Ken Fitzgerald
Member
- Messages
- 2,322
I have a definite passion for my skew! Last fall a turner Chris Barton attended a turning class and came back all excited about using a skew. I couldn't afford the week long class...but I had a lot of scrap wood and a skew. I worked on getting a good consistant grind and spent several days playing with waste wood. Now it's one of, if not, my favorite tools. On a lot of projects I can get by with the skew....take bottlestoppers for instance. Visiting in Illinois in December, I met with another more experienced and formally turning educated turner Frank Kobilsek. As we traded techniques we talked about the skew. Frank didn't have the skew jig for his Wolverine jig and we had to work for a while getting a good grind freehand. After we got a good grind, I proceeded to turn a piece of cocobolo into a bottle stopper using the skew. Frank now practices with his skew. A wonderful tool but it takes time......but certainly worth the effort, IMHO. Note I use a 3/4" traditional skew that I've ground the sharp corners off. I want to get a couple more skews so I can try an oval one and one with the end ground in an arc. I definitely want to get the Alan Lacer video!