Good Morning Friends,

My lathe is a JET 12/36 style and I have had great success turning the various things that I have turned in the past and mostly by eye /hand coordination and calipers. Once in a while I will make a template to hold next to the rurning as it is running to see if I am getting close to the profile I wish to have.

 

Since I have been turning since I was in my early teens it seems natural for me to make a turning.

One thing I have found is that I use my skew turned on it's edge and gently allow the point to score a mark on the turning that will indicate a different profile in that area. By doing this makes it much easier to fine tune the profile to the desired look.

 

Here is an example of what I mean;

 

 

This was the beginning of a newel post I turned for the 1842 house stairs that I reproduced after the fire that destroyed a good portion of the living quarters and the front stairs.

 

It took me almost a year of work in the constructon of these stairs for they all had to be hand cut and fitted with the dovetails on the balusters and tread sockets. The person who tried to put the stairs back in place was 3/4" out of level from the hall side to the wall on the right side of the stringers and I had to hand chop them down to make them level.

 

The treads were made up using poplar substrate and Rift sawn red oak treads with mahogany bull noses on them. I had to turn quite a few balusters in two different lengths but they all turned out pretty well.

 

Using the method with the skew that I stated above helped out a lot and made the project turn smoothly and in the right proportions.

 

Ralph

 

I think I am following what you are saying about the skew. I usually do the same thing, but with a thin parting tool. I actually made mine from a steak knife.

I ground off the sharp edge then ground an angle on the top part of the knife blade and a longer angle on the bottom of the tip. It is thin and I can get it into some pretty small areas.

I'll get another picture looking down on the top so you can see who thin. The blade is very stiff, you don't want one that is real flexible but it is thin.

Hi John,

That knife is shaped like a parting tool and yes, it will work on some things however I am referring to the skew which in a regular set will be about 1" wide by 3/16" thick and the end starts from the tip back on the side about 45º and then sharpened on both sides with the tip called the toe and the back of the bevel called the heel. This tool for me is one of the most used tools in my box of 7 or 8 turning tools as showen in the picture.

The tool on the right side of the box is the skew I am referring to. Now to use it to score the lines all you do is gently push it in on ablut a 15º angle till it starts to engage in the wood. Then you gently raise the handle and let it cut into the wood about 1/8" and then move to the next line and repeat the process. Then this will give you two definite start and finish lines for that small section such as the depression on the newel posts above.

Ralph

I forgot to mention that the tip needs to be vertical with the point on the bottom so that when you push it into the wood it will cut the wood about 1/16" in width. Then to widen the rollover you simply roll to the right or left as you move the handle right or left depending on which way you want the valley to appear. Once you have started the valley lay the skew flat on the bar and gently work the curve on both sides ot the initial valley.

It's easier to show than tell.

Ralph

Ralph Allen Jones said:

Hi John,
That knife is shaped like a parting tool and yes, it will work on some things however I am referring to the skew which in a regular set will be about 1" wide by 3/16" thick and the end starts from the tip back on the side about 45º and then sharpened on both sides with the tip called the toe and the back of the bevel called the heel. This tool for me is one of the most used tools in my box of 7 or 8 turning tools as showen in the picture.

The tool on the right side of the box is the skew I am referring to. Now to use it to score the lines all you do is gently push it in on ablut a 15º angle till it starts to engage in the wood. Then you gently raise the handle and let it cut into the wood about 1/8" and then move to the next line and repeat the process. Then this will give you two definite start and finish lines for that small section such as the depression on the newel posts above.

Ralph

The third tool from the right is the parting tool similar to the one you made from the stake knife and it can be used with the wide part of the tip for working the four flat edges of the roundes part as well as the concaved part in the newel post.

It is as simple as that to turn larger items.

Ralph

The more complicated the turning the better for me as I love challenges but, one little slip and you can ruin the whole thing. I wear a fuul face shield when turning.

I hope someone has gotten something out of my babbling away.

Ralph

I use the skew also but I was referring to the layout you were talking about in the top. I like to use the small parting tool to do my layout lines and then work from line to line. If I am setting the depth I will use a larger parting tool. I have a little round nose skew that I really like to use.