Pretty big problem

[john taliaferro]

I make little Christmas trees sometimes and the pattern you talking about looks nice on my 1 1/2 x6 " trees . It was an accident at first but when i tried to do it again it turned out to be the hardest turning I have ever tried .So make some trees while you can . slow , dull, tool rest back ,hold the tool loose and let it bounce .

[Reed Gray]

Mark,
I will have to think about that for a bit, and try some more cutting in the shop. When roughing, I generally will cut as fast as the lathe will let me, and not at the speed in which the wood will cut cleanly. Can't say that I ever really noticed any bounce from that. Most of the time, well, almost all the time when roughing bowls, I am a psycho with the scrapers. The skill involved with finish cuts, for sure, means learning to feel when the wood is cutting cleanly, and when you are plowing through it with roughing cuts. I have notices, and it seems to be mostly on the inside, that some woods are just stringy, and will bounce no matter what you do.

robo hippy

[Royce Wallace]

If I had you at hand, I would have your turning technique corrected within 30 minutes. I AM DEPARTING from what others have said above. Forget riding on the bevel stuff--you cannot get a good cut "riding the bevel" period. A flat grind is the best way to cause your problem. You are a wood worker--think about how a good wood plane is presented to the wood--no bevel is on the wood--just the cutting edge-SO the cutting edge of the turning tool is presented to the wood the same way. The tool must be lifted slightly off of the bevel to make the proper cut -- a cut without the result you are getting. For this reason a turning tool is best sharpened with a bevel of the turning stone radius--not flat. For that reason turning tool sharpening jigs will present that type of edge. With your tool really sharp present it to the wood on a skew type of cut and lift the tool slightly off, or above, the bevel moving the direction you are cutting (r to l, l to r??) How much you must raise your tool will depend upon the cutting edge you have on the tool. Wish I had you here--hope this helps.

[Reed Gray]

Royce,

If I had you at hand in my shop, I could show you how to get a good, smooth, even, and clean bevel rubbing cut in 30 minutes. Sharp tool, light touch, learning how to move with the tool, and very gently rubbing the bevel. While a hand plane does not have a bevel to rub, it has a sole that it rides on to help control the cut.

robo hippy

[John Keeton]

Royce, just as a point of reference, Reed is not an amateur woodturner - actually, far from it. It sounds as though each of you may be discussing nearly the same thing, but from a different perspective.

[Art Brazee]

Terrific help!

I turned four legs this weekend to a George Nakashima Bench I'm working on. There's definitely something with bevel and speed. I amped the speed way up and that seem to help. However, not riding the bevel helped the most. I still got some feedback, sometimes. But, must less and I could control it to a degree.

As for the grind - I flat grind and that's not going to change. I'm set up for that and do it well. I think a hollow grind might help this problem, but so can lifting the tool.

Someone pointed out the speed is relative - the speed THROUGH the wood is really the key. I think they are right. However, turning a two inch blank at 2500 helped quite a bit.

The only issue I have with not riding the bevel is one of shape control. It's a bit easier (more control) riding the bevel. I think on bowls that subtle loss of control might a hard bitter pill as bowl shapes are so changed by the smallest change to radius.

[Royce Wallace]

Having just reviewed all of the foregoing, makes me wish a good club meeting was involved with all of you present with attitude.

[Reed Gray]

We just had our 'Empty Bowls' meeting where we all bought in bowls to be donated for the annual Food Bank auction. I was the one who took them in. In looking over the bowls, there were 3 universal problems:

One was sanding scratches.

Two was tear out.

Three was inside bowl bottoms that were more like washboards than smooth even curves.

The above three will make for good demonstrations for our club. As a professional, I am more persnickety than most, and a lot of what I do from years of learning/experience, can be taught. I have to learn that......

robo hippy