• It's time to cast your votes in the July 2025 Turning Challenge. (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Michael Foster for "Costa II" being selected as Turning of the Week for July 28th, 2025 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Solving shaggy walnut

Jamie Straw

Jamie Straw

Joined
May 28, 2015
Messages
1,619
Likes
224
Location
Bainbridge Island, WA
I was prepping stopper blanks today, had a mix of plum, maple and walnut. I'm starting with 1-3/4" square stock, between centers using a parting tool to turn a tenon for #2 jaws. The plum and the maple accept the parting tool nicely, and I get crisp shoulders. The walnut, however, shreds at the corners rather dramatically. I tried different parting tools, and starting angles to see if I can reduce the fray, but no luck. Any tips?
 
Jamie Straw said:
I was prepping stopper blanks today, had a mix of plum, maple and walnut. I'm starting with 1-3/4" square stock, between centers using a parting tool to turn a tenon for #2 jaws. The plum and the maple accept the parting tool nicely, and I get crisp shoulders. The walnut, however, shreds at the corners rather dramatically. I tried different parting tools, and starting angles to see if I can reduce the fray, but no luck. Any tips?
Click to expand...

Often you can get a clean corner with parting tool by starting the cut with the handle way up.
This presents the top edge of the parting tool as a negative rake scraper.
Once the tool is bit below the surface you can lower the handle until it is peeling.

For a really clean a corner - cut with a skew.
Al
 
hockenbery said:
Often you can get a clean corner with parting tool by starting the cut with the handle way up.
This presents the top edge of the parting tool as a negative rake scraper.
Once the tool is bit below the surface you can lower the handle until it is peeling.

For a really clean a corner - cut with a skew.
Al
Click to expand...
I tried starting with raised handle (really a general habit with that tool) but perhaps not quite enough. Poor thing looked like it had been electrocuted. :p Will try exaggerating it tomorrow. I did resort to a skew on the second blank, but hoping to only use one tool for these stopper preps.
 
How about a skew?

I have an old bifurcated thin parting tool made by Sorby. I think it is the same as what they now call a Nick Cook parting tool. It's generally good for getting clean shoulders on a tenon.
 
If I am going for a really clean shoulder, I use the parting tool short of the final line, and then use a detain gouge to clean up the face of the shoulder. Parting tools, other than the fluted ones or bifurcated, tend to leave a cleaner shoulder. I guess the finish cut can be done with a skew too.

robo hippy
 
robo hippy said:
If I am going for a really clean shoulder, I use the parting tool short of the final line, and then use a detain gouge to clean up the face of the shoulder. Parting tools, other than the fluted ones or bifurcated, tend to leave a cleaner shoulder. I guess the finish cut can be done with a skew too.

robo hippy
Click to expand...

These shoulder don't need to be super-clean (as in finished cut), they are there for the purpose of chucking, but the super-shaggy splintered walnut was going to interfere with the wood seating on the chuck. I will keep your suggestions in mind for other uses though.:)
 
Any chance the walnut wasn't completely dry? Green walnut has generally been a gucky, stringy mess in my experience.
 
I'm with Al. I learned a long time ago if I start parting with a bevel rubbing cut it will leave a ragged corner. If I start the cut with the tool parallel to the floor so it's just scraping it leaves the corner cleaner. Walnut seems to be one wood that can vary a lot. I'll get some that turns like maple and the next batch will have nasty tearout that I fight all the way through.
 
If it is just seating against the chuck, you can just put a tiny round over on the edge which will clear out all the shaggy...

robo hippy
 
What I do sometimes when I'm in a hurry is to use the parting tool to make the cut. Then as I pull the parting tool out I use the slanted top edge of the bevel as a shear scraper and round over the corner. You just barely tilt the tool to the right or clockwise until that upper edge starts to cut. Then pull it out gently and round over the corner. If the tool was freshly sharpened this is a cutting edge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top