Skew vid

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ed4copies

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A different approach!!

You look over my shoulder as I turn a piece of alternative ebony (resin) with the skew.

We cover doing it wrong, listening for sounds of success, etc. Actually, this is the first vid I have done that allows you to hear all the sounds of turning.

As usual, I am interested in feedback.

The more comments, the more likely I will do this again soon.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

Enjoy!!

skew used to turn alt ebony pen blank - YouTube
 
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flyitfast

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Another very helpful video for us "skew challenged ones"!
It definitely helped me find another use for the "paint can opener"
It cleared up the position of the skew and how to avoid catches.
Too late to head for the shop, but I'll be trying your hints in the morning.
Thanks Ed.
gordon
 

Band Saw Box

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Another great video Ed, I think it will help me master the use of the skew. I'll practice on some scrap when I finish some projects I need to do. I'm thinking about doing a video of how I use it to get feed back on how I'm using it.
 

ed4copies

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Good video thanks!
Especially helpful is the comments position of the hands.

Vibration is NOT your friend!!

Hold your tool firmly (as opposed to a death grip) so that you control the movement. If the tool hits a "hard spot", it wants to rotate in your hand--IF that happens you will get a chip out.

MUCH of turning is confidence. As you experience more times that you prevent a chip out, you become more confident that you CAN and will keep the tool controlled and it will go where YOU direct it.

These are the things you gain with practice==but it's a great feeling when you have the tool under control!!
 

walshjp17

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Thanks for the video, Ed. You've skewed my thoughts vis-à-vis that tool and I will now go try a few blanks only using a skew.

Your comments on the size of the skew make tremendous sense; I had not thought of that.
 

Cmiles1985

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Thank you kindly Ed. Your video is amazingly helpful. I'll be going back to my skew once I finish my worthless wood blanks. For them, I used a 3/4" roughing gouge to get them round, then using carbide to get them to size. I may try one or two with the skew for grins.
 

Mguyre

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Great video! I need to modify a skew like yours. How do you shape/sharpen it?
 

buttonsHT

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Ok so... for years I've been slightly afraid of using a skew chisel since I had a couple bad catches that scared the .... outta me. I've watched this video 3 times now and today I sharpened up my skew, put a blank on the lathe and turned it without issues!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH ED!!! hahaha I'm still not 100% confident with it but I feel much better and safer using it now.
 

ed4copies

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Great video! I need to modify a skew like yours. How do you shape/sharpen it?


I honestly don't care what the shape is.

If you have the conventional straight edge at an angle, leaving you with a "long point" design, it can be useful for cutting off a lot of material in one pass---But it can also "catch" easier if you are not paying attention when you take the tool away from the cut.

A "flatter" design is much less likely to catch, since the points are not as pronounced.

But hand me a skew and within a couple passes, it will be obeying----that's the objective.:wink::wink::wink:
 

low_48

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Your technique from left to right is better than right to left Ed. You are getting a much better finish. I also think you would get slightly better if you relaxed your hands a bit. A turner really needs to think of the skew like a well tuned hand plane. It does not like to be muscled through the work, it takes finesse. A really good skew cut should shine in acrylic, because I can get wood to shine off a freshly honed skew. One last tip, HONE a skew before using. You should be able to shave hair off your arm with a properly ground and honed skew chisel before you take it to the material. Nicely done video!
 

Wood Butcher

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Well done Ed. I've used the skew a fair amount but I learned from your video. I noticed at the end of the video when you were rotating the blank by hand it looked like it was out of round or something. Is that a video issue or my imagination? Thanks for your work.
WB
 

ed4copies

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Well done Ed. I've used the skew a fair amount but I learned from your video. I noticed at the end of the video when you were rotating the blank by hand it looked like it was out of round or something. Is that a video issue or my imagination? Thanks for your work.
WB

One of the great things about vids==they sometimes show things I was not aware of. That was one of those times. A little crappiola in the morse taper.
Pen was fine, but I cleaned the taper and finish turned it--you will see it in the next couple days as a Cambridge.

Good eye!!
 
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