Use and Care Manual

CUTTING TECHNIQUES

Begin with a large roughing gouge. Place the tool

on the tool rest with the heel of the tool on the sur

face to be cut. Slowly and gently raise the tool handle

until the cutting edge comes into contact with the

workpiece. Beginning about 2 inches from the tail

stock end of the workpiece, roll the ﬂute of the tool

(the hollowed-out portion) in the direction of the cut.

Make long sweeping cuts in a continuous motion to

turn the piece to a cylinder (Fig. 24).

Keep as much of the bevel of the tool in contact with

the workpiece as possible to ensure control and

avoid catches.

Once the workpiece is roughed down to a cylinder, smooth it with a large skew. Keep the skew handle

perpendicular to the spindle and use only the center third of the cutting edge for a long smoothing

cut (touching one of the points of the skew to the spinning workpiece may cause a catch and ruin the

workpiece). Add details to the workpiece with skews, parting tools, scrapers or spindle gouges.

BEADS - Make a parting cut for what is to be a bead to the desired depth. Place the parting tool on

the tool rest and move the tool forward to make the full bevel of the tool come into contact with the

workpiece. Gently raise the handle to make cuts of the appropriate depth. Repeat for the other side of

the bead. Using a small skew or spindle gouge, start in the center between the two cuts and cut down

each side to form the bead. Roll the tool in the direction of the cut.

COVES (Fig. 25) - Use a spindle gouge to create a cove. With the ﬂute of the tool at 90 degrees to the

workpiece, touch the point of the tool to the workpiece and roll in towards the bottom of the cove. Stop

at the bottom, as attempting to go up the opposite side may cause the tool to catch. Move the tool over

the desired width of the cove. With the ﬂute facing the opposite direction, repeat the step for the other

side of the cove. Stop at the bottom of the cut.

V-GROOVES (Fig. 26) - Use the point of the skew to create a V-groove in the workpiece. Lightly mark

the center of the V with the top of the skew. Move the point of the skew to the right half of the desired

width of your cut. With the bevel parallel to the right side of the cut, raise the handle and push the tool

in to the desired depth. Repeat from the left side. The two cuts should meet at the bottom and leave a

clean V-groove. Additional cuts may be taken to add to either the depth or the width of the cut.

PARTING OFF - Adjust the lathe to a slower speed for parting through a workpiece. Place a parting tool

on the tool rest and raise the handle until is starts to cut. Continue cutting towards the center of the

workpiece. Loosely hold on to the piece in one hand as it separates from the waste wood.

NOTE: Always cut downhill, or from the large

diameter to the small diameter. Always work

towards the end of the workpiece; never start at

the cutting end.

Fig. 24

Fig. 25

OPERATION