) 4 prong drive and another small 1/4" (6mm) live center. The blanks are only held between the points, the 4 prongs are not actually engaged in our harder timbers. The majority of them can be roughed down with a 1" (25mm) skew to round and finished with a planing cut without the prongs ever engaging.

[Geoff Whaling]

Yup... you guessed it!

... on which no tool would produce a clean surface except... The Skew... AHHHH!

I just spent the weekend demoing spindle turning techniques, particularly skew techniques. I created intentional catches at slow speed to demonstrate what happens but I also had a few impromptu lesson opportunities while turning. If some one tells you they have never had a catch with a skew - well they either are exceptional turners, have never used a skew, or they are lying. The only thing that changes about catches with a skew is the frequency of the catches. When you start out it seems like every time you put a skew near timber it wants to create a spiral cut, but after much practice a catch usually comes from inattention, showing off, or a fault in the wood.

Sandpaper costs drop dramatically when you master the skew, spindle gouges, and other tools like continental/German spindle gouges and the more unique spindle turning tools like the Sorby Spindle Master.