Captive ring with a skew

[Dave C. Brown]

Happy Sunday Afternoon.

Over here at a Chris Stott demog (http://www.channelislandswoodturners.org/ChrisStottt-Demo-Oct2005.htm) there is a reference to making captured rings with just a skew. There's a picture on the second row, in the middle of him doing it.

Can anyone actually do this? (Actually, re-reading my post, I realize that Chris Stott can do this, but anyone else?) I thought you needed special tools. I tried my hand at it, but I can barely make a bead, so my results were spectacular, uh, a spectacular failure, that is. More catches than velcro has hooks.

If anyone can do this, can you provide hints as to how best to present the skew to the work?

--Dave

[Bruce Shiverdecker]

I don't make many rings, but, yes, it can be done with a skew. You use to long point to do the undercutting.

Bruce

[Jonathon Spafford]

Personally, I haven't played around much with captive rings, but I don't think it would be too hard if you laid the skew flat and used the long point for the operation. Some people also use scraper ground allen wrenches and I've also heard dental picks are popular too. I don't exactly see the point in an expensive ring tool when you can do just as well without one!

[Gordon Seto]

Yes, it is not that difficult if you have clearance on both sides of the ring. Practice, practice and practice on some firewood first. Alan Lacer, Allan Batty both have very good DVD on using the skew.

Gordon

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I've made a couple of captive rings using a cheap tool I bought. Folks...it's not easy even with that!

[Bill Grumbine]

Dave,I have done a number of captive rings with a skew, but I prefer my beading tool and the "git-around-behind" tool. These two tools make a round ring. Getting the ring semicircular with the skew is doable, but getting it undercut with the skew and getting it round on the underside isn't so easy. I have yet to see someone do it in person. As an aside, it was watching someone do a captive ring way back in 1984 that inspired me to take up turning, although it took me almost 10 years afterward to get to it.

http://www.enter.net/~ultradad/boxeldergoblet.jpg

Bill

[Bob Hamilton]

I use a piece of 1/4" key stock ground as a skew for cutting captive rings, but as Bill says the inner half of the ring is rarely, if ever, rounded like the outside. That is what I used to cut these ones:

http://www.bobhamswwing.com/justpics/goblet%20insets.jpg

Take care
Bob

[Jason Beam]

Alan Lacer's videos show how to do it. The concern for ending up with a rounded inner portion is very valid. It ain't easy getting roundness by scraping the backside with the long point of the skew, for sure. Lacer suggests wrapping a little sandpaper around the remaining spindle with some rubber bands and using that to finish shape the inside of the ring.

I've done it once and can see how feasible it is with the skew if you only needed to do a handful. If I were doing them often, I'd seek out a quicker way to get them done. I'd still probably rubber band sandpaper, but just to get that teeny little web off after it comes free from the spindle.