Why didn’t I just stop?

[EricRN]

Must have had a dozen bad catches. Some days your just not on. This is number 10 or 11. Should've just packed it up and went inside or lit up a cigar to enjoy the unseasonably warm weather. End result: a vase that was supposed to be 4 inches in diameter is closer to 3.

 

[TonyL]

You can buy taller flowers LOL! Some of my bottle stoppers turner into bottle caps!

 

[monophoto]

So I'm not the only one who does that???

 

[crokett]

So I'm not the only one who does that???

Nope. I have mostly learned to walk away and come back to it, or stop and work on a different project.

 

[johnjohnson42]

Nope. I have mostly learned to walk away and come back to it, or stop and work on a different project.

This is exactly what I try to do... after the first two or three catches or mistakes, I hear a voice telling me to shut it down, turn out the lights and go in the house. "Sometimes you're the windshield, sometimes you're the bug" ~ M. Knopfler

 

[howsitwork]

So I'm not the only one who does that???

Nope but can you do it consistently?

If so market it as a trademark, like the little pip in the centre of bowls….. None of my turning colleagues believe me !!!!

 

[penicillin]

Let me guess. Skew chisel?

(I was about to go out and grind that chip out of the tip of my own skew chisel, but decided to peek here first. It will take at least a couple of hours with that Grizzly wet grinder. My short list includes a slow speed grinder, CBN wheels, and a Wolverine jig or equivalent in my near future.)

 

[EricRN]

Let me guess. Skew chisel?

(I was about to go out and grind that chip out of the tip of my own skew chisel, but decided to peek here first. It will take at least a couple of hours with that Grizzly wet grinder. My short list includes a slow speed grinder, CBN wheels, and a Wolverine jig or equivalent in my near future.)

Yup. Need to work on my technique rounding over that shoulder. I was out there sanding it today. Doesn't look half bad. Especially when you don't know what I wanted it to look like. I'll post a final pic when it's all done.

 

[Woodchipper]

I review this occasionally.

 

[EricRN]

I review this occasionally.

That's a great video. I've watched it before. Not recently enough. Explains exactly what I was doing wrong and what happened to me. Raffan's book on turning by Taunton Press is really good too.

 

[howsitwork]

That's a great video. I've watched it before. Not recently enough. Explains exactly what I was doing wrong and what happened to me. Raffan's book on turning by Taunton Press is really good too.

It can help to use the skew, as Raffan describes it, upside down. The long point into the wood . It does make it interesting holding it but you rapidly adapt. Also grinding a curved edge onto the skew and, unlike in the picture , making sure the edges of the skew are VERY rounded helps.

 

[penicillin]

I am still working on the same "skew chisel makes nasty spiral catches while turning beads" problem. I spent a day and a half of practice last week working on it without getting it right. I watched the video posted by @Woodchipper above at least three times during that practice. It is a good video and matches my (and @EricRN's) problem perfectly. That first catch in the first 8 seconds is what happens to me. Every time I watched it, I would say "Aha! That's the mistake I'm making." and then go out and change something without success. At this point, I gotta grind out a chip in the toe of my skew. You can see my previous post and a photo of the chip in these two posts:
https://www.penturners.org/threads/square-tool-edges.172794/post-2144822
https://www.penturners.org/threads/square-tool-edges.172794/post-2144854

In response, I received a PM suggesting this video. I think it is worth your time to watch:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yhuEVVSkDtE

I am now debating with myself about whether to change the skew angle on my skew from the default 70 degrees to 60 degrees as I grind out that chip. Hmmm.

P.S. I didn't find much difference turning beads with the heel or toe of the skew - the same types of catches at the same frequency. I prefer the toe and hope I can make that work, because it makes visibility easier as you are cutting the bead.