A couple of weeks ago, I posted a link showing how to modify a skew chisel to reduce the chances of a catch- http://americanwoodworker.com/blogs/reviews/archive/2010/06/02/reshaping-the-skew-chisel.aspx. Well, earlier this week I needed to make the hanging/locking pieces for the crib. Started out with some walnut and right off the bat got a nasty catch. You can guess what transpired next- no, after all the cussing. 

Hauling out the Tormek,  reground my oval skew from the standard straight edge to a rounded tip-

What a difference! Finished the 6 knobs and shafts with out a single catch! Wish I had realized what a difference it would make when turning the cradle spindles. The only down side I found was it made the skew a little less stable when plunging into the work using the toe of the chisel. This may be my sharpening technique or something I'll need to relearn.

Anyway, here are the two shapes used for the crib -

They still need some finish sanding. The left one is for the basket hanging part and the other for the locking mechanism which keeps the cradle basket from rocking.

If you haven't already done so, please check out some of the Sketchup links Michael Agate posted. While Sketchup was not designed for creating lathe projects, one of the links offers a really neat way to draw objects that could be turned on a lathe- http://sketchupforwoodworkers.com/tutorials/2009/09/20/quick-tutorial---turned-leg/. In another discussion, Paul Corona provided a link to a bunch of Sketchup plugins. One of the plugins is called Lathe and another Lathe Maker. I haven't had the opportunity to experiment with either plugin but they look promising.

Edit: Another lathe option when using Sketchup- http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/22170/sketchup-and-the-lathe

Safe Turning!

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

We have never turned a single piece of wood. But, in the future, when we do, we will keep this in mind. 

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Michael and Matthew Agate (Newfoundland Canada)
Proud Supporter of The Patriot Woodworker and what this great site stands for!

Lew thanks for a wonderful wed post! Great pics and a wonderful tip.