Skew- bevel length?

[Bill Bolen]

What do you folks think the best bevel length is for a skew? I use a 1” and a half inch. My old 1” is from my Shopsmith purchase in 1981. It has the square shaft (rather than the oval skew) and I have ground a slight radius towards the short point. I though it cut well till my son brought over his new “ Pinnacle” oval skew. This thing has a bevel twice as long as my old timer after using it for a few minutes I know what a skew is SUPPOSED to cut like. That long bevel seems to make quite a difference. Now his oval is HSS where my old guy is tool steel. But I can get mine as sharp as his, just have to hone a lot more often. I’m thinking about re-grinding my skew to get that longer bevel. I read somewhere that Lacer says the bevel length should be about twice as long as the chisel is thick? Think it would help?
Thanks…Bill

[Paul Heely]

We discussed this not too long ago. Have a look at this thread for starters. http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=66282&highlight=skew+bevel

[Dean Thomas]

Bill,

Close but no cigar. Lacer says the the bevel should be 1.5 times the thickness of the steel. Width means nothing in this equation. 1/4" thick means bevel will be 3/8" long. 3/8" thick means that the bevel will be 9/16" long. It works pretty well.

Only caution that I have is be careful if you have 6" grinder wheels. I might think about making the bevel not so long just because of the additional concavity of the bevel from a 6" wheel. And if you contact Alan, he'd probably tell you his own recommendation. He's pretty approachable. AlanLacer.com for an article on skew use and sharpening.

Like Alan, I have a love-hate relationship with my oval skew. It is thinner metal and it does seem to flex a lot easier than a heftier skew. That means in practice that you've got a way better chance of chatter and other vibrational issues with the skinny than with traditional. I have other issues, but that wasn't the question. 8^)

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Bill,

I am fairly new to turning. Let me tell you what my experience has been. The first set of tools I turned with were given to me. The skew had a long bevel on it. Frankly, trying to learn to use it was a nightmare. Then I started reading and somewhere I read the 1.5 X rule that Alan Lacer recommends. At the challenge of a former Creeker Chris Barton, I decided to learn to use that evil skew. I went to the shorter bevel and practised for several weekends. The skew is now my favorite tool for spindle work. I just completed a Christmas ornament. About 90% of that work is skew work. Roughed out with the skew....final turned with the skew.

If you think about how the angle of the bevel works in relation to riding the bevel, the tool rest and the hand on the handle....The longer the bevel face, the more sensitive the cutting edge is going to be to a given small change to the vertical position of the hand on handle. In short, it becomes more sensitive to small vertical movements of the handle.

The 1.5 method works for me.....YMMV....JMHO....