Working a large flat in a turning

[Barry Larson]

I am currently making some small plates for practice (see whats on your lathe). They have a significant flat on the face. I am currently using my largest skew (1 inch) as a scraper to true this area up before sanding. I would rate the process a fairly good, but am wondering what others use? I also thought about making a tool out of a heavy plane blade (like for wooden or Krenov style planes). Maybe round the corners so they don't dig in, and turn a good burr on the edge. Maybe even modify the bevel so its closer to a scraper angle. I also thought of a Stanley style iron, but these are likely too thin and would chatter. Any and all advice appreciated.
Thanks. Be safe and stay well.
Barry W. Larson
Calgary, Alberta, Canada eh!

 

[Isaac Fisher]

Square end scraper, the wider the better. A slight radius lets you use just a bit of the edge at one time, but the wider tool helps visually gauge how flat your surface is without constantly stopping to check.

 

[Kevin Jenness]

You could use a plane blade with a handle, but the steels typically used in that application won't hold an edge long while turning. A conventional wide hss tool would fare better. Are you dissatisfied with the skew used as a negative rake scraper? Do you have a burr on the edge?

You might consider using a card scraper with the work fixed. That allows you to choose your angle of attack. Stewart Macdonald makes a nice thick blade for this. Stewmac scraper

 

[Brian Gustin]

I typically eyeball it using the tool rest for a reference , if you get tool rest close in enough it is fairly easy to get a flat surface in reference - much like turning a spindle for such things as a dowel or rolling pin, unless you are looking for .005" or less of "out of flat" - in other words precision, then usually training yourself to eyeball it against tool rest reference works wonderfully, and that way you don't have to worry about what tool you use... I have turned platter faces flat with bowl gouge, spindle gouge, skew, SRG, scrapers all with similar results (other than cleanness of cut) once I developed the "eye" (It was easy enough for me, years as a small engine & auto tech, spotting something not flat became fairly easy)

 

[Barry Larson]

Thanks all. I think I'll try the widest HSS square end scraper I can find. In the meantime I'll continue with the wide skew. I'm just using it to smooth any ripples out of the surface prior to sanding and it's working pretty well. I was just wondering if there was something better.
Be safe and stay well.
Barry

 

[Randy Anderson]

Making a clean, ripple free inside bottom surface for platters or plates is a lot harder (at least for me) than the pros make it look online. For me a wide NR scraper with rounded corners with lots and lots of light passes is the most predictable. I can sometimes get a very good pass with my gouge from rim to center that could pass inspection but not often enough to count on it. For plates I also don't go for a pure flat surface. Plates don't have one. A slight curve inward is the norm but still, no ripples. I also do a lot of mineral spirit wipe downs as I go to try and spot them. It's very easy to miss the faint ripples even with a straight edge or flat rule across the surface but they will certainly pop out once the finish is on and the sunlight hits them just right.

 

[Doug Freeman]

1” wide scraper is wide enough, grind it at an angle, which does 2 things:
> longer edge
> holding the tool at an angle makes it easier to pull along the tool rest

The one shown below is good and thick, 0.325”. Edge ground with a slight radius, no straight section, radius varies a bit.
Neg rake symetric grind (60 deg included), honed then burnished. Can be used either direction on tool rest by flipping the burr. Good for flat or convex surfaces (bowl or hf OD). On OD’s can be tilted for sheer scrape as required.

 

[Barry Larson]

1 wide scraper is wide enough, grind it at an angle, which does 2 things:
> longer edge
> holding the tool at an angle makes it easier to pull along the tool rest

The one shown below is good and thick, 0.325”. Edge ground with a slight radius, no straight section, radius varies a bit.
Neg rake symetric grind (60 deg included), honed then burnished. Can be used either direction on tool rest by flipping the burr. Good for flat or convex surfaces (bowl or hf OD). On OD’s can be tilted for sheer scrape as required.

View attachment 51135


View attachment 51136

Thanks Doug. I like that design. I've been thinking about just making my own scraper out of HSS. I may well copy your design.
Cheers, Barry

 

[Barry Larson]

Making a clean, ripple free inside bottom surface for platters or plates is a lot harder (at least for me) than the pros make it look online. For me a wide NR scraper with rounded corners with lots and lots of light passes is the most predictable. I can sometimes get a very good pass with my gouge from rim to center that could pass inspection but not often enough to count on it. For plates I also don't go for a pure flat surface. Plates don't have one. A slight curve inward is the norm but still, no ripples. I also do a lot of mineral spirit wipe downs as I go to try and spot them. It's very easy to miss the faint ripples even with a straight edge or flat rule across the surface but they will certainly pop out once the finish is on and the sunlight hits them just right.

Thanks Randy. This is what I am trying to work around. Good idea with the mineral spirits. Cheers,
Barry

 

[Bill Boehme]

Getting a perfectly flat surface over a large area is almost impossible, especially if you expect it to stay that way forever. And, a perfectly leveled high-gloss finish will highlight even the slightest irregularity in a surface that isn't optically dead flat. One solution is to use a satin or matte finish which might work as long as you can't feel any ripples. My preference is to not have a dead flat surface. I aim for a very shallow curve with the center about ⅛" lower than the edge. Because a curve so shallow also isn't easy to eyeball, I use a CAD program to print a template of the desired curve on heavy photo paper.

 

[Charlie Knighton]

Well, I used scrappers & gouges , bigger & heavier the better, the round screw chuck was very helpful

Double box series "This Way"

 

[sjbrandt]

I’ve been doing a number of small tables lately and have tried everything mentioned previously. I’ve settled on a 1” wide square-end traditional scraper. I’ve put a very steep 9-10 degree bevel on it and use it straight off a 180 grit CBN wheel.

 

[Dave Landers]

We had Tom Wirsing demo his process for platters at our club this month.

At about 1:21:45 in the video he starts using a scraper on the inside bottom of the platter.

 

[robo hippy]

My go to tool for this would be a 1 inch wide scraper or NRS, and the nose profile would be about 1/2 inch being about 90 degrees to the side of the scraper, and the other 1/2 inch being a 1/4 round profile. This would let you work from the center out, and the 'swept back' part of the nose profile would not dig in. As said above, position your straight tool rest directly parallel to the outer parts of the platter or seat bottom, and use your fingers against the tool rest as a guide. You could also clamp some thing onto the shaft of the tool to make it 'perfect'. I prefer to test my hand skills....

robo hippy

 

[John Chalikian]

I’ve been doing a number of small tables lately and have tried everything mentioned previously. I’ve settled on a 1” wide square-end traditionalView attachment 51159 scraper. I’ve put a very steep 9-10 degree bevel on it and use it straight off a 180 grit CBN wheel.View attachment 51158

Very nice table Steve.
John Chalikian

 

[sjbrandt]

Very nice table Steve.
John Chalikian

Thanks very much, John.

 

[Barry Larson]

My go to tool for this would be a 1 inch wide scraper or NRS, and the nose profile would be about 1/2 inch being about 90 degrees to the side of the scraper, and the other 1/2 inch being a 1/4 round profile. This would let you work from the center out, and the 'swept back' part of the nose profile would not dig in. As said above, position your straight tool rest directly parallel to the outer parts of the platter or seat bottom, and use your fingers against the tool rest as a guide. You could also clamp some thing onto the shaft of the tool to make it 'perfect'. I prefer to test my hand skills....

robo hippy

Thanks Reed. I'm debating on either making or modifying a tool for purpose. I'll keep this in mind as I do so.
Be safe and stay well.

Barry

 

[robo hippy]

I swim a lot, and one common thing about swimming and woodturning, is that there is always some thing new to try.....

robo hippy

 

[Sam Fleisher]

Well, I used scrappers & gouges , bigger & heavier the better, the round screw chuck was very helpful

Double box series "This Way"

Ok, I've looked at that first pic several times. There isn't a dead mouse on it right? I'm still not sure. It's definitely thought provoking for me. Just not in the way you intended I'm sure!

 

[Charlie Knighton]

Buckeye burl bought from cutoff box @ a Virginia Symposium , always look at the cutoff box with the wood vendors, the top plain piece is glued together pieces plywood

 

[Sam Fleisher]

I just have an overactive imagination I think. The arrows show what I see.

Tip of nose, ears and a foot.

 

[Charlie Knighton]

maybe a bog mouse! u need to get some Buckeye burl to spin