Newbie - straight vs curved skew?
#15
(07-28-2020, 04:01 PM)MichaelMouse Wrote: Why leave both as skews?  A straight chisel from the larger will plane beautifully, and the point on the smaller will cut across grain as well as the big one.  

FWIW, when the first fad for curved skews began maybe 30+ years ago, I modified one of mine.  Still can't figure out what I gained, but I didn't lose anything, and I'm too lazy to take him back to straight.  It works, but no gain over non-radiused, to my ability.

I thought about getting one which is susposed to get rid of dig in but keep using my old one which I will have to replace soon since it is almost down to nothing.

(07-28-2020, 04:45 PM)SceneryMaker Wrote: The cheapest way I've found to learn and practice tool control is to put a foot long pine 2 x 2 between a live center in the tailstock and a cup center (frequently called a safety center these days), a stebb center, or a spur drive in the headstock.  I like the cup center best.

Practice turning:
1. down to round
2. a constant diameter
3. a specific diameter
4. a taper
5. multiple beads (convex cuts)
6. multiple coves (concave cuts)

By the time you've turned a couple of 10' 2x4s into shavings (that's 40 practice pieces), you should be on your way.

When doing these, a catch will probably happen, causing the wood to spin on the driving center with no damage or excitement.  Just pull the tool out, tighten the tailstock, and resume what you were doing.

Whenever you want to try a new tool or a new cut, try it on a practice setup first.  Once you can repeatably produce a good cut on a practice setup, you can then use it on real pieces.

I also strongly recommend a live class to get you started.

Also look for Mark Silay's videos on slicing cuts.  I found those immensely helpful.

Everyone I teach starts with pine or ceder.  I tell them if they can make that smooth and without ripping out the fibers they can turn almost anything.   They start with beads and coves and then after afew hours of that using the skew to plane with to take off all the beads or coves they are working on.
As of this time I am not teaching vets to turn. Also please do not send any items to me without prior notification.  Thank You Everyone.

It is always the right time, to do the right thing.
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#16
I'm confused by the question/comments - a curved profile on a skew is supposed to work like a curved profile on a jack plane. The difference of course being that the wood the skew makes contact with is also curved so don't you always get a shaving that is thin on both sides like the one from a jack plane? I would think a curved skew would just exaggerate that.

My skews are all straight.

Now oval skews I thought had oval x-sections which supposedly made them easier to roll for beads and such.

One sided skews I thought were only due to manufacturing. They were laid/laminated steel from the days when good quality high carbon steel was expensive. They might be nice to use for the same reasons old laminated plane irons are nice to use.

Obviously, you would need a left and a right if the bevel was only on one side.
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#17
(08-07-2020, 04:29 PM)adamcherubini Wrote: I'm confused by the question/comments - a curved profile on a skew is supposed to work like a curved profile on a jack plane.  The difference of course being that the wood the skew makes contact with is also curved so don't you always get a shaving that is thin on both sides like the one from a jack plane?  I would think a curved skew would just exaggerate that.  

Unlike the plane iron, if you try to have more than ~1/3 of the skew edge in contact with and cutting the wood at the same time, the result will not be pretty. Using it as a drop-nose scraper doesn't count.

There are several skew curved-cutting-edge profiles promoted. IIRC, the Lacer grind and the Raffin grind are slightly different on the toe side: the Lacer grind is straight across there and the Raffin is not quite straight across. For me, the Lacer grind is easier to use for pommel cuts.

With the straight edge skew, one can do a planing cut, but that tends to give a lot more tearout than what you get doing a planing cut with the Lacer grind.

(08-07-2020, 04:29 PM)adamcherubini Wrote: My skews are all straight.

Now oval skews I thought had oval x-sections which supposedly made them easier to roll for beads and such.

That was the marketing push for the oval skews. It also makes them harder to hand sharpen and much less stable when doing most cuts. It works much better to break the edges slightly on the toe side (so as not to damage the toolrest) and round the edges on the heel side (basically, a semi-circular edge to the tool to make it easier to roll beads). This skew cross-section is occasionally available commercially.

(08-07-2020, 04:29 PM)adamcherubini Wrote: One sided skews I thought were only due to manufacturing.  They were laid/laminated steel from the days when good quality high carbon steel was expensive. They might be nice to use for the same reasons old laminated plane irons are nice to use.

Obviously, you would need a left and a right if the bevel was only on one side.

I have never used a one-sided skew chisel. I think that you might be right about their origin (adding case-hardening to the laminated blade idea) of the one-sided skew. If I understand properly, there used to be common use of turning chisels that were ground like a bench chisel. I am too new to turning to have used those, too.
"the most important safety feature on any tool is the one between your ears." - Ken Vick

A wish for you all:  May you keep buying green bananas.
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#18
(08-07-2020, 04:29 PM)adamcherubini Wrote: One sided skews I thought were only due to manufacturing.  They were laid/laminated steel from the days when good quality high carbon steel was expensive. They might be nice to use for the same reasons old laminated plane irons are nice to use.

Obviously, you would need a left and a right if the bevel was only on one side.
Actually I have a pair of 'one sided' skews that I got with a used lathe I bought many years ago.  Typically I only use them when making beads on a turning.  Don't expect to use them for rough turnings, they won't work well there.  You do need to keep them sharp and mine sharpen nicely using an Arkansas stone.
If I had to guess, I'd say the ones I have are 50+ years old, but still work good.
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