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Thread: First real attempt

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Berkshire County in Western Ma
    Posts
    200

    First real attempt

    After reading the skew post and seeing all those beautiful wands, I'm almost embarrased to post this. I finally cut a chunk of scrap wood kind of square and got it up on the lathe. I learned a number of things. Fisrt of all, I like the roughing gouge. It felt fairly easy to use and safe. Secondly, the skew is not so intuitive, and a little nerve wracking to start.i tried to play around a little with beads to get a feel for the tools. The tools definitely give you feedback and let you know what angles and such they prefer to be held at.

    I learned to do the spiral catch quite easily, and made several other observations.
    One is that my tool rests has nicks in it that prevent smooth motion for sliding to rough out, or pivoting to make the bead. Will have to take a file to it.
    Another is that you have to pay attention to where the end of the tool is when you aren't actually cutting with it. More than once, I was just looking where I was going to start my next cut and managed to touch the tool somewhere on the workpiece making a gouge in the wood.
    Another is that I really admire the work of members on this forum. It gives me something to aspire to.

    I did have fun giving this a try and look forward to many more hours of standing in front of the lathe.
    It's nice to think that with a little practice and patience, I could turn the legs and make a footstool, turn a spindle for a repair job, or make a rolling pin.it's all very exciting!
    Almost forgot to mention that I think I may be holding onto the tools too tightly. Is the death grip not the one you use? I felt like I was holding on for dear life. I think I can relax the grip a little.
    Attached Images Attached Images
    Last edited by Tony Pisano; 04-17-2018 at 10:53 PM.

  2. #2
    I also mastered the spiral groove early on. Shied away from the skew for the longest time as a result, but eventually learned it to the point I'm comfortable grabbing it for all sorts of things (still can't do a cove). Death grip eases up once you relax, and learning how to start with the bevel when using the heel cut rather than the cutting edge will help, since dropping the sharp bits onto a rapidly spinning piece (until you're much more practiced) will often result in scary catches.

    From the look of that spindle, you're off to a great start.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2015
    Location
    Brentwood, TN
    Posts
    684
    Very nice first piece. You're going to do well. File the toolrest to remove the nick, and then sandpaper it smooth, and apply wax to allow the tool to glide. Watch Raffen's videos on use of a skew - he's my favorite master skewist (word?). Skew can be intimidating, but it is a very useful tool to become familiar and friendly with. Think of how a pencil sharpener works. Try magic wands. Make shavings. And be safe.
    Maker of Fine Kindling, and small metal chips on the floor.
    Embellishments to the Stars - or wannabees.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Apr 2010
    Location
    Berkshire County in Western Ma
    Posts
    200
    Thanks guys. I found when trying to do a couple of the beads, it was like trimming my mustache. A little too much off one side, and back and forth trying to get it balanced.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    EXCELLENT start! It's all downhill from there.

    Some "random" suggestions, if you want them: A death grip with tense shoulders, back, neck and legs is definitely a problem. Try practicing cuts by holding the handle between two fingers and the shaft near the tool rest very lightly. Pinching the working end between thumb and fingers while resting the fingers against the front of the rest can help, especially when planing cylinders or tapers with the skew. Try for the lightest possible cuts, "whisper" cuts - if you have a problem during a heavy cut it can be a bigger problem! The lightest possible cuts will also teach fine tool control. With some practice you can turn while holding the handle very lightly with one hand and with just one finger to guide the cutting end. Be sure to practice turning in the opposite direction with the hands reversed on the tools. For spindle short handles are best - many of my spindle turning tools have handles 8 to 12" long - a long handle such as used to muscle heavy cuts on a bowl blank is way overkill and will just get in the way of the motions you need for beads and coves. (For small work I sometimes don't even put tools in handles) The usually recommended method of supporting the hand with the tool against the side doesn't work for most spindle moves - I just hold the tool in the air away from my side.

    Make sure the lathe spindle height is right for you and especially make sure the tool rest is not too high - that will put your arms, hands, and shoulders into stressful positions. If you ever get down this way holler at me and we can schedule a spindle-turning day!

    I keep a big tub full of spindle practice blanks in my shop for students to use and take home. They are mostly soft woods like box elder, pine, cedar, etc., some pretty ugly, all great for practice. Some practice: turn 2" squares into beads and coves, turn those away and repeat until the wood is too thin. Repeat this with four or ten more until every cut feels easy.

    Filing a cast iron tool rest is required repeatedly. Another thing you can do for a deep defect - One the tool rest for one of my Jet 1642s came with a casting defect that left a small and very annoying hole in the edge. Filing it out completely would have taken a lot of work. Instead, I filled it with JB Weld and used it that way for years, lightly filing, sanding, and waxing as needed.

    A far better option, IMO, is to ditch the cast iron rest! I don't use any of mine since I bought some Robust rests. These have a hardened steel rod on top which doesn't get nicks or need filing (and a lifetime warranty for any problems.) I use these for most of my turning now. This shows some:

    lathe_toolrests_IMG_5751.jpg

    I especially like their 14" rest which will let me turn the full length of a wand without moving the rest.


    BTW, the "distracted catch" is common for even very experienced turners who rarely or never get a catch otherwise. It almost always happens while talking and turning during a demo or when showing a cut to a student! Or looking away for a moment...

    JKJ

    Quote Originally Posted by Tony Pisano View Post
    After reading the skew post and seeing all those beautiful wands, I'm almost embarrased to post this. I finally cut a chunk of scrap wood kind of square and got it up on the lathe. I learned a number of things. Fisrt of all, I like the roughing gouge. It felt fairly easy to use and safe. Secondly, the skew is not so intuitive, and a little nerve wracking to start.i tried to play around a little with beads to get a feel for the tools. The tools definitely give you feedback and let you know what angles and such they prefer to be held at.

    I learned to do the spiral catch quite easily, and made several other observations.
    One is that my tool rests has nicks in it that prevent smooth motion for sliding to rough out, or pivoting to make the bead. Will have to take a file to it.
    Another is that you have to pay attention to where the end of the tool is when you aren't actually cutting with it. More than once, I was just looking where I was going to start my next cut and managed to touch the tool somewhere on the workpiece making a gouge in the wood.
    Another is that I really admire the work of members on this forum. It gives me something to aspire to.

    I did have fun giving this a try and look forward to many more hours of standing in front of the lathe.
    It's nice to think that with a little practice and patience, I could turn the legs and make a footstool, turn a spindle for a repair job, or make a rolling pin.it's all very exciting!
    Almost forgot to mention that I think I may be holding onto the tools too tightly. Is the death grip not the one you use? I felt like I was holding on for dear life. I think I can relax the grip a little.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Feb 2008
    Location
    E TN, near Knoxville
    Posts
    12,298
    Quote Originally Posted by Tony Pisano View Post
    Thanks guys. I found when trying to do a couple of the beads, it was like trimming my mustache. A little too much off one side, and back and forth trying to get it balanced.
    Very easy to get it unbalanced! Beads are hard - you have to perfectly coordinate those three (or four) motions.

    I'm sure you're watching the profile at the upper edge instead of the tool, but if you don't already do this for beads another thing that helps is to first draw a pencil line right in the middle between your end grooves. Make cuts left and right starting a AWAY from the pencil line, not starting right at the center, turning off the "corners" a little each pass. After most of the bead is defined, sneak up on the profile towards the line. I see lots of tall, parabolic beads from students who start cutting in the center! The top of the bead, of course, is actually mostly flat. This is a good way to turn a sphere, too, another great exercise!

    JKJ

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