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So is this the fastest way....?

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Since I'll be turning spinning tops at OPCAAW's booth at the county fair soon, I took a look at YouTube to see how others do it. I'm using a spindle gouge and, for quick-cheat purposes, a parting tool. This video, however, seems to present a faster way to turn one (and solidify basic chew chisel technique). What say you?:D
 
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Since I'll be turning spinning tops at OPCAAW's booth at the county fair soon, I took a look at YouTube to see how others do it. I'm using a spindle gouge and, for quick-cheat purposes, a parting tool. This video, however, seems to present a faster way to turn one (and solidify basic chew chisel technique). What say you?:D

I would say do it how you're comfortable doing it, especially if you're not already proficient with a skew. I turn a lot of tops(two piece) and generally use a 3/8" bowl gouge, a 3/8" bedan, for the same reason you are using a parting tool, and a 3/8" spindle gouge.

Steve
 

john lucas

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that's a pretty good method. I tend to use my Thompson detail gouge but have also used a skew. I would leave out the step where he trues up the cylinder with the skew after using the spindle roughing gouge. Your going to take off that wood anyway when you start using the skew in a paring cut (that's what we call using it like a parting tool). When I was demoing at the Southwest woodturners symposium Richard Raffen and Micheal Hosaluk were trying to turn a spinning top the fastest. Each one won once. The record was 15 seconds. Yep you heard me right. Now that didn't include sanding and finishing. When I do tops all day I get them down to about 3 minutes each depending on the wood choice. I do most of the roughing out to shape using the spindle roughing gouge. Then it's just a matter of doing the final cuts with the detail gouge or I might use the skew. I noticed the guy's skew was ground with a rather blunt angle. That probably helped him turn that little cove in the handle. Most of my skews are ground a lot sharper.
 
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The first professional demo I ever saw was Alan Lacer demonstrating skew technique. He warmed up by making a couple of tops. Seeing him produce a 1/2" diameter top entirely with his great big skew (the size of an oar) was quite dramatic. And he took about 5 minutes.
 

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I like turning tops with the blank mounted in a Chuck like the video.

Use the tools you are compfortable using.
Have fun, chat with the people, don't work too fast.
Tops are great because the folks can see the whole thing in 10 minutes.

My wife Sherry turns Binnie Klein style tops with chatter work and colored rings when we demo at fairs and such. She always gets a group of kids watching, gets them to participate in choosing the colors, then gives them each a top.
 
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hockenbery

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My first ever demo in front of people was at an art show in a shared sales booth.
I had 4-5 people watching me turn a top. The turning was going great!
Mistake ONE : I scratch the handle with the tip of the skew as I was cutting it free.
Mistake TWO: I pull too hard on the sandpaper fixing the handle that was nearly cut free.
The top pops free and goes straight up about a foot.
LUCKY Recovery: I catch the top and the people actually applaud
If only they knew....
 
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I would say do it how you're comfortable doing it, especially if you're not already proficient with a skew. I turn a lot of tops(two piece) and generally use a 3/8" bowl gouge, a 3/8" bedan, for the same reason you are using a parting tool, and a 3/8" spindle gouge.

Steve
I won't be trying anything new for the fair, was just intrigued by Matt Monaco's technique. Over time, I want to become very proficient with the skew. What kind of grind do you use on the bowl gouge? Re: the 2-piece tops, at first I was mystified why one would do the dowel-in-a-board thing, but now I see it's advantages, most notably using less good wood, but also less turning time, at least for me.

The main thing I need to practice is not using "French" when I make a mistake.:D The ol' "Pardon my French" saying when one slips into sailor-talk after messing something up.:rolleyes:
 
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I like turning tops with the blank mounted in a Chuck like the video.

Use the tools you are compfortable using.
Have fun, chat with the people, don't work too fast.
Tops are great because the folks can see the whole thing in 10 minutes.

My wife Sherry turns Binnie Klein style tops with chatter work and colored rings when we demo at fairs and such. She always gets a group of kids watching, gets them to participate in choosing the colors, then gives them each a top.
Yep, from what I understand, that's the way it goes at our fair. I'm not down to 10 minutes yet, but am working toward it. Didn't know Bonnie had changed her name.:D:D:D
 
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LUCKY Recovery: I catch the top and the people actually applaud
If only they knew....
And here they thought it was all planned out. Is it rude to say that story reminds me of a horse I used to have? When she was two years old, I had her loose in the arena, running around like a fool, and she slipped and fell. She raised her head to look at me for just one second, and then proceeded to roll as if the "SPLAT" fall was totally intentional.:D
 

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Yep, from what I understand, that's the way it goes at our fair. I'm not down to 10 minutes yet, but am working toward it. Didn't know Bonnie had changed her name.:D:D:D

Binnie is her brother. :D

Here is another YouTube video by Nick Cook showing two styles of tops. I have made a few that looked like his first one.
 

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And here they thought it was all planned out. Is it rude to say that story reminds me of a horse I used to have? When she was two years old, I had her loose in the arena, running around like a fool, and she slipped and fell. She raised her head to look at me for just one second, and then proceeded to roll as if the "SPLAT" fall was totally intentional.:D
when I was doing gymnastics in High school I was going to do a parallel bar routine at one of the pep rally's. When I was approaching the bars I tripped on the mat and fell flat. I started doing pushups so it looked like I did it on purpose. Everyone laughed.
 
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I won't be trying anything new for the fair, was just intrigued by Matt Monaco's technique. Over time, I want to become very proficient with the skew. What kind of grind do you use on the bowl gouge? Re: the 2-piece tops, at first I was mystified why one would do the dowel-in-a-board thing, but now I see it's advantages, most notably using less good wood, but also less turning time, at least for me.

The main thing I need to practice is not using "French" when I make a mistake.:D The ol' "Pardon my French" saying when one slips into sailor-talk after messing something up.:rolleyes:

I think there are many advantages to doing them two piece. Most importantly to me, the ones I make are 100% left overs from other turnings or projects. I have a little video of my method if you're interested
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZETvmEEluQk


Steve
 
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Well, all of the roughing cuts are pretty much peeling cuts. You can do peeling cuts with any tool in the arsenal, from the bedan, to the SRG, the skew, and yes, I use scrapers. Finish cuts are pretty much the same. I prefer wood as straight grained as I can get for strength as much as anything else. Any cross grained pieces want to break easily when you turn the stem/handle. Surprised the young man in the first video got away with that one on the piece of mesquite... I do prefer to use thin CA glue to firm up the point in any open grained wood, or any softer wood. My favorite wood to use is hard maple. I got a pallet load of 3 inch by 36 inch maple baseball bat blanks. This size of top does require a two handed spin, starting between your palms and use a push/pull motion to start them. 5 year olds can pick this up, though most younger than that may have difficulties. The smaller tops spin for maybe a minute or so, while these bigger ones spin for 2 or 3 minutes. Fun projects...

robo hippy
 
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Binnie is her brother. :D

Here is another YouTube video by Nick Cook showing two styles of tops. I have made a few that looked like his first one.
What kind of grind does he have on the bowl gouge he uses for most of the roughing? Is it an "Ellsworth grind" specifically, or something different? I have a small bowl gouge that's doing nothing these day, and would like to get a versatile grind on it, would be good to use on tops methinks.
 
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I think there are many advantages to doing them two piece. Most importantly to me, the ones I make are 100% left overs from other turnings or projects. I have a little video of my method if you're interested
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZETvmEEluQk
Steve
Steve, I enjoyed your video. Besides learning your general technique for 2-piece top making, watching you use the bedan was very informative. I've been wanting to get one, and it seems more efficient and versatile than a parting tool. Thanks!
 
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Hmmmm, ran across a video where the turner uses 2-4" log to turn the tops from, obviously including the pith. Is that not a concern with something as small as a top?
 

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What kind of grind does he have on the bowl gouge he uses for most of the roughing? Is it an "Ellsworth grind" specifically, or something different? I have a small bowl gouge that's doing nothing these day, and would like to get a versatile grind on it, would be good to use on tops methinks.

A 1/4" bowl gouge is generally used for detailed work so I would guess that the nose angle is more acute like a spindle gouge.
 

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I believe Nick uses something like an Ellsworth grind. It looks a lot like my no name Sorby copy spindle gouge. I use the Wolverine jig to sharpen it with the same setting I use on my bowl gouge except I slide the V arm forward about 3/4" to give the nose angle a more acute angle. Mine is about 35 degrees.
 
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Got tons of wood that my wife keeps asking when I'm going to make something with it. As of yesterday, I now have nine grandchildren- little girl born yesterday. I have a built-in clientele for tops.
John, what is a push-up?
 
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Nick's gouge does look like a swept back variety. I can't really tell what the bevel angle is, but it does look more pointy than the more standard ones which are in the 60 degree range. My favorite is a 45/45, so 45 bevel, 45 sweep, platform sharpened. Stuart Batty likes a 40/40, which is too pointy for my taste, and as a combination tool, pretty good for detail work, but not as good for heavy roughing. You can experiment with your gouge to see what works best.

With Nick's method, I wouldn't use the spur drive. If the blank fits in the chuck, then expand out and grab it by the square, turn the tenon on the tailstock end, then reverse. You don't have to insert and remove the spur drive.

robo hippy
 

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Nick's gouge does look like a swept back variety. I can't really tell what the bevel angle is, but it does look more pointy than the more standard ones which are in the 60 degree range ... You can experiment with your gouge to see what works best.

At about 2:56 in the video, Nick says that it is ground more like a spindle gouge than a bowl gouge. I agree that experimenting around is the best way to see what works best for you. There isn't any such thing as a "best" grind although some obviously work better than others.

... With Nick's method, I wouldn't use the spur drive. If the blank fits in the chuck, then expand out and grab it by the square, turn the tenon on the tailstock end, then reverse. You don't have to insert and remove the spur drive.

Well, this is a Robert Sorby sponsored video and naturally you would want to feature as many of their products as you can. :D He could have done everything with a skew. :(
 

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I was targeted by a bit of online advertising for these spinning tops....(I have no idea how they came up with the conclusion that I would be interested......possibly because of a reference to "lathe".)

Anyway, as a general interest to this subject, I'm posting the following link:

http://foreverspin.com/?gclid=COGD5O68yc4CFRSPfgodmqEPVQ
 
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At about 2:56 in the video, Nick says that it is ground more like a spindle gouge than a bowl gouge. I agree that experimenting around is the best way to see what works best for you. There isn't any such thing as a "best" grind although some obviously work better than others.
Beatcha to it. This morning, I took a bowl gouge that I never use and started grinding away. I find I'm more willing to experiment with grinding since I got the CBN wheel.
 
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hockenbery

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Jamie,
Lots of things to try in this thread.
In demos I use tools I am compfortable with.

You turn bottle stoppers.
Think of the top as weirdly shaped bottle stopper with the extra step of cutting it free when you are done.

Consider using the tools you use for bottle stoppers. These are tools you are comfortable with.

Using familiar tools lets me talk about how I am using the tools Instead of thinking about how I will use them in front of an audience.
When I plan a demo, I eliminate as many variables as I can. If I have confidence in the tools, wood, chucks, sharpening method.... I'm starting the demo on a solid foundation.

Have fun
 
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Jamie,
Lots of things to try in this thread.
In demos I use tools I am compfortable with.

You turn bottle stoppers.
Think of the top as weirdly shaped bottle stopper with the extra step of cutting it free when you are done.

Consider using the tools you use for bottle stoppers. These are tools you are comfortable with.

Using familiar tools lets me talk about how I am using the tools Instead of thinking about how I will use them in front of an audience.
When I plan a demo, I eliminate as many variables as I can. If I have confidence in the tools, wood, chucks, sharpening method.... I'm starting the demo on a solid foundation.

Have fun
Hmmmm, I may have given the wrong impression with the title of this thread. I'm not looking to abruptly change how I turn tops, but I am intrigued by Monaco's efficient use of the skew. Gives me something to shoot for down the road.
 

hockenbery

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Hmmmm, I may have given the wrong impression with the title of this thread. I'm not looking to abruptly change how I turn tops, but I am intrigued by Monaco's efficient use of the skew. Gives me something to shoot for down the road.
I thought you were contemplating methods to use at the fair.
Always good to learn and try new techniques.
 
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Many years ago, the first video I ever watched about woodturning was Richard Raffen.... Thought every one turned like that. Most of the time on spindles, when the skew is used for roughing, it is as a peeling cut. Not Richard.....

robo hippy
 
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I thought you were contemplating methods to use at the fair.
Always good to learn and try new techniques.
Nahhh, if I have to talk AND turn a top, better not throw anything new in the mix.:D Today was fun, I turned some hard (eastern) maple for the first time, much nicer result than our Big Leaf Maple. A turning buddy and I went to Edensaw in Port Townsend yesterday and bought EHM and some cherry. I also picked up a small block of cocobolo and a stick of blackwood.
 
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