Taming the Skew?

[Mac Cambra]

Right now my skew chisel is causing me fits, it is grabbing and messing things up pretty good. I just sharpened it on the Tormek, it is razor sharp, but I was doing better with it straight out of the box, it is a Sorby 3/4" oval skew.

I try to rub the bevel and raise the handle until I get a nice planing cut and either the long or short points catch and then my piece needs reconstructive surgery.

Pointers from those with experience would be appreciated.

[David Wilhelm]

I love an oval but the first time i used it i threw it in the floor. I'd advise you to first take your tool rest and make it baby smooth and free from and any bumps or nicks. After that wax it and buff it nice and slick. Find a piece of pine or poplar 4x4 and from start to finish use your skew NOTHING else. Dont pick up another tool. keep it sharp and learn it. you will find that moving your rest up and down will make a world of difference in your cuts and the more time you spend with your tool the more you will learn about it. I use mine on everything from bowls to pens. Best of luck, Will

[robert hainstock]

Mine has been the box for a long time too. (similar excuses) maby I'll try those tips too. :)
Bob

[Bernie Weishapl]

I would recommend watching Alan Lacer's "The Skew Chisel." He takes you thru several practice sessions showing what is right and what can go wrong. He also shows how to sharpen and hone it. I hone mine and saves time from the grinder. He takes you step by step. I watched this thing several times went out and practiced. Didn't touch another tool till I had it down. The 4 skews I have are my favorite tools now.

[Jon Lanier]

I love the skew. So you guys who don't like yours, you can send them to me. You know, if you think about it, every tool is a skew... you only use a small edge of every tool to cut with any way. The skew just happens to be straight.

[Bill Bolen]

A big help for me in learning the Skew was to take my spur drive center out and put in an old cup dead center. That way when you have a catch (and you will!) your heart doesn't stop but the wood stops spinning. You get the chance to see the chisel position when the ooops happened. Keep the tool rest high and a smaller diameter work piece also. Good Luck!
Bill

[Dan Forman]

I'm still no expert, but personally, I prefer my 1" Harbor Freight skew, which I reground from straight to curved (similar to the Lacer shape), to the oval, straight Sorby, which is 3/4". I use it mostly for planing type cuts on pens and such. I think the oval is harder to manage on flat cuts, maybe easier for beads and such. I guess the main advice is make sure you are holding the tool such that the shavings are not coming off close to either corner. Lots of practice on pine spindles.

Dan

[Mac Cambra]

I was doing some research and found that there were a couple things I was doing wrong:

1. I was trying to cut uphill, basically trying to shear fibers that
had longer fibers supporting them.

2. I had my tool rest too low, particularly on the planing cuts.

3. I wasn't rolling and lifting the tool in a smooth motion. More like
swinging it in the horizontal plane as though it was resting on a
table top. This was creating the opportunity to take too
aggressive cut and ultimately catching.

This is my assessment, do you guys think that correcting these behaviors will go a long way in "incident" reduction and hopefully the profanity that accompanies it?

Thanks,

Mac

[Prashun Patel]

Clever thread title.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Mac.......About 18 months ago a former Creeker Chris Barton layed out a "skew" challenge after returning from a turning school. I, at that time, had a "love-hate" relationship with my skew. I picked up the glove Chris threw down and for several weekends in a row, the skew was the only tool I picked up and I wasted a lot of wood. Like Bernie, the skew is my favorite tool.

I have two Lacer's I bought in June and I haven't sharpened them yet. That is on my list of things to get done. I use a 3/4" Robert Larson. It's a straight bevel skew. I just a week ago rounded over the bottom at the short point side. What a glorious difference that made!

If the bevel is too long....ie the angle too narrow....catches seem to occur more often.....if the skew isn't SHARP....SHARP....SHARP....it doesn't work as well.

I've tried an oval skew and didn't like it but that's just a matter of personal opinion and experience. The oval shape allows you to rotate the skew and that would allow you to have catches with the toe or the heel....long point or short point..... My straight skew.....that potential problem is eliminated.

Keep practicing! Soon you will have a favorite tool that often you won't have to sand after using it.


One more thing......the skew users mantra....."RIDE THE BEVEL!"

[Allen Neighbors]

"Easing" the sharp edges on the bottom of the skew (the edge that leads from the handle to the short part of the bevel (heel) will make the skew slide along the toolrest easier.
Cut with the lower third of the cutting edge (close to, never allowing the heel or toe to touch...) and like Ken says, "Ride the bevel!"

[Kurt Aebi]

I almost exclusively use my skew chisels in making my turkey call pots. I cut my "blanks" for my calls using a 4" hole saw, but I hollow out the pot with a skew and turn the profile for the soundboard (a little ring about 1/8" wide and about 3/16" tall that a resonant surface will be adhered - similar to a crude speaker) and I also turn the recess for the friction surface (top), so that the friction surface is either flush or slightly proud of the pot.

As long as you keep the skew chisel sharp, you're golden. I do not use a Tormek, but my Delta slow-speed wet/dry reversable grinder works well. I've actually set the angle of the rest to match the bevel that I like for the skews and just give it a couple of swipes across the wheel and I'm ready to go again.

I use the skew to kame the strikers as well. The striker is sort-of a miniature conductor's baton or wizard's magic wand. You slide it across the face of the friction surface to create the turkey sounds. If anyone is interested, I'll post a couple of pictures of some I've made.

[Rich Nagy]

Skew chisel is a tool that needs sharpening different than the other tools. It performs better with a flat cut on a flat wheel than a curved wheel. This could be your challenge, so you will have to get use to your grind. You might also be grinding it a different angle than how it came from the factory. The talent will take time and practice, practice and practice.

I played Violin for years, my grandfather willed me a fine old Italian violin, Palo Antonio Testore 1739. An exquisit violin. I had trouble playing this fine old violin. My teacher said, "Let me try". He of course played perfectly. He gave me the violin back and said "its not the tool"....This was a good lesson. Hence practice, practice, practice. He also said do not pactice making mistakes, you will only get good at it.