Quote Originally Posted by Jeff Bartley View Post
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Oh, I also rounded over the short sides of the chisel which made a huge difference! When the sides were sharp they were making dings in the tool test every time I got a catch.

Now John J, this doesn't mean I wouldn't enjoy your skew class!
The rate you are going maybe I'll take your class.
Frank Penta had a great tip for turning beads with a round skew. He holds it in one hand, short handle, index finger pointed straight against the top while the skew is flat at the top of the bead. Then when rotating the skew with a little practice you can tell the exact angle by feel instead of by sight. Seems easier. My good friend Jake turns spheres and ornament globes with a 3/8" round skew. Here's one he did recently:

Jake_sphere_skew.jpg


Rounding the sharp corners on a new skew used to be standard procedure. Doug Thompson makes all his skews with a half-circle radius on the "bottom" of the skew and softened edges on the "top" of the skew for when using the long point down for v-grooves and facing cuts. You might be able to see the radiused bottom on the tool on the right in this picture - it's a Thompson skew I ground into a negative rake scraper. I ground the other two from Thompson normal scraper stock.

NRS_IMG_7907.jpg

I don't remember if I mentioned this earlier (I'm elderly and feeble-minded) but my favorite book for learning the skew and other tools and turning is Mike Darlow's "Fundamentals of Woodturning."

JKJ