Is it inadvisable to use a parting tool on a cross grain piece to separate the project from the chuck? Only used to part endgrain pieces?
Thank you for your advice.
Thank you for your advice.
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Parting tool use on cross gain orientation?
- Thread starter Bruce Hage
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the Many risks of doing it make most folks avoid it. It can be done.
the parting tool does not cut cross grain well usually leaving tear out.
the risk of a catch on the endgrain will pop the whole piece free from the tenon in an instant.
once the cut diameter gets less than about an inch the piece easily breaks free.
i much prefer revers chucking bowls and hollow forms regardless of grain orinetaion
this allows the bottom to be finished turned.
a saw is better than a parting tool.
on occasion I will use a parting tool to cut pieces in half or to cut a squares ring free from a piece or cut slated rings to make a stacked ring piece like a birdhouse roof.
the parting tool does not cut cross grain well usually leaving tear out.
the risk of a catch on the endgrain will pop the whole piece free from the tenon in an instant.
once the cut diameter gets less than about an inch the piece easily breaks free.
i much prefer revers chucking bowls and hollow forms regardless of grain orinetaion
this allows the bottom to be finished turned.
a saw is better than a parting tool.
on occasion I will use a parting tool to cut pieces in half or to cut a squares ring free from a piece or cut slated rings to make a stacked ring piece like a birdhouse roof.
Last edited:
- Joined
- Apr 27, 2004
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- 9,165
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- 5,771
- Location
- Lakeland, Florida
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- www.hockenberywoodturning.com
Reverse chucking a bowl is something I do in the video of a demo below.
fast forward to 33 min - I measure the bottom thickness eliminates any chance of making a funnel without knowing you are likely to do so.
fast forward to 34 min - to see the reverse chucking.
practice with the spindle gouge Until you are comfortable using one.
a common mistake in reverse turning is to let the spindle gouge get pulled under the little pin you make.
working more on the top with the roll rest a tiny bit above center eliminates that risk.
Mounting and turning a dried bowl -
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sCZWsHB4vlM
fast forward to 33 min - I measure the bottom thickness eliminates any chance of making a funnel without knowing you are likely to do so.
fast forward to 34 min - to see the reverse chucking.
practice with the spindle gouge Until you are comfortable using one.
a common mistake in reverse turning is to let the spindle gouge get pulled under the little pin you make.
working more on the top with the roll rest a tiny bit above center eliminates that risk.
Mounting and turning a dried bowl -
I have seen parting/bedan/'sizing tools used to form tenons. and while they do a fair job of forming the sides of a tenon. I would still clean it up with a gouge, mostly for less tear out. They can be used to part off bowl blanks, but for me, I don't leave enough of a recess to make a parting tool worth the effort. It would be the same thing with removing a tenon. If you have a long tenon, you are kind of wasting wood, and I am frugal...
robo hippy
robo hippy
I part every bowl I make from a waste block, and the waste block is cross grain. What I'm using these days is a Nick Cook parting tool. It has a fluted top edge, and makes for a more pointy side cutting edge to the parting tool. This does a much cleaner job than a regular flat cut parting tool. I first learned about this from an early Raffan video, where he explains how to grind "spurs" on the edge of the parting tool.....same concept as the Nick Cook parting tool, but the Cook parting tool is without the need to manually grind the "spurs".
Here is a sequence of photos that show me parting a bowl from the waste block, using an old drum brake adjuster (remember those?
) to break the bowl away from the waste block, and then mounting to jumbo jaws to turn the foot.(edit note: These photos are from 2015, and I make the parting channel wider now. This, after a couple severe catches of the Cook parting tool catching the side of the parted channel. By making it a little wider, you can come in at an angle and keep distance between the top edge of the parting tool, and the side walls of the parted channel. The part is done in increments, from one side to the other.)
-----odie-----
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I use a Sorby fluted parting tool. If I don't keep it sharp and go slow, I end up with torn end grain. I don't like to part any project off so I cut all but an inch then use a flush cutting pull saw to finish it. I use it on all spindle work but on bowls I mostly flip it around and use a sharp gouge to take the tenon off/sand/finish. I don't spin the piece very fast when using a parting tool, I've had it (diamond parting tool) grab and take off more than I intend to remove (but that's more in my (lack of) technique I'm sure).