Joshua Dinerstein
10-04-2008, 6:47 PM
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
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