New Skew (Stu and Ken will be Proud)

Vaughn McMillan

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Got a 1" Thompson skew a couple days ago (more of the powdered metal/cryogenic tooling) , and I got around to making a handle for it last night. Still haven't turned with it yet...it was about 3:00 AM last night when I finished it up...but I've got 'er ready shape the profile and hone today.

The handle is two-tone cocobolo, and the ferrule is from a brass pipe nipple. Here are a few action shots...

First, I mounted the brass nipple in the lathe, and started turning off the threads on one end. It was handy that the cone on one of my live centers was just the right size to center the brass nipple:

Ferrule 1T.jpg

A bit of work with an old round nose scraper and a file, and I had this. :

Ferrule 2T.jpg

I cut off the (now) threadless end and mounted it in the chuck to clean up the cut edge. I was too lazy to put the smaller jaws in the chuck, and didn't really see a need:

Ferrule 3T.jpg

This should work just fine. For about 6 or 7 bucks, I got a heavy 4" nipple that'll make three of four ferrules, much thicker than the copper pipe fittings I saw, and for less money:

Ferrule 4T.jpg

Turned down the end of the handle to fit the ferrule. Proof that I was using the skew is evidenced in the nice spiral catch you see in the pic. Hey, I'm still learning how to tame the skew. :rolleyes: You'll also notice I forgot to undercut the shoulder where the ferrule meets the handle, which left a small gap visible after the ferrule was pounded onto the handle. It's my first tool handle, so I'm still learning that, too.

Thompson Skew 2T.jpg

Next, I pounded the ferrule onto the blank and finished roughing out the shape. Stu and Ken, you'll be proud of me. Aside from using the roughing gouge to get the corners of the blank knocked off, I turned the whole handle with my Harbor Freight skew (with my version of a Lacer profile on it). I know I could have knocked the corners off with the skew, and in fact I did at the ferrule end, but the roughing gouge was a lot less physical work than the lightweight HF skew.

Thompson Skew 3T.jpg

I didn't get any pics of some of the intermediate steps like drilling the end or parting it off. I sanded the whole thing from 120 grit through 12000 grit Micro Mesh, then 3-wheel buffed and waxed the whole thing. The cocobolo is oily enough that I didn't figure it needs a finish on it. Look Ma, I can see myself:

Thompson Skew 7T.jpg

And the finished product:

Thompson Skew 6T.jpg Thompson Skew 5T.jpg

I also plan to work some epoxy into the round hole where rectangular tang of the chisel is. It's REAL tight, but I figure filling the gaps will be a good thing. I'll do some test driving with it this afternoon, then epoxy it tonight.

Thanks for looking -
 
Vaughn........Nice handle and skew. I don't know how much practise you've had with a skew but it has become my favorite tool. I've got 2 new ones in the shop but a local young beginning turner borrowed my diamond-tipped grinding wheel resurfacer this morning. When he gets back with it I think I'll sharpen the two Lacers I bought and play with them. Good luck with you new fine looking skew...remember...sharp, sharp, sharp!
 
Nice job. I am reading over and over again so that I can do the same for some old chisels I have. (will skip the skew catch you demonstrated so well) Aside from the catch the handle finished out fine,

Be Ye Proud...:thumb:

Where did you find the Brass Nipple? :dunno:
 
Good looking job! Instead of epoxy (or in addition to the epoxy) why don't you turn a piece of the coco to the diameter of the hole and split in in half. you now have to wedges to hold the tool! This was a tip Mike Wenzloff gave me for a marking knife I did, but I don't see why it wouldn't work for this as well.
 
Now you are not only hooked on spin crack, bun now you'll have a skewed view of it all :D :rofl:

Looks nice and sharp, he curve you have on yours is a bit more than I like, but then again, you sand too fast too ;) :D

Sure is a nice looking tool, I'll have to see what else he has, the bowl gouges look good, I only have 4, well 5 if you count the mighty Supra Gouge!

Nice handle too, but I think after a while, when you have done a few more, you will see the time spent putting a super nice finish on them as a bit of a waste, as they get all banged up and "oiled" by your hands, or at least that is my point of view, but I certainly understand doing the first few with a super nice finish on them, that handle looks too darn nice to handel! :D

Cheers!

Stu, dang proud of Vaughn! :wave:
 
I've been somewhat skewed for years, Stu. ;)

I played around a bit tonight with the new skew...enough to see I still have a lot of learnin' to do. (The skew cuts nicely, though.) I've got Lacer's second skew video (Son of Skew) but I need to get my hands on the first one so I can get the basics. The second video shows some good examples of the different cuts in use, but I'd like to get a bit more of the details about the different cuts, and also a bit more about his approach to the profile.
 
vaughn, you may already know about smartflix.com??? a site you can rent dvd's like the skew series from alan lacer...$10 each covers shipping both ways. they send you an envelope to return mail with postage paid. very convenient and seems first class operation to me.
 
vaughn, you may already know about smartflix.com??? a site you can rent dvd's like the skew series from alan lacer...$10 each covers shipping both ways. they send you an envelope to return mail with postage paid. very convenient and seems first class operation to me.
Thanks for the tip on Smartflix, Clark. I looked into Netflix a little, but it looks like Smartflix is more along the lines of what I need. :thumb:

Vaughn
did you buy the skew by internet ?
where did you buy it?
Regards
Alfredo, I bought it (and three of my gouges) on the Internet from Thompson Lathe Tools. I really like their tools, and Doug Thompson is a wood turner, so he knows what a good tool should be.

http://thompsonlathetools.com/
 
skew questions

My current skew is an old, 1" Buck Bros. 'cast steel' . It doesn't hold an edge well at all, I'm constantly touching it up, sometimes three times for a single pen. I'm considering another skew that will do better. But, in shopping, I see a puzzling trend. The following do not even offer a regular, flat, skew a/k/a 'skew chisle', they all offer rounded, curved, etc. but not flat. They are: Kyro; Raffan; Taylor; Hamlet or P&N.
Sorby does offer but only in M2 steel. Artisan does offer but, also, only in M2 steel.
Crow does offer in powdered steel but only at 3/4".
Wassup? I thought the flat 1" skew was the most popular, most used turning tool there is.
Two questions: Well, now only one, I already asked "Wassup?" :rolleyes:
Other, in practical terms (not what advertising copy says) is powdered steel really 3X or 5X better than M2? Same question for the cryogenic treated (Kyro) steels which are supposed to be zillion times better. Are they?
I'm not accustomed to dropping a C note for one small tool and want to make the right choice. Or, I might have to start trolling the garage sales again. ;)

Edit: I mean this as a new topic. Oh, well. It fits with Vaughn's thread.
 
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Frank, I can't answer the ? about M2 vs powder, etc. b/c I have no experience w/anything other than M2. However, I do have a 1" "flat" skew (and a few others that are flat) and all of these tend to mark, marr and nick, and consequently catch and grab the tool rest during use. This can be very frustrating and necessitates smoothing the tool rest ocassionally. I much prefer my radiused skews. They move along the tool rest much more easily and don't create the nicks that the traditionall flat skews do. JMO here, and I certainly wouldn't consider myself an expert... just my own preference.;)

Oh, and my 1" flat skew... I intend to radius the edges before I use it again so I don't nick up my new tool rests any more than necessary.

OOPS edit: Vaughn, that is a very nice looking skew handle. I've made a few tool handles of my own, but never considered using Coco (or any exotic for that matter). I just figured I needed to use more traditional tool handle hardwoods. Thanks for knocking that silly notion out of my head.:thumb:
 
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In my honest opinion, I'd buy the Alan Lacer skew, pic a size, but get the skew, it seems to be top notch kit.

I'll be buying my next skew from him.

Cheers!
 
Frank, I can't answer the ? about M2 vs powder, etc. b/c I have no experience w/anything other than M2. However, I do have a 1" "flat" skew (and a few others that are flat) and all of these tend to mark, marr and nick, and consequently catch and grab the tool rest during use. This can be very frustrating and necessitates smoothing the tool rest ocassionally. I much prefer my radiused skews. They move along the tool rest much more easily and don't create the nicks that the traditionall flat skews do. JMO here, and I certainly wouldn't consider myself an expert... just my own preference.;)

Oh, and my 1" flat skew... I intend to radius the edges before I use it again so I don't nick up my new tool rests any more than necessary.

OOPS edit: Vaughn, that is a very nice looking skew handle. I've made a few tool handles of my own, but never considered using Coco (or any exotic for that matter). I just figured I needed to use more traditional tool handle hardwoods. Thanks for knocking that silly notion out of my head.:thumb:


Billy, I understand that but it doesn't strike me as being a consideration. I have two rests and in five years of use, I have had to smooth each up, maybe, two or three times. Two minutes with a draw file once every year or two isn't a big deal in my book.
 
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