Is it possible?

[John Carmack]

I have a bunch of bowling pins that I hollow out and turn into birdhouses. I was wondering if it's possible to get a skew-like surface on the entirety of the outside with a tool to eliminate most of the sanding time? I've tried scrapers, shear scraping, different skews, a spindle master, roughing and bowl gouges, but haven't been able figure out how to make an entire pass on a pin leaving a consistent surface all the way.

[Tom Wilson66]

If you have a sharp skew or gouge and cut downhill, the surface should be fairly uniform. If it is not, you are likely burnishing the wood with the bevel of the tool. This is easily removed by sanding through the grits. If you are trying to avoid sanding, good luck.

[John K Jordan]

It looks like the pins are laminated, probably for strength? I can't tell for sure which way the grain runs in the various pieces but if they are all going the same way you might get the best result, not in one continuous pass, but in several segments starting at the high points and as mention, cutting "down hill" just like normally cutting beads and coves. Sometimes you can cut uphill with a skew but it depends on the wood, the grind angle of the skew, the sharpness, and the lightness of the cut. Probably easier just to do it in segments and blend between.

A sharp roughing gouge might work better than the skew, again depending on the wood, etc., or a wide, shallow forged or continental-style spindle gouge.

JKJ

[Stan Calow]

How about a carbide-tipped cutter?

[Gary Campbell]

John...
I agree with Stan on the Carbide cutter. Not 100% on the same subject as your question, but here is how I get the required quality:

7-8 mins into this video: https://youtu.be/WpLfE6kn0j4

+/- 4 mins into this one: https://youtu.be/e9xkut4bm90

[Dennis Ford]

How about a carbide-tipped cutter?

A hunter type carbide cutter is capable of leaving a very good surface although the learning curve to use it may be as steep as the other tools mentioned. I agree that a single cut is not likely to produce the best result. I think that practice will result in minimal sanding.

[Reed Gray]

You won't be able to make one finish cut pass along the whole length of the pin because of grain orientation. You always need to cut down hill, so 4 finish cut passes starting from the high spots and cutting to the low. Other than that, it is practice. I like the Thompson fluteless gouges for some thing like that, but maybe a detail gouge for the rounded top.

Maybe a negative rake scraper which would have to be sharpened once or twice, so, still no uninterrupted cut. but I would still prefer a bevel rubbing cut, or shear scrape.

robo hippy

[Dan Forman]

With such gentle curves, you can use a drill with a sanding mandrel for sanding just like on a bowl, which would save some time over hand sanding if your surface leaves something to be desired.

Dan

[John Carmack]

Thanks for all the different info. I included some pictures. The first 2 were done with a skew. I think going down hill in opposite directions causes different effects with the tung oil I used. It's noticeably darker toward the top of the pin and lighter in the middle and bottom. The second 2 pictures show a pin sanded 100 - 600 then added some tung oil. I guess sanding seems the only way to get a consistent finish over the whole thing and is quicker than me experimenting with all sorts of tools for hours with barely any pin left when I'm done, lol.

[Reed Gray]

Especially with the last picture, it looks like there is grain problems from the glue up of the pin. Only way I have been able to tame that kind of tear out is with a shear scrape, and I prefer swept back scrapers for the cut, and the burr from a 600 grit wheel, or lots of 80 grit. That tear out is pretty deep.

robo hippy

[John Carmack]

Hmm. Yeah, the grain goes all sorts of ways. I mostly want to get the rough cut tool marks off and hopefully sand above 100 grit after that. What carbide cutters would you recommend? I was thinking about the Hunter Hercules or Easy Wood Tools finisher. What is most versitile and leaves a decent surface?

[John K Jordan]

Hmm. Yeah, the grain goes all sorts of ways. I mostly want to get the rough cut tool marks off and hopefully sand above 100 grit after that. What carbide cutters would you recommend? I was thinking about the Hunter Hercules or Easy Wood Tools finisher. What is most versitile and leaves a decent surface?

I am personally a fan of the Hunter tools. You can even use them in the bevel-rubbing mode instead of scraping. The Hercules and Osprey are my favorites due to the built-in angles but any of the straight-shank tools should work with care.

I know a lot of people swear by the Easy Wood tools but I haven't tried one called a "finisher." I bought several of their tools years ago and found them too crude and recently gave them away. Maybe their newer tools are better.

JKJ

[John Carmack]

I got the Hercules, but am having a hard time trying to finish cut with it without getting mini-cove type of cuts since it's a round cutter. Know what I mean? Not sure how to correct it. Sometimes when I try the skew or spindle master I get spiral cuts. That's from the wood vibrating, right?

[John K Jordan]

I got the Hercules, but am having a hard time trying to finish cut with it without getting mini-cove type of cuts since it's a round cutter. Know what I mean? Not sure how to correct it. Sometimes when I try the skew or spindle master I get spiral cuts. That's from the wood vibrating, right?

It's hard to tell without seeing what you are doing. I have a number of Hunter tools and get clean cuts with them. There are some videos on the Hercules and other Hunter tools, the one by John Lucas on the Osprey might help with the Hercules - it is about the same but smaller.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMt-eyqbM7o

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nfp2kvhH6Mo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FnFdDo0jxGU

If you are getting little coves it sounds like you might not be moving the tool smoothly. One hand should hold right at the tool rest and use the tool rest as a guide. Cutting in the bevel-rubbing mode, such as you would with a conventional gouge, can give a pretty smooth cut. When you say "spirals" do you mean spiraling around the circumference or what? Maybe post a picture.

If you are getting vibration/chatter you should hear and feel it. If the work is mounted securely chatter might be from not making light enough cuts. Perhaps you can get someone else to take a look at what you are doing.

JKJ

[John Carmack]

I've watched those videos dozens of times, lol. Maybe I'll work on some videos to share when I get back to my shop next week. I was trying to use it in "bevel rubbing mode" at a 45 degree angle, but I think it's difficult to figure out the dance or right positions of the tool when trying to follow the changes in the curves of the bowling pins.

When I said spirals, I meant like a rippling spiral effect on some parts of the pin. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it doesn't. I think I'm pretty bad at pressing the tool against the wood very stiff. I had a bad catch with a skew once and I'm always making sure the bevel is rubbing (maybe too hard) and the tip is nowhere near catching.