What type of turning tool

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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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
...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!!:smile:
 
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.
 
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.
 
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
 
rjwolfe3 said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
 
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.
 
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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.)
 
Dario said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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.
 
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Chris Bar said:
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.
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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. :smile: If you get to inspect other people's work who use sandpaper/MM/polish compounds...you might consider changing (or not).
 
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
 
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
 
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.
 
Chris Bar said:
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.
Click to expand...

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.
 
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