Wow. The skew is AMAZING!

[Joshua Dinerstein]

Thanks to Ken and Bernie and others who talked about their skew experience and provided tips and techniques.

I finally got all the new parts and had some time I went out and spent about 2 hours on the lathe this morning. All with just a single purpose in mind. To see if I could start learning to use the skew. I took my HF HSS 1" skew and sharpened it a month or more ago and then started ordering parts. Long delays in shipping and availability later I finally got everything.

The list:
1- A new live center for the tail stock of my green machine, a HF lathe as my 3520b is still in pieces awaiting the sale of this home :mad:.

2- A PSI safe driver, I ordered a Oneway one but it STILL has not come yet.

3- And a plethora of practice wood. At the rate I am going through it I think I just might have bought too much... A problem I have had since I started this. :) I bought 4 8foot lengths of 2x2 from Home Depot for about $7. I cut up just 1 into roughly 12" sections. I tried to cut out the knots in the wood so some are 6", others 8" and some actually 12" long.

Put the new parts into the lathe and started testing out the safe driver a-la Allan Lacer's video. I put on a thick leather glove and tried grabbing the piece. Stopped with ease with no grab or bang like I was used to with various tools. What an AMAZING INVENTION this little thing is!!! It takes all the fear out of trying to learn to use the skew. The loud bangs and tool rest damage on a catch are a thing of the past. Truly amazing! I would highly recommend it to anyone who is trying to learn to use the skew.

So I started turning. I quickly found out that any pressure at all that point would stop the wood. I had way too little "drive". Upping the pressure via the tail-stock a bit solved that problem and I quickly prepped the first blank using my roughing gouge. I figured I would try doing it the old fashioned way as something of a test for the new safe-driver. Very little pressure would still stall the blank but that was interesting to see if I was pushing to hard with that tool as well.

What followed was very interesting to me. Following the guidelines of people here, and Alan Lacer through his articules and videos, I used my new diamond hone to hone the edge of the skew. It got sharp enough that I managed to slice the thumb of my leather glove quite by accident just sliding the tool up to present it to the wood. Pretty impressive the edge you can put on that thing with the hone! I just have to say that I am glad it was the glove and not my thumb. Given the length and the depth I would have needed stitches.

Following Lacer and Raffan's videos I started my practive for real. I made some v-cuts then widened the shoulder a bit to practive that cut and then finally rounded them over into beads. Well lopsided lumpish beads but not to bad for a first go round I think.

I was amazed at the smoothness of this soft pine after that work with the hone. I did one spindle and then started having troubles with the second practice piece. It was just coming off pretty rough. I wasn't sure what it was and tested the edge and it had blunted on the skew just that quickly. That came as bit of a surprise but in hindsight I should have thought of it earlier. I guess I had just assumed that the soft pine wouldn't dull it quite that quickly. A quick touch up with the hone was definitely easier and faster than a return trip to the grinder and once again it was wicked sharp. I can't help but wonder if a better quality skew would hold the edge longer. Woodcraft has Alan Lacer's skews on sale at the moment and I must say I am tempted to just go buy the set and see. :rolleyes:

Still lots to learn and get way way better with. Had a few spiralling catches but only a few. Coming along at a reasonable pace I think. I just have to figure out how to get that plaining cut to give me a straight surface instead of a nice cone shape. Lots to do but it has been fun and is coming along I think.

Joshua

[Bernie Weishapl]

Joshua glad to hear you are giving it a go. You are going to be amazed at how smooth your cuts will be. When I use a skew I start sanding at 180 or 220. As far as the Lacer skews go, yea they are a lot of money but in my opinion are the best I have used. I love mine. Good luck and keep up the practice. It will pay off.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Go Joshua! Keep at it. It only gets better!

[Paul Douglass]

Skew good thing, oval one even better!

[Joshua Dinerstein]

Man alive. It just gets better. So this morning I got up early, too excited to sleep I guess as this all reminds me of Christmas Morning!

So I put a new piece of 2x2 pine on my lathe and this time, 3rd piece so far, rounded it down from square using just the skew chisel. I am getting better at that but it was still not quite a cylinder. :o

This time rather that V-cuts and beads I played with shoulder cuts. Since it was between spindles and not chucked up I did what Alan Lacer suggested and put a nice deep V-Cut, rather than the parting tool, in the middle of the spindle and then started shoulder cuts left and right working my way out.

At first I used just the long point as it felt natural and while it did cut well and worked it's way down through the wood as it seemed it should and the shoulder looked good I then tried rotating the point down as the various videos suggest and WOW! Talk about a NICE finish! Holy Cow!

So with only a few spiraling catches, figured out what I was doing wrong and those stopped, I worked my way out to the very ends just doing shoulder cuts. Such fun!

I wish the planing cut had come together as quickly and nicely as that one did. :)

On thing has become clear though. I either need to buy some shaped skew or I need to shape mine. The ones that came in my HF tool set have nicely sharp edges on all 4 corners. I need to do the rounding on the short point side and break the corners on the long point side.

Anyway fun continues!

Joshua

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Joshua,

My favorite skew is a regular Robert Larson. Rounding the corners on the short point side made it even a better tool. Follow Larson's advice.

I have only recently started using his skews. The increased mass in them and the factory rounded short point sides makes them even better for planning cuts.....turning square things round.

Keep at at it. It only takes time, patience and a well sharpened tool. You are definitely on your way.

[Wilbur Pan]

I remember when I was first trying my hand at turning, and watching Alaln lacer's skew chisel video. I can honestly say that the skew chisel was the first turning tool that I felt like I really knew how to use.

In fact, my first real turning tools were ordered from Doug Thompson, including a 1/2" skew and a 1-1/4" skew. I shaped them both like Alan Lacer suggests in his video. These tools all came unhandled, and I wanted to make some handles out of white oak for them. I quickly figured out that the old carbon steel tools that I had wouldn't stay sharp on white oak for very long -- very long being only a few minutes. I would up using the 1-1/4" skew chisel unhandled :eek: to make a white oak handle for itself, then attached the handle to the 1-1/4" skew chisel, and made handles for the rest of my turning tools with it.

[Keith Christopher]

I don't own any HF tools, but from what I hear they are not so great in the steel dept. I would recommend once you get a good feel for it, invest in a nice one. I almost never use a roughing gouge anymore, I put my skew on it and I peel the wood down so quickly it's not even funny. I love the finish from a well tuned and used skew. I like them so much in fact when I make pens I (depending on the pen) only use a skew.