Bill Lantry
Member
- Messages
- 2,663
- Location
- Inside the Beltway
Hey, folks,
So late last night, when the house was quiet, I decided to try turning a much larger oval bowl out of a chunk of walnut. Drilled the piece a little with a foerstner bit, and got it between centers and started turning:
So far, so good, right?
it's spinning around, just like it should, at something under 700 rpm
but the roughing gouges are getting a little dull (I swear, I need to sharpen them every three minutes!) And then I remember Stu's mantra, "All hail the mighty skew!" Now, I'm deathly afraid of the skew. I can see using it on spindles, maybe, in a pinch. Obviously, I don't know how to use it, but I figure I'll never learn how to use it, if I don't try...
I'm such a doofus sometimes...
No, the wood isn't turning here... this is actually an after the fact recreation. But I clearly don't know how to present to tool to the wood. The book I have says that before you use a new chisel, you need to learn how to rub the bevel with it, just to get a feel for it. Makes sense, right?
Wrong! I rub the bevel, and lift the back of the handle just a touch. Next thing I hear is a very loud BANG, and something strikes my chest with great force... hard enough to confuse me (it's easily done!) It was so hard and so sharp that at first I thought the wood had smacked the skew and driven it back so it smacked me on the chest. I put the tool down, and turned off the lathe. Imagine my surprise when I saw this:
Geez! I stood there staring, and figured out this is exactly what happened:
Of course! It's so obvious that that's exactly what *would* happen if someone was dumb enough to do this! But, as Kierkegaard always said, "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." D'oh!
Anyway, by the time I got the piece smoothed back out, it had taken on a completely different aspect:
Don't know how it'll look, given the new form:
And here's the other side:
Anyway, I'm only posting this as an object lesson for those who are, like me, just learning. Actually, three lessons: Think about what you're doing before you do it... geez, what could be more obvious?
There's a real good reason people buy face shields! If the angle had been just a little different, I'd be even uglier than I already am!
Things fall apart, and when they do, flying chunks of wood hurt! But all's well that ends well...
Thanks,
Bill
So late last night, when the house was quiet, I decided to try turning a much larger oval bowl out of a chunk of walnut. Drilled the piece a little with a foerstner bit, and got it between centers and started turning:
So far, so good, right?
it's spinning around, just like it should, at something under 700 rpm
but the roughing gouges are getting a little dull (I swear, I need to sharpen them every three minutes!) And then I remember Stu's mantra, "All hail the mighty skew!" Now, I'm deathly afraid of the skew. I can see using it on spindles, maybe, in a pinch. Obviously, I don't know how to use it, but I figure I'll never learn how to use it, if I don't try...
I'm such a doofus sometimes... No, the wood isn't turning here... this is actually an after the fact recreation. But I clearly don't know how to present to tool to the wood. The book I have says that before you use a new chisel, you need to learn how to rub the bevel with it, just to get a feel for it. Makes sense, right?
Wrong! I rub the bevel, and lift the back of the handle just a touch. Next thing I hear is a very loud BANG, and something strikes my chest with great force... hard enough to confuse me (it's easily done!) It was so hard and so sharp that at first I thought the wood had smacked the skew and driven it back so it smacked me on the chest. I put the tool down, and turned off the lathe. Imagine my surprise when I saw this:
Geez! I stood there staring, and figured out this is exactly what happened:
Of course! It's so obvious that that's exactly what *would* happen if someone was dumb enough to do this! But, as Kierkegaard always said, "Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards." D'oh!
Anyway, by the time I got the piece smoothed back out, it had taken on a completely different aspect:
Don't know how it'll look, given the new form:
And here's the other side:
Anyway, I'm only posting this as an object lesson for those who are, like me, just learning. Actually, three lessons: Think about what you're doing before you do it... geez, what could be more obvious?
There's a real good reason people buy face shields! If the angle had been just a little different, I'd be even uglier than I already am!
Things fall apart, and when they do, flying chunks of wood hurt!
But all's well that ends well...Thanks,
Bill
