Is it safe to use a skew chisel for a lathe tool?

[Frederick Skelly]

Hi guys,
A couple years ago I made two skew chisels for hand-cutting dovetail joints. They are only bevelled on one side, not two. And the bevel is set at 25*. But they are small enough that I could use them on a bottle stopper Im making.

Is there anything unsafe with my trying this out?

I dont mind if it turns out they dont work too well. Its an experiment, using a piece of scrap. I just dont want to get hurt. (I havent yet learned enough to judge whether an operation is unsafe on a lathe. )

Thank you!
Fred

[David Gilbert]

Your skew chisels should work with small spindle turnings where the grain is running parallel to the bed of the lathe. Since these are probably O1 tool steel you will probably be sharpening them on a regular basis.

The only time I have ever used a skew chisel while turning a bowl (where the grain runs perpendicular to the bed) is when I used it as a Negative Rake Scraper. Using a skew to make actual cuts on the outside of a bowl could be one of the most dangerous actions you could take on a lathe.

Since your bottle stoppers are turned as spindles you should be OK. You should use your Spindle Roughing Gouge to round your scrap before going to you skew.

Good luck.

Cheers,
David

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks David!

[Mark Greenbaum]

Watch David Raffan videos, he's the master of the skew.

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks Mark!

[John K Jordan]

Hi guys,
A couple years ago I made two skew chisels for hand-cutting dovetail joints. They are only bevelled on one side, not two. And the bevel is set at 25*. But they are small enough that I could use them on a bottle stopper Im making.

Is there anything unsafe with my trying this out?

I dont mind if it turns out they dont work too well. Its an experiment, using a piece of scrap. I just dont want to get hurt. (I havent yet learned enough to judge whether an operation is unsafe on a lathe. )

Thank you!
Fred

Fred, a one-bevel skew is no problem - consider a bedan which is a single bevel tool, basically a narrow (unskewed) shew. :-) BTW, most Americans use the bedan bevel down while the originators (French) use it bevel up.

However, the bevel angles of your skews are quite small. While this will cut very well it might be more difficult to control and more easily catch.

Many lathe skew chisels are ground with an included bevel angle closer to 40 degrees. The larger the angle, the more "forgiving" the skew and the less likely to catch. I usually give beginners a skew ground to about 45 degrees (if I'm remembering the angle values correctly - it's been a long time since I actually measured one. I can measure some tomorrow if you want.)

JKJ

[John K Jordan]

Your skew chisels should work with small spindle turnings where the grain is running parallel to the bed of the lathe. Since these are probably O1 tool steel you will probably be sharpening them on a regular basis.

The only time I have ever used a skew chisel while turning a bowl (where the grain runs perpendicular to the bed) is when I used it as a Negative Rake Scraper. Using a skew to make actual cuts on the outside of a bowl could be one of the most dangerous actions you could take on a lathe.

Since your bottle stoppers are turned as spindles you should be OK. You should use your Spindle Roughing Gouge to round your scrap before going to you skew.

I think more important than the grain orientation is the size of the skew relative to the diameter of the piece. If the diameter is large and the skew small the leading (long) point cannot easily be held away from the wood and a spectacular dig-in catch is likely.

A gouge, even when ground straight across like a typical roughing gouge, is safer on a large diameter since the leading points are curved away from the wood.

jkj

[Frederick Skelly]

As always, thanks John!

You just cleared up another newbie mystery for me - book I read said included angles on a skew can range from about 40 about 25*. Said something that led me to believe using 25* was "better". Maybe I'll regrind one to 40* and see if that works better for me.

Fred

[Reed Gray]

Part of how they can be used is the nose angle, as in, is it square across the top, skewed to one side, or spear point where it is skewed to both sides? You would most likely rub the bevel side of the skew as you cut with it, rather than the flat side, though both could work. The double bevel on the standard lathe skew chisels makes it easier to cut from left to right, and right to left. So, yes, it could work, but a more standard skew would work better, as would M2, at least, high speed steel. I would consider a 40 degree bevel to be a bit blunt, and more in line with bowl gouge bevels. There is an excellent video on You Tube of Allen Batty on how to use the skew. He is an excellent teacher.

robo hippy

[John K Jordan]

As always, thanks John! You just cleared up another newbie mystery for me - book I read said included angles on a skew can range from about 40 about 25*. Said something that led me to believe using 25* was "better". Maybe I'll regrind one to 40* and see if that works better for me.
Fred

Ok, I measured thirteen of the skews I use (some more than other), three spares in the drawer with Doug Thompson's factory grind, and four cheap skews in my junk box I keep for giveaway, reshaping for special use, or for killing mountain lions. The skews are from 1/4" to 1.25" across, made from rectangular, oval, square, and round stock, some home-made. I measured included angles from 25-deg to 60-deg skews but those I use the most are around 40 to 45-deg. Some are larger angles, "blunter" than I remembered.

I also looked through some books on my shelf for recommended grinding angles. Various authors recommended from 25-deg to 50-deg.

Also, some of us had a discussion about this on another forum a few months ago but I can't find it at the moment. I can remember some of it.

There are definitely advantages and disadvantages to different angles depending on the type and actual wood, type of cut, skill level, and circumstances. There are also personal preferences to the "skew angle" (angle of the edge to the side), a curved vs straight edge, and hollow ground vs flat ground.

I will try to write a note about what I found and probably post it in a new thread so others might see it easier. It might not be today since I'm under a deadline to finish preparing for a kids' program for this Sunday!

(BTW, long ago designed and made a skew that is impossible to catch. They said it couldn't be done! Of course, it has limitations - it only works on beads, groves, and facing cuts, not on planing cuts. good clean fun!)

JKJ

[Perry Hilbert Jr]

home made stuff is nice. Just remember that the longer the handle the more control you have over it. If you made something out of short stock, it will be harder to control the cut. A matter of leverage with the tool rest as the fulcrum.Somewhere I picked up a nice skew chisel with a short small diameter handle. All kinds of problems with catches because I had trouble contrrolling the angle with the short handle. I slipped an 18 inch piece of PVC pipe over it and pinned that fast. Once it was 24 inches long, I had much improved control.

[Guy Belleman]

A skew chisel is fine for turning, so is any sharp piece of metal. It is the technique that is important. My biggest disasters have been with the skew, and the finest pieces. Raffan makes it look easy, but I find that only after hours of practice or refresher does the tool handling become more natural.

[John K Jordan]

... Just remember that the longer the handle the more control you have over it. If you made something out of short stock, it will be harder to control the cut. A matter of leverage with the tool rest as the fulcrum.Somewhere I picked up a nice skew chisel with a short small diameter handle. All kinds of problems with catches because I had trouble contrrolling the angle with the short handle. I slipped an 18 inch piece of PVC pipe over it and pinned that fast. Once it was 24 inches long, I had much improved control.

Perry,

I'm curious - for the skew with the short handle you had trouble with, how far did the point extend from the end of the handle?

The reason I ask is I found two things in the years I've been using the skew: one, I prefer short handles, and two, I dislike long tool "extensions". I looked at some of my skews today. My most used skews have 8" long handles with others from 6" to 12"-13". The steel extension of my favorite skews is about 4", some are closer to 3", some are about 5" or a little more. This lets me put my right hand fairly close to the tool rest and with my arm tight against my side I have good control of the cut.

One very good Thompson 1/2" skew is mounted in a long handle so the cutting edge is extended maybe 8" from the ferrule. I find this skew VERY difficult to use. For one thing, this puts my right hand way back from the tool rest. Control requires exaggerated body motion. Cutting beads requires wider sweeps of the controlling hand making the coordinated twist, sweep, thrust, and lift motions more difficult for me with a long handle.

A lot might depend on the type of work. I do a lot of smaller spindles and like to do very thin spindles. For these, I hold the skew with one hand only and use the other hand as a steady rest. A long handle would be difficult to use. An 8" handle with a short tool extension is perfect since my right hand can be right up close to the tool rest and I press the end of the handle against my forearm for support. For cutting small beads and coves on thin spindles even better are the 6" handles which are easy to use one-handed.

Frank Penta told me once that the "trades" in Europe used very short handles for most work. In his amazing shop many of the tools closest to the lathe have very short handles. One very useful skew he made for me has a 6" handle with the steel held in an adapter with set screws so the extension can be set as desired. This is a 1/4" skew made from a round HSS rod. Very easy to control.

(I may be a renegade but I use a number of spindle tools with no handles. Simply not needed for smaller work.)

JKJ

[Len Mullin]

Fred, is there any way possible for you to post a picture of the "skew chisel" your talking about? If the tool was made for doing handwork, it may not be safe to use for lathe work. If it's made like a regular skew chisel, then no, I would not recommend you use it for turning. If it was made to be used as skew chisel for wood turning, then sure go ahead and use it. But, I would like to see how you have it shaped at the tip, and what bevel you have on it?
Len

[Frederick Skelly]

Thanks again everyone!

Len,
That chisel is exactly what you're visualizing - it's a 1/4" buck bothers chisel ground so that the blade is skewed at probably a 50* or 60* angle with a 25* bevel. The skew is very pronounced because I was frustrated cleaning out the corners of half blind dovetails. The tip of that skew comes to a very sharp point.

I dont have a pic handy but could take one if that description isnt enough. Just let me know.

Fred