The Bedan

Stuart Ablett

Member
Messages
15,917
Location
Tokyo Japan
Since the first time I saw Jean-Francois Escoulen use this tool, I've had a desire to be able to do some cuts with it, and not have it fly across the room all the time :eek:

The last time Jean-Francois was here, I watched intently and I asked a ton of questions. He suggested to us all that we practice 10 minutes a day. Well, I've been doing that for a month or so now, and I can usually make some cuts without having the Bedan ripped out of my clenched fists :D

Now I hope to continue to improve, and I'll continue to practice, so to mark my ability to keep all of my fingers, I took this video.

The Bedan..............some practice <-YouTube Link

I hope someone gets a kick out of it, and maybe even learn something! :wave:

Cheers!
 
stu...very interesting and entertaining. the bedan looks to be of the same devilish nature as the skew. coming from me that is not a compliment. i wanted to scream "sandpaper" somewhere in the middle of your struggle with the transition cuts but that would be cheating, eh??

btw, have you found the ornamental attachments at the teknatool site yet? they are only available for the nova lathes at this time but fascinating. check it out at: http://www.teknatool.com/products/Specialised/ornamental_acc.htm
 
Yes, Thank you very much Stuart, what a show !!
When you can handle it ? Only when you practice, of course.
But you have to do that with each tool.
I suppose this bedan tool works much better than a skew, isn't.
What about making small beads, I read about this in an article written by Brian Clifford, but he use for that a much smaller bedan tool.
Easier to reach the bottom with such a tool I suppose.
Further I think it's important to keep an eye on the other point of the bedan tool, and the cutting angle, so only using one half of that tool, else you get a dig in ?
Thank you for sharing this with us.

Ad
 
Thanks guys

Clark, this tool makes a skew kids play :D

Seriously, the skew holds no fear for me at all anymore, when you can get the Bedan going the skew is EASY :thumb:

Ad, yeah, you have to be smooth and you cannot be timid, you have to cut and move with conviction, any half hearted cuts WILL result in a WAKE UP call, but I love a challenge, and this tool certainly is, I'm enjoying it, for now, I'm not making nothing but a mess, so why not have some fun :D

Clark, yeah, I've seen the Nova Ornamental turner, and it looks really, REALLY neat, but is it pricey and I've also been hearing some not so good things about quality control :dunno: even so, I'd sure like to have one! :D
 
Stu, once again you produced an informative video.:thumb: I've never seen a Bedan used before...now I have something new to try once again. Looks like once you learn how to use the Bedan, it makes quick work of wood! Thanks for taking the time to do this.
 
Stu.....I think I'll stay with the skew for a while! I had never seen a bedan used. I'll add it to my future arsenal. Thanks!
 
Hey Stu,

I have a 1/2" x 1/2" Sorby scraper that I don't use a lot. Do you think that it would work to grind it to the Bedan profile using my wet grinder? It appears from the photos that it would, but was just checking to see if I was missing something. Also, if you did this, I am guessing that the profile is flat along the 30 degree angle and not concave?

Thanks!
Robert
 
Stu, as a professional turner with many years experience, I can offer you the following advice concerning the one big mistake you made in that video.

DON'T PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET!!! :rofl::rofl::rofl:

Nice video. I have a bedan I bought, mainly because they were closing them out at the store I was in. I use it mainly like a giant parting tool. I never saw it used like that, so I am looking forward (I think) to giving it a try.

Bill
 
Hey Bill, keep us posted on your progress with it, I'm sure you will have less trouble with it than I, as you have more experience on the lathe, but still, it is a fun tool to learn :D

One point, that might not come through in my video, is that you have to hold it down onto the tool rest firmly, and rub the back of the tool fairly hard as well. When you initiate the cut, you go kind of uphill first, just a little, then dive to the side for the cut, if that make sense.

Good luck! :wave:
 
Nice Job

Good videos Stu. I like the second one better. In the first one there was some guy in a striped shirt that kept getting in the way.:eek::D

I got to see JFE in June this year and it was great. He is truly a master with the Bedan. He gave me the egg he did as the demo. I have yet to try a bedan but it is on the list.
 
That Bedan angle you discribe is similar to a tool I watched skilled craftsmen use making baseball bats at the Louisville Slugger Museum in Louisville KY.

The angle of the bevel is a question and I hope you can provide.

Watching your video, I see simularities in it's use and the skew, however, the difficulties you demonstrated in the video, of moving about and in the way, etc. would have been eliminated with the use of the skew. That is the advantage of the tool. Although it seems to be a handy device and an excellant tool but it is just one of the many that are needed to accomplish safe and easy turnings. I would still prefer the skew to accomplish the left/right transition of two curves to make up the egg shap or any other compound bead.

The video was great and a chance to put a voice to the face that prepares such nice projects in the dungeons of Japan. Thanks for the post.
 
Thanks Bill.

The Bedan has a couple of really good things going for it, they are it's speed and it's precision.

Even Jean-Francois says it is not the "Best" tool for spindle turning, but for production turning it is VERY good.

I'm editing down some of the video I have of him showing the Bedan, I think when you see him use and explain it, it will be a lot easier to understand my interest in this tool.

Cheers!
 
I would still prefer the skew to accomplish the left/right transition of two curves to make up the egg shap or any other compound bead.

I find that sandpaper does a great job too Bill! :D Seriously though, I will do a shear scrape when I get it close, and then a touch of sandpaper fairs the whole curve in a matter of seconds.

I do much better with my skew than with a bedan, but that is mainly because I haven't used the bedan much at all, and never the way Stu shows. But even with a skew, sandpaper is my friend.

Bill
 
Bill Simpson, to confirm,the Bedan is ground at 30 degrees, also, it should be ever so slightly concave on the bevel.

I'm uploading two videos of Jean-Francois right now to YouTube, total just over 16 minutes long (two 8 minute videos), I'm sure you will get a much better understanding of this tool by watching the master, rather than one of his (poor) students :D

Cheers!
 
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