What type of turning tool

[Lulanrt]

I use a bowl gouge for pen turning. It seems to work fine but what should I be using? What does everyone else use? Thanks
Travis

 

[rlharding]

Travis, it's generally considered that a skew is the 'best' tool. I think that you should use what works for you. I use small and large skew (1/2" & 1"), spindle gouge, chisel, what have u. Some tools are certainly better than others for specific materials but I don't see a need to rush out and buy something if what you have works. IMHO.

 

[rjwolfe3]

Travis,
It's funny that you should post that because I have been seriously thinking of using a skew to turn bowls. I am waiting on tax return before I pick up a bowl gouge but have been itching to turn a bowl.

 

[mrcook4570]

Travis,
I have been seriously thinking of using a skew to turn bowls.

DO NOT attempt this. You may end up wearing the skew, bowl blank, or both as a hood ornament.

 

[mrcook4570]

Travis

While a bowl gouge will certainly work, a skew will leave a smoother surface on spindle work. This will save a lot of time sanding as you will be able to start at a much finer grit.

 

[Dario]

As mentioned...any tool that works for you is okay.

However, bowl gouge (for me) is not the best choice IMHO due to ff reasons:
1. Usually is more expensive.
2. Harder to sharpen
3. Usually, too long for pen.

Just my take.

I 2nd the DO NOT use a skew on bowls (though I tried it myself before) :biggrin: One catch and I ended up with deep spirals on my bowl :redface:. I imagine it could have been worse.

 

[its_virgil]

1 1/2 inch skew from square to almost finished. Then I change to a 3/8 skew to finish the pen.
Do a good turn daily!
Don

I use a bowl gouge for pen turning. It seems to work fine but what should I be using? What does everyone else use? Thanks
Travis

 

[jkeithrussell]

One word: SKEW

 

[Rudy Vey]

...some use only 60 grit paper:biggrin:
Joke aside, there are many personal choices out there. I use a spindle gouge to round over and go to about 1/8 bigger than the bushings, then I use a skew to finish turn. Sometimes I use a 1 1/2" roughing gouge instead of the spindle. Whatever works for you is fine - there are no rules!!

 

[guts]

I'm a big fan of the round nose scraper and have very good results with it.

 

[nava1uni]

It depends on the material. I use a skew, round nose scraper and a spindle gouge. On things like salt shakers, etc I use a roughing gouge and then a spindle gouge and then a skew. I even use some chisel that I have ground different shapes to get unusual profiles on different pieces.

 

[JimB]

I use a 3/4" roughing gouge then change to a skew for the last few passes to get it nice and smooth to reduce the sanding.

 

[HSTurning]

#3 and #4 hunter tool, 3/4" Roughing Gouge and i'm trying to figure out the skew

 

[NewLondon88]

I usually start with a roughing gouge, but if I just finished sharpening it, I
might continue the rest of the way without changing tools.

Lately I've been using the bedan and I'm starting to like that a lot.

I've never had much luck with a skew.. I'm not sure if it is my eyes, my
sense of touch, lack of experience .. but I only pick up a skew if I want to
throw the wood away, because that's what will end up happening.

 

[fernhills]

3/4" roughing gouge then finish with 1/2' skew,very smooth.

 

[Tn-Steve]

I've got the PSI version of the SpindleMaster, and I'm pleased with it AFTER I put a good polish on the back edge. It "burnishes" the wood as it cuts, sometimes it's almost tough to get a new cut to start, the wood is so smooth the edge just wants to glide over it.

Tiger Woods could beat me playing golf with a set of left handed womens clubs, and I suspect that some turners could get better results than me with an old screwdriver as their turning tool, but I like the SpindleMaster. (I do use a skew for cutting v-grooves, haven't gotten that down with the SM yet)

Steve

 

[TellicoTurning]

Travis,
It's funny that you should post that because I have been seriously thinking of using a skew to turn bowls. I am waiting on tax return before I pick up a bowl gouge but have been itching to turn a bowl.

I hope this is a joke, a skew on a bowl is just a disaster waiting to happen. I thought one time to use the skew to clean the outside of a bowl, the skew caught and kicked through my hand and landed under my workbench about 10 feet away... fortunately I was standing slightly to one side or it probably would have hit me in the gut.

 

[rjwolfe3]

Actually, no it wasn't. I was referring back to a post about a spalted bowl where a member said you don't need a bowl gouge to turn a bowl. He said he uses a monster tool and a scraper and then finishes the bowl with a skew. I didn't see any post that said that he was doing anything wrong and that post was just last week. Now before I get yelled at, I am not going to try a skew. I am going to try to pick a bowl gouge tomorrow at the Woodworking show in Columbus. I just get impatient sometimes.

 

[Dario]

BTW, IF you use the skew like a scraper...then yes you can use it on a bowl. You can also use it to put bead lines. :wink::biggrin:

EDIT: still not the best choice as scraper but just pointing out that you can.

 

[Lulanrt]

The name of the profile of the bowl gouge I use is called a fingernail grind. Looks like I am going to have to buy a skew. Thanks for all the great feedback.
Travis

 

[sparhawk]

I use a skew on my pens. Started out with a bowl gouge and finally converted over to the skew and wont use anything else now. ( as a side note I also use my skew to turn the outside of the few bowls i have turned and have not had a problem. Of course most of them are only 4-6 " wide.)

 

[TellicoTurning]

BTW, IF you use the skew like a scraper...then yes you can use it on a bowl. You can also use it to put bead lines. :wink::biggrin:

EDIT: still not the best choice as scraper but just pointing out that you can.

Dario,
That's what I was doing, using it as a scraper, but turned the edge slightly and zappppp right through my hand and across the shop.. it's a shock when a sharp too shoots through your hand like that. Fortunately, it was going with the blade away from my hand.

 

[Chris Bar]

New to pens and had no training, but have adopted a 1/2-inch roughing gouge to remove the corners, then a 1/2-inch spindle gouge to make the contour, then a 1/2 inch round nose scraper to finish as smooth as a wallstreet hacker. I must be doing it wrong though since I don't need any sandpaper.
I do finish with polishing compound but not sandpaper.

 

[Dario]

New to pens and had no training, but have adopted a 1/2-inch roughing gouge to remove the corners, then a 1/2-inch spindle gouge to make the contour, then a 1/2 inch round nose scraper to finish as smooth as a wallstreet hacker. I must be doing it wrong though since I don't need any sandpaper.

Like you, I can attain an acceptable finish with my tool (w/o sanding)...but I strive for better. I know that sanding can still improve it so I do it.

We all have different standards. If you get to inspect other people's work who use sandpaper/MM/polish compounds...you might consider changing (or not).

 

[Druid]

Skew is definately the way to go, however, it may take some practice to get comfortable with. Once you find that "sweet spot", you'll be in a whole new turning dimension and the finish will be awsome. One other tool you may also want to consider is the Spindlemaster by Sorby. This tool is a great tool to start with and can dd cuts that would require two or more tools to do. Check it out one day.

Cheers

 

[Skye]

Round Nose Scraper.

 

[spiritwoodturner]

Use whatever you like and whatever you're comfortable with and whatever works best for you. Personally, I don't believe there is a "perfect" choice for pens, because they each have advantages and clear disadvantages. I got comfortable with a bowl gouge long before I got comfortable with a skew, because I was turning bowls before I ever turned a pen. Some people turn pens first, so a skew's a logical choice.

Rob, tell us you were kidding about a skew inside the rim of a bowl! Yikes...wear a crash helmet...and a steel suit.

Dale

 

[rjwolfe3]

Actually I was referring to the skew for the outside of the bowl but just to assure you all I am not trying to kill myself, I went out and purchasing a set of bowl gouges. Now I just have to learn how to use that, lol.

 

[leehljp]

New to pens and had no training, but have adopted a 1/2-inch roughing gouge to remove the corners, then a 1/2-inch spindle gouge to make the contour, then a 1/2 inch round nose scraper to finish as smooth as a wallstreet hacker. I must be doing it wrong though since I don't need any sandpaper.
I do finish with polishing compound but not sandpaper.

There are some woods that won't give a decent finish with a scraper, IMO. Usually soft woods and some grains that have not been stabilized are just plum hard to smooth without sandpaper.

Times when sandpaper WON'T do: When doing segments with aluminum biased grain with holly; Holly and dark woods; other metal inlays. It "can" be done but there will be lots of cleaning.
. . . These problems led me to learn a way to turn so that I could get by without sanding on some pens. It works well, but experimenting is necessary.

One last thing: as to no sanding - keep notes on your turning, how sharp the gouge is, the hardness of the wood or if it is stabilized. And how smooth it is. (Yes, I know that is subjective) This subject is going to come up again, and your experience and expertise will be helpful.