Oval or Radius Skew?

[Wayne Hribar]

I have been turning a lot of round columns with a lot of straight sections and am wondering which skew would be better for me to invest in. I can see the positive for both, but thought I'd get some expert opinions.

Thanks in advance,
Wayne

[Kent Cori]

Wayne,

I have an 3/4" oval skew from Sorby that I use for spindles. In hindsight, I wished I'd gotten a flat one with the radiused edges. I believe it would have been a little easier to control as you change the inclination angle of the skew.

[Dale Thompson]

Wayne,
This is only the opinion of a wannabee good turner but I've got both the Sorby Oval skew and the flat skew which I ground to the typical "Raffan" radius. I NEVER use the Oval skew. Perhaps if I filed my toolrest every day it would work OK. I don't. I almost quit turning because the skew always messed up my stuff on the "final" cut. Since I did the "Raffan" radius on my flat skew, it has become my best friend. The oval skew looks nice on my tool rack -- that's because it hasn't been used more than twice. :(

Just an input, Wayne, I'm no expert but I know what works for ME!

Dale T.