Frightened!

[tombear]

Well that was interesting!

The chap I got the wood lathe from also gave me some wood, some bought blanks and some half finished pieces. Anyroad to have a practice with the newly sharpened tools I fitted one of the half turned pieces and started removing wood, quite gingerly. The tools had a tendency to dig in and chavelled at the wood ( there were signs this is why the job had been abandoned, I should have taken note ). Anyway I had got as far as trying out the thinnest bowl spindle gouge, I wasn't pressing it in at all but there was a sudden agonised tearing noise as th bowl stopped dead and a high pitched crack and the gouge snapped in the centre and the end flew past my face and dug about half a inch into the plaster before dropping on the floor with rather a sad ping.

So I'm now looking for a replacement spindle gouge to do up. Ill sharpen the the broken end and fit a handle to the other half but they will be not much use both being pretty short now.

I persisted with the (definately sharp) heavier tools and by the way they kept snagging its the piece of wood that's not worth turning. I've no idea what sort it is , pale with a open/ wide grain. Anyroad its been binned now.


'Ill do some more reading of the turning books I picked up and get another piece of wood prepared for turning.


ATB


Tom

 

[nettles150390]

Always fun?! When that happens eh? Least you escsped unscathed. And why woukd you bin a piece of fire wood.

 

[Toddy]

Scary when that happens, and the adrenaline crash afterwards is a headache

Very glad that only the wall and the chisel was scathed though.

M

 

[British Red]

Bet that cured your constipation

 

[Paulm]

Hi Tom,

There's an active turning forum over on UK Workshop with a lot of experienced members happy to help with advice and guidance as well as people just starting out like yourself, although there's some folks on here too of course, including me, who will be happy to help if we can.

This section here http://www.ukworkshop.co.uk/forums/post301390.html is well worth a browse through to cover some of the basics and safety too !

Once you know what you are doing and are safe, you'll be able to relax and enjoy it

Cheers, Paul

 

[Fraxinus]

Have you ever done woodturning before?
I ask as it sounds like you are not following the routine of running the gouge bevel on the wood and raising the handle of it until it starts to cut. The trick is then to maintain that angle of attack as you progress across the workpiece. It can be a bit tricky at first but gets easier with practice. Sorry to hear the demise of a good gouge though.

Rob.

 

[cranmere]

Scary! Which is why I always use some kind of eye protection when I'm doing anything that might throw things in my face.

 

[tombear]

Well, I have done some turning before and I was easing the handle up after making contact as i was drilled to at school, which is why I was so shocked when the blade got snatched as I was sliding the tool along. I admit I still have a awful lot to learn, beginning with selection and preparation of the wood. The fact that it had been abandoned by a experienced turner should have been a big clue. Which all sounds very defensive of me!

it was the first time this set of tools had been used, as far a I know, in the past I've been using a set of Crown jobs I've had since new. There's a slim chance there was something defective with the tool but I didn't see anything when I polished the rust off them. My other Sheffield made Marples ( there's a US Marples or was and I can't say if they are any good or not ) have been excellent so its odds on it was user error.

Cheers for the link, I need all the help I can get! Come next month ill be getting a decent stock of green wood which I hope will be easier to turn that the seasoned stuff I've been using so far.

i must admit I'm impressed by the torque the ML8 kicks out, the belt was set for the second slowest speed and the break happened not far from the centre so the wood was turning relatively slow. The motor is absolutely huge, the info plate is hard to read otherwise I'd tell you the details. Runs lovely anyway.

ATB

Tom

 

[Fraxinus]

Okay.
I do not think you sound defensive. You're trying to find a reason for the situation which is a great way of learning. When I started out I had a Sealey Lathe and a set of tools that came with it but had the good fortune to find a shop that held turning sessions on saturday mornings mostly local amature turners who I learnt a lot from and also had pro woodturners guesting once a month, most memorable was a visit from Gary Rance, we also got to try out different lathes old and new and the latest oval skew chisels etc. Is there somewhere like that near you?
Green wood does turn easily with long ribbons of swarf rather than the collapsing shavings, dustier results of dried wood but will still cause issues if your technique lapses. Most issues are from sharpness of tool, angle of tool approach and or force of introduction, other things to consider are speed of wood rotation (slower for larger lumps) and holding the tool with a firm but relaxed grip which will reduce the cause and effect of dig ins. hth a bit.

Rob.

 

[Zingmo]

I got a little power lathe a while back and while I haven't snapped any tools, there have been some alarming moments and a few flying work pieces. I saw a video where the chap was using a drive head that had a slipping clutch for just such a situation. Here's one - http://www.hartvilletool.com/product/1169

Ben Orford said that it is one reason why he much prefers a pole lathe - when you stop, the lathe stops.

Z

 

[tombear]

Cheers! The belts tension is quite easily adjusted and in the past, if I've made a hash of it, pressed on too hard or what ever the work piece has just stopped with the belt slipping until I slapped the off switch. One thing is I was working into the bowl itself and hadn't manoeuvred the rest forward into the, well, hole I'd excavated. So there was a good inch and a half, two inches in front of the rest before you hit the wood. The relatively thin spindle gouge was probably a poor choice. At least it was part of the £10 carboot set and not the ones the wife bought me.

A year or so back I was looking for black smithing courses and didn't notice any for turning locally, the big art college in town was demolished a few years back ( and still no sign of the motel they said was going to be built there which would have at least brought some jobs, but I digress ) so the most logical place to do courses is gone. I'll have another look when I go to the library.

To practice my technique I've loaded another charity shop beech rolling pin between the spindles. I've taken a little off to true it and am wondering what to make. I've made a couple of nostpinnes for the wife and one of her friends who knits but can't think what cylindrical object to make. I don't fish so don't need a priest and am a bit stumped to be honest. Nothing in the to restore pile needs new handles. I could do a blank to split into a couple of spoons but I prefer all carved ones. Any thoughts.

ATB

Tom

 

[Zingmo]

Yep. Going into the bowl. That's where it all goes wrong for me. The advice I picked up was to get/adapt a bowl gouge with an Elsworth or Irish grind. I tried to re grind one freehand. It's far from perfect but it already has become the first tool I pick up. I'll try and find a link to the guy with the clear explanations on YouTube.

Z

 

[Zingmo]

Lyle Jamieson. That's the chap. He calls it a Jamieson grind, but it is the same idea.
Lyle on Bowl Gougeshttp://youtu.be/3liDhY_zxSc

As for what to make, handles was my first thought. How about a darning egg/mushroom?

Z

 

[Harvestman]

Glad you are ok. I was taught not to use spindle gauges for anything but spindle work. Never to use them on bowl interior work, as they can't handle the stresses and are the wrong profile for the work. For a bowl interior, use a bowl gouge.

I'm not an experienced anough woodworker or turner to know if this is really a hard and fast rule or just something they tell beginners, but it is what I was taught. I've had plenty of tool kicks and snatches, and I've managed to send the wood piece flying off the lathe, but I've never snapped a tool.

 

[Paulm]

Glad you are ok. I was taught not to use spindle gauges for anything but spindle work. Never to use them on bowl interior work, as they can't handle the stresses and are the wrong profile for the work. For a bowl interior, use a bowl gouge.

I'm not an experienced anough woodworker or turner to know if this is really a hard and fast rule or just something they tell beginners, but it is what I was taught. I've had plenty of tool kicks and snatches, and I've managed to send the wood piece flying off the lathe, but I've never snapped a tool.

It is very good advice

Cheers, Paul

 

[Andy T]

When you say the gouge snapped in half do you mean literally or in two. I'm fairly new to wood turning myself and can't understand how it could break like that. I have to ask did you have the toolrest close enough to the work ?

 

[tombear]

I won't be doing it again I can tell you that much!

Yup, the blade broke pretty much in the middle, not allowing for however much is buried in the handle, first time used. I amaze myself sometimes. The tool rest was about level with the edges of the bowl so there was a stupid distance between the rest and the bottom of the bowl. I was trying out the various tools to see their effects and I really should have had more sense. Oh well, I'll mount the broken off part in a spare handle and re shape and sharpen the stub.

ATB

Tom