Do My Wood Shavings Look Normal Or Do I Need To Change Something?

I have a newbie question about the shavings I'm producing as I work on hollowing out a kiln dried cherry bowl blank.

I'm using a 1/2" Benjamin Best bowl gouge with moderately sweep back wings ground with a 45 degree bevel with a spindle speed of about 800 rpm.

I've quickly discovered, at least for me, that turning dry wood does not produce those long wide beautiful shavings that cut like butter. Instead, I've attached a couple of photos of the short curly shavings I'm producing as I hollow this dry cherry blank.

My question is whether the shavings look normal based on my description of the wood and gouge I'm using or does the size and curly shape suggest a problem with the way the bowl gouge is ground or my technique?

I appreciate any comments or feedback.

Thank you

It could just be the picture, but to me the shavings look a little thick to be coming off of a KD blank. Every time I try to pull thick shavings from dry stock I always end up with torn grain somewhere.
My dry shavings are typically curly like that, just a good bit smaller & thinner.

They look good to me. How does the tool feel? Are you forcing the cut or able to maintain a light hold on the tool while it cuts and produce these curlies?

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Are you forcing the cut or able to maintain a light hold on the tool while it cuts and produce these curlies?

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Considering I'm still quite new at turning I'm probably maintaining a somewhat stronger hold but definitely not forcing the tool. I would say most of the emphasis that I put on holding the gouge is to keep the bevel firmly against the wood as I sweep the tool from the outer rim to the center.

Although the size of the shavings are not like turning wet wood, I'm producing a large volume of shavings.

you should have put a dime in for scale; but they look okay to me.

do not try to over think this. it is after all just something to pass the time and something to enjoy.
just my opinion
if the end result is what you were shooting for then its right

Dom, again they look fine. After a while you'll recognize the feel of a sharp gouge. Just don't push too hard, let the tool do the cutting, kind of like shaving you face, you wouldn't bear down real hard in that case, you just let the razor cut as you move it across your face.

I think those are bragging curls yeah.

Depends on which piece of kiln-dried wood I'm working on today. Same tools same speed, some pure soft curls, some almost straight, some mixed with power & dust. Those look just fine.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. Now if I can just master using a skew!

The shavings look fine to me, but that's really not a good test of whether your presentation and technique are "good". You can get beautiful shavings off a tool and still have too much pressure, not a good edge, etc.

Instead of looking at the shavings, concentrate on how the tool feels and how the surface feels after a cut. Also, you mention using pressure to "keep the bevel firmly against the wood". Make sure that you're not using too much pressure to do this. The bevel should "glide" (the phrase "ride the bevel" is misleading). This is something I'm still working on, as my first instinct (especially if I start getting vibration) is to push harder to maintain contact.

BEST ADVICE I CAN GIVE YOU: If you haven't already, find an experienced turner and turn a bowl with them watching and advising. You can learn more in 10 minutes in person with a mentor than in a month with experimentation and YouTube videos.

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Originally Posted by Dom Garafalo

Thanks everyone for your feedback. I'll just keep doing what I'm doing. Now if I can just master using a skew!

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The shavings look fine to me. For finish cuts they might be thinner.

As for a death grip, the beginners that come here seem to make quicker progress when the learn to relax - it's hard to finesse a cut when tense. Once you gain experience you should be able to control finish cuts (even on hard, dry wood) by holding the handle lightly between two fingers and placing one finger on the shaft at the tool rest, or even one-handed. I'm not saying this is the best way to hold the tool, but just to give you an idea of the level of hold to work towards. (Does not apply for heavy cuts, perhaps for roughing or hollowing!) I often turn long spindles with just one hand and I've seen others make beautiful continuous one-handed cuts from rim to center inside a bowl.

As for the skew, a proven way to become an expert is to follow the exercises in Mike Darlow's book, Fundamentals of woodturning. I introduce beginning turners to the lathe with the skew and a variation of these exercises.


A useful approach: I and several people I know like to practice constantly on turnings in progress. While shaping a bowl, for example, make a series of "finish" cuts long before you reach the desired diameter and shape. Try different wild shapes and details - might discover something new you like better. Try different tools, grips, and presentations just to see what works best. If something doesn't work at this stage there is no serious consequence, just cut it away and continue. Before hollowing a bowl or goblet, I might practice making a perfect flat face all the way across even though I will cut it away a few seconds later. When turning a spindle I might turn some practice beads, grooves, and coves (with skew, gouge, scraper, bedan, etc.) then cut them all away and repeat. When approaching the target size on a curve, cylinder or taper, try skews with different grinds, always trying for that perfect smooth finish cut, then repeat!. (An advantage to this is buy the time you DO make the final finish cut you'll know what works best for that particular piece of wood it should be perfect!) Admittedly, this method take me longer to get something done but hey, I play with wood for fun, not for production or to win a speed contest.

JKJ

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Originally Posted by John K Jordan

...While shaping a bowl, for example, make a series of "finish" cuts long before you reach the desired diameter and shape. ...

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I couldn't agree more. Someone once told me that every cut should be thought of as a finish cut. I'm not sure how reasonable that is in practice, but the sentiment is dead on.

Don't worry about the shavings. What does the surface of your bowl look like?

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Originally Posted by Dom Garafalo

I have a newbie question about the shavings I'm producing as I work on hollowing out a kiln dried cherry bowl blank.

I'm using a 1/2" Benjamin Best bowl gouge with moderately sweep back wings ground with a 45 degree bevel with a spindle speed of about 800 rpm.

I've quickly discovered, at least for me, that turning dry wood does not produce those long wide beautiful shavings that cut like butter. Instead, I've attached a couple of photos of the short curly shavings I'm producing as I hollow this dry cherry blank.

My question is whether the shavings look normal based on my description of the wood and gouge I'm using or does the size and curly shape suggest a problem with the way the bowl gouge is ground or my technique?

I appreciate any comments or feedback.

Thank you

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First of all, you're working on kiln dried wood. That's not going to produce those "long wide beautiful shavings that cut like butter." If you want that, then cut some green wood...
Second, if you want long streamers on kiln dried wood, then you're going to have to have absolutely very sharp tools, and a perfect technique.
After many years, I can't say that I've got perfect technique. Only folks like Stuart Batty have that. Mayhap some of the denizens of this forum have it. But I sure as heck don't. But I can get long streamers in green wood.

I'll repeat what Prashun said, that strikes me as very good advice. Forget about the waste product, what does your bowl look like?

As a beginner, & from the advice of my mentors, I agree with whats been said. When I first started, I worried about what the shavings looked like. Why was everybody else throwin' long strings of chips, & mine looked like sawdust:( On a small budget, & teaching myself to hand sharpen, I went back to the books & read some of the important parts over again. And, finally finding a mentor, he sharpened my tools, & showed me the ins & outs of sharpening. Once I got my angles figured out, my shavings got a little better than sawdust.

The next thing is learning how to use the tool in your hands, & speed your running. My first lathe, the lowest speed was 750 rpm. It was exceedingly tough to learn to rough rough out a spindle, much less anything else. I'm not a bowl turner, I turn for fun, & to go along with some of my scroll projects. My shavings still don't look like the long ones do, some still look like sawdust, but the end result is what I want it to be.