A little skew practice

[Terry Quiram]

Using up some Cherry I got last week. These are about 12" long and just about perfect for practicing the dreaded skew. I made these from the center slab area either side of the pith.

Terry

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Those are pretty cool Terry. I never thought about using the pith slab waste for something like that. I just toss them on the firewood pile. I always thought they could be bandsawn up for Pen Blanks, but I have more of those now than I will ever use. How did you make the tapered spatula end? Was that bandsawn to a taper after the handles were turned? Now, are ya gonna let Connie cook with those, or hang them on the wall?!?!?

Nice job of "Skewing around" Terry. That is one tool that I don't have much confidence with.................every time I try that devil iron on a bowl, I regret that crazy notion. Maybe I should chuck up some spindle stock and practice more...............but bowls are Sooooo much more fun!

[Jim Becker]

Nice job of "Skewing around" Terry. That is one tool that I don't have much confidence with.................every time I try that devil iron on a bowl, I regret that crazy notion. Maybe I should chuck up some spindle stock and practice more...............but bowls are Sooooo much more fun!

Stick with spindles when it comes to the skew! It's really best with grain oriented with the spindle/ways.

Terry, very nice job on these and a nice example of getting "everything" out of the log you can.

[Terry Quiram]

Kevin

I band sawed the profile before turning. The edges of the paddle are rounded. I mount it betweed the chuck and tailstock with the paddle in the chuck jaws. Turning about 3000 rpm the paddle really howls. Your skew needs to be SHARP. These are for cooking and they are going to the guy that gave me the tree. Jim is right, keep that skew away from bowls. I have a pretty nice example of a bowl/skew gone wrong.

Terry

[Tom Hintz]

Terry,
Nice work! Isn't it fun to get more relaxed with the skew?
A while ago I bought a couple of Richard Raffan tapes and became intrigued with the skew. I started practicing some of the tings I saw Raffan do and before long I was a lot more comfortable with it which lets me get better in terms of control.
I also agree that a bowl is no place for a skew!

[Bill Grumbine]

Very nice Terry! It is always exciting to have that big flap of wood spinning so close to your hand, isn't it?

Bill

[Dave Anderson NH]

Nice job Terry. I used to be afraid of the skew and get some really nasty catches to mess up what I was working on. I now own 3 skews and they all get used constantly. The only way to get better is to practice, practice, practice........ After turning over 100 marking knife handles, a few dozen awl handles, and a bunch of different style handles for files, chisels, and other tools I now actually enjoy using the skew. It's fun and it gives a finish which requires minimal, if any, sanding.


Now that I've seen your spatulas, I think I'm going to have to try making some myself. Imitation being the sincereest form of flattery.