# Porper Use Of A Skew??



## Randy_ (Dec 8, 2008)

*Proper Use Of A Skew??*

Like many here, I am a self taught turner. I have read a book or two, seen Norm do his lathe thing on PBS and turned many a 2x4 into shavings. That being the case, I don't know all of the technical terms and probably have a few bad habits.

One thing that has always puzzled me is the difference between a shearing cut and a planing cut when using a skew. I was looking through another lathe book that I borrowed from the library, read their explanation and am now more confused than ever.

Can anyone out there explain the difference to an apparently skew challenged individual in a few simple sentences or suggest a resource that will help me wrap my brain around the concept? Chances are that I am already using both of these techniques; but am just drawing a blank in attaching the proper tag to the actual technique.

Thanks.


----------



## jkeithrussell (Dec 8, 2008)

http://www.woodworkinglathe.com/page4.htm

There are some photos attached to the link that might help.


----------



## TellicoTurning (Dec 8, 2008)

Nope, can't help... I have all the bad habits with the skew too..


----------



## Dario (Dec 8, 2008)

Best short description I can recall is "45-45-45"

Start with your skew placed perpendicular to your tool rest, short edge to the right.

1. Tilt your tool 45 degrees from the tool rest by moving the handle towards the head stock.
2. Rotate the tool 45 degrees to its side by turning the handle clockwise. (It is nice if you round the corners of your skew's lower sides, else it can damage your tool rest)
3. Tilt the tool 45 degrees up by putting the handle down.

Not sure if it makes any sense...can't seem to put it in words properly.

It is a tricky cut that may result in spirals to your spindle after a catch but once mastered, it will produce the smoothest surface possible.

BTW, you have to lower your tool rest a bit.  It works well for me using a curved edged skew.  It also helps me when I use the lower part (shorter edge below mid point) to cut.  I also cut at around 2 o'clock of the spindle (3 o'clock being the side closet to the tool rest)

Hope this helps.


----------



## CaptG (Dec 8, 2008)

What, there is a right and wrong way to use one?


----------



## LEAP (Dec 8, 2008)

Randy,
Dario described a shearing cut perfectly. A planning cut is similiar to using a scraper except that you start riding the bevel high on the spindle and then lower the edge along the bevel until it starts to plane the wood off. I use it to approach the diameter for a tenon or to quickly remove lots of material when turning softer woods.


----------



## LabTrnr (Dec 8, 2008)

Check out Alan Lacer's videos on using the skew, he is the ultimate skew guru.


----------



## Randy_ (Dec 9, 2008)

Keith:  That is a great page!!  Thanks.  The pictures were very helpful.  Guess the books I read earlier just didn't have very good graphics.


----------



## ldb2000 (Dec 9, 2008)

One thing not mentioned so far is "Riding the bevel" . For the smoothest cuts you should be riding the bevel then just lightly tilt the cutting edge into your cut . When you get the cutting angle right you will get wispy ribbons of wood (on most woods and acrylics including most tru stones) . This cut is difficult to learn but well worth the effort . When you get shearing cuts down you will be able to put away your 80 grit skew and start your sanding at 400 .
A word of warning about planing cuts . Plaining cuts remove allot of wood , quickly , and the plaining action can very easily lead to dig ins and tear out . The angle you use must be very shallow and even , a curved edge skew is best for this kind of cut .


----------



## Randy_ (Dec 9, 2008)

Dario said:


> .....2. Rotate the tool 45 degrees to its side by turning the handle clockwise. (It is nice if you round the corners of your skew's lower sides, else it can damage your tool rest)......


 
Good description, Dario.  Thanks.  Are you left handed?:biggrin:
 
I have a set of small tools (12") that I bought from PSI early in my turning career.  They were in use only long enough for me to make a trip to HF and get their $40 set of big tools.  The one benefit that I derived from that PSI set was an understanding of the value of having rounded corners on the lower side of the skew.  The PSI skew actually had an oval cross-section; but rounding the corners on a rectangular cross-section works just as well.  When I bought the set from HF, the two skews went to the grinder before ever seeing the lathe!!:wink:
 
 


Dario said:


> .....It is a tricky cut that may result in spirals to your spindle after a catch.....


I've had that happen to me; but only with Corian.  Once those damn spirals get established, they are tough to get rid of or at least, they were for me!!
 


Dario said:


> .....It works well for me using a curved edged skew. It also helps me when I use the lower part (shorter edge below mid point) to cut. I also cut at around 2 o'clock of the spindle (3 o'clock being the side closet to the tool rest)  Hope this helps.


 
I don't have a curved edge skew; but have been thinking about regrinding one of the straight ones that I own.  @ o'clock sounds about like what I do.


----------



## Randy_ (Dec 9, 2008)

LEAP said:


> .....A planning cut is similiar to using a scraper except that you start riding the bevel high on the spindle and then lower the edge along the bevel until it starts to plane the wood off......


 
Got it Phil.  Thanks!!  I understand the technique, just didn't know the name to put on it.  Now I do.


----------



## Randy_ (Dec 9, 2008)

ldb2000 said:


> One thing not mentioned so far is "Riding the bevel"......


 
Thanks, Butch.  Bevel riding is not a puzzle to me.  In fact, it turns out none of these techniques are really a puzzle to me.  I have been using all of these techniques, relatively successfully, for quite a while   Turns out I just didn't know what to properly call them.
 
Thanks to everyone for your comments.  Everyone was a big help.
 
Now I can go and get confused about something else.  Anyone want to try to explain String Theory to me??:biggrin:


----------



## Randy_ (Dec 9, 2008)

Thought some might be interested in the reason this thread was started.
 
From the glossery of the lathe book I am studying right now:
 
Planing cut-The cut made by a skew chisel when it is cutting properly.  (so called because the geometry of the cut is similar that made by a hand plane.)

Shear cut-The cut made when the bevel of a turning tool is presented tangentially to the work surface,  This gives a positive- rake-angle cut that pares wood and leaves a good surface finish.

I won't name the author to protect the guilty.


----------



## Dario (Dec 9, 2008)

Randy_ said:


> Good description, Dario.  Thanks.  Are you left handed?:biggrin:



Nope, I am a skinny right handed man :biggrin:

You can reverse the presentation for cuts toward the head stock but I favor cuts toward the tailstock.  Not sure why.


----------



## Blind_Squirrel (Dec 9, 2008)

CaptG said:


> What, there is a right and wrong way to use one?



Right way: tool cuts wood
Wrong way: tool catches and takes a divot out of the wood


----------



## Wildman (Dec 9, 2008)

Am a left handed man, but turn with either hand. Always thought you have three ways to use a skew chisel. Shear cutting already explained, can also shear with the toe (pointed part of the tool. Peeling cut for making tenons. Scrapping.  While you can modify the grind on a skew for shear scrapping. An old trick done with carbon steel tools. I use a skew to scrap high spots on a spindle or define a bead better. Scrapping with a skew doesn't always look pretty.

Richard Raffan video helped me learn to use the skew better, learned about shear scrapping from Del Stubs video.


----------



## LEAP (Dec 9, 2008)

Wildman,
you forgot opening paint cans!!


----------



## rherrell (Dec 9, 2008)

The best advice I can give is to raise your toolrest when using a skew. Come at your work more over the top, not on center like you do with other tools. Start real high and move the rest down until you find that "sweet spot" for your particular tool.:wink:


----------



## monkeynutz (Dec 9, 2008)

You can get Alan Lacer's curved-edge skews online and at some Woodcrafts.  You can also grind your own skew this way, but that's not as easy as it looks.  Whichever way you go (straight or curved), make sure you have a reliable way to sharpen *often*.  A dull skew is a disaster looking for a place to happen.  With a little practice, you'll wonder how you got along without it.


----------



## Darrin (Dec 9, 2008)

The best skew in my opinion is the Oval skew. Riding the bevel is easy and it takes minimal effort to learn, in my honest opinion. For about a month now I have been roughing out the blank then using the trusty skew. ALWAYS keep it extra sharp as well. Planing I believe is when you basically rough out the blank with the skew vs. shearing which is closer to a fine cut. Im also a self taught turner so dunno if this will help or not


----------



## Wildman (Dec 10, 2008)

Leap, don’t find your remark about opening paint cans very funny.   No, didn’t list everything you can do with a skew! 

Have been turning wood for many years, and have seen authors and demonstrators use different term to mean the same thing.  As describe in this thread “Shearing & Planning Cut,”  the same technique for using a skew chisel. 

Shear scraping is a different technique.  Can you use a skew chisel for shear scraping? Yes,  have to be both lucky and good! Del Stubbs demonstrates that technique with old Sears skew chisels in his Bowl Turning DVD.  Not sure if John Jordan demonstrates the technique in any of his DVD’s. Check out John Jordan’s shear scrapper $74.95 in Packard Woodworks catalog.


----------



## marcruby (Dec 10, 2008)

Darrin said:


> The best skew in my opinion is the Oval skew.



This is a perpetual battle among skewers (!).  One of my first skews was an oval, I found it an incredibly frustrating tool.  They seem more prone to catches and are too light weight to offer solid, vibration free turing.  Then I attended one of Lacer's classes and the oval skew now lays at the bottom of my 'loaner' drawer.

I would argue that Alan Lacer patterned skews are the best.  It's easier to rub the bevel,, the curved edge makes for a longer sweet spot, and they're easy to sharpen by hand.  To be fair though, I have a friend who thinks exactly like you.  It really has a lot more to do with turning style than anything else.  Either tool is capable of fine work.

Marc


----------



## monkeynutz (Dec 11, 2008)

That is very true, Marc.  Some people can make a skew sing, and others can (and do) get a mirror finish with a *roughing gouge*.  It's all about the tool that you can easiest "become one" with.


----------



## Scott (Dec 11, 2008)

I was totally mystified by the skew for a long time.  I remember the first time TxBob came to visit me, and he had to break it to me that I was using the skew as a scraper.  I said, yeah, but it makes a great scraper!   ;-)

The first time I REALLY understood how a skew could be used was while watching Stuart Mortimer.  Up until then it seemed that even those who knew how to use a skew also seemed to fear it to a certain extent.  To Stuart, it seemed to be a delightful tool, that could be used for most anything you really wanted to turn!  There was no fear, but there was a lot of enjoyment!  So I convinced myself to lose the fear of the skew, have some fun, and don't be so worried about what people think of how you are using your skew.

Nowadays I love using my skews!  My favorite one is an Alan Lacer skew, about 1 1/4" wide, a big heavy monster.  It is so sweet!  I really enjoy roughing a spindle down to round with that thing, going back and forth, cutting in both directions.  Zip, zip, zip, zip!  What fun!  Lose your inhibitions about the skew and start having some fun!

Scott.


----------



## Gary Max (Dec 11, 2008)

I to was Skew challenged----then I spent a hour watching Alan Lacer work in person.
I watched him sharpen a skew and make cuts that where so fine I just stood there in disbelief ---then he would throw curls into the air that where perfect.
I will never be the master that he is but trust me ---my skew is now my friend and we spend lots of time together.


----------

