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Sorby Spirraling Tool
- Thread starter tvgordon
- Start date
Here is a link to the Robert Sorby site for the video of the use of this tool. A high speed connection is best as these files are large.
http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/
I hope this will help
http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/
I hope this will help
Try Sorby company web site.
http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/
You can download the videos on using this tool.
They used to mail you a free DVD upon request.
Gordon
http://www.robert-sorby.co.uk/
You can download the videos on using this tool.
They used to mail you a free DVD upon request.
Gordon
Tom - I've had great success with mine. I find cherry very easy to spiral. It's probably something easy to correct that is causing your problems. Unfortunately, it will be very difficult to diagnose what the problem is over the internet.
I'm game to try if you are. Describe your setup. Which cutter? What setting on the tool. What speed on the lathe? What diameter is the piece you are trying to spiral? Where is your toolrest set relative to lathe center? How far is the toolrest from the workpiece surface? The cutter is set at an angle, are you cutting towards the low end or hight end of the cutter?
You're not trying to cut the spiral all in one pass, are you?
Anyway you could post a picture of the tool all set up and another showing how you position it against the wood for cutting (with the lathe turned off).
Ed
I'm game to try if you are. Describe your setup. Which cutter? What setting on the tool. What speed on the lathe? What diameter is the piece you are trying to spiral? Where is your toolrest set relative to lathe center? How far is the toolrest from the workpiece surface? The cutter is set at an angle, are you cutting towards the low end or hight end of the cutter?
You're not trying to cut the spiral all in one pass, are you?
Anyway you could post a picture of the tool all set up and another showing how you position it against the wood for cutting (with the lathe turned off).
Ed
By the way, do not try and sharpen the cutters the way that Sorby suggests in what they try to pass off as documentation. I spoke with a Sorby rep who said most people destroy their cutters by rounding over the cutting edge following Sorby's instructions.
I adapted a jig on my Tormek to sharpen mine and it works great. If you don't have a Tormek (or jet), your best bet for sharpening is to carefully use a small diamond file.
Ed
I adapted a jig on my Tormek to sharpen mine and it works great. If you don't have a Tormek (or jet), your best bet for sharpening is to carefully use a small diamond file.
Ed
I've found that different size cutters work better with certain diameter spindles. At least that's my impression.
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
Ed Could you give a typical scenario or setup. I have some cherry and would like to try my spiraling tool again. I've never really played with it much because my early attempts were pretty poor. I use the textureing tool a lot. I talked to the Sorby rep and he said I needed harder wood. He demonstrated the difference between some hard maple and Osage orange. There was a huge difference. He said boxwood was even better. Not having any of that wood in larger sizes I just sort of layed the tool aside.
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- Jun 24, 2004
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- Location
- Leopold Victoria Australia
- Website
- www.cwsonline.com.au
I dissagree with the sorby rep as I have found I can spiral most timbers. You have to select the right cutter for the wood you are trying to spiral.
Make sure the lower part of the cutter is on centre height this way you lift the handle till the cutting edge comes in to play. You need to keep a firm push on the cutter or it will bounce around on you. Do not move the cutter sideways till you have the spiral down to the depth required. Once down to depth then you move the tool one way or the other very slowly so you are keeping one tooth in the existing spiral, if you move too fast it will jump out of the spiral and you finish up with mush. You can stop and start the lathe as many times as you like as long as you let the cutter find its own running space.
They will work on concave and convex surfaces as well as straight sections, just make sure you get down to depth and move sideways slowly.
Make sure the lower part of the cutter is on centre height this way you lift the handle till the cutting edge comes in to play. You need to keep a firm push on the cutter or it will bounce around on you. Do not move the cutter sideways till you have the spiral down to the depth required. Once down to depth then you move the tool one way or the other very slowly so you are keeping one tooth in the existing spiral, if you move too fast it will jump out of the spiral and you finish up with mush. You can stop and start the lathe as many times as you like as long as you let the cutter find its own running space.
They will work on concave and convex surfaces as well as straight sections, just make sure you get down to depth and move sideways slowly.
John - I'm not sure if my random ramblings will help any, but here you go.
When you are just getting used to the tool, start out with the 4mm U-cutter and set the tool on the number 1 position, with the low end towards the direction you want to cut. The higher you set the tool (the more you move the cutter to vertical) the more difficult it becomes. Resist the temptation to try anything above the 1 position until you can reliably cut spirals.
I've had good results with maple, cherry, walnut, mahogany, camphor, jacaranda, rosewood, bubinga, bocote, cocobolo, australian pine, african blackwood and tulipwood. I didn't like the results with wenge, purpleheart, jatoba and palm. The one that cut the best is camphor and it's certainly not the hardest on my list.
Before cutting the spiral, sand the area to finish grit.
Set the lathe tool rest about 0.25" below center. You want the top of the tool baseplate on center. I took the baseplate off the tool and figured out the exact height I needed to set my toolrest. I then cut a piece of pvc pipe with an I.D. equal to my post diameter to use as a stop collar so I can quickly set the tool rest height each time I want to use the tool.
Make sure you have the washers in the correct place on the cutter. Two on top and one below. Don't over tighten the screw on the cutter. Snug is fine.
While you are setting the cutter angle on the tool, move the baseplate on the tool as far forward as you can without it interfering with the cutter. In the number one position you can go pretty far. Positioning the front edge of the baseplate about midway down the slot the cutter sits in is fine for the number 1 position.
Make sure the screws on the baseplate are really really tight after you set the spiral angle. You should not be able to twist the tool and change the setting if the screws are tight enough. They have to be really really really tight. Twist and test to make sure.
Set the lathe tool rest close enough to the wood so that the very front of the tool base plate rides on the rest. Make sure the tool slides easily on your tool rest. I wax my tool rest before cutting spirals.
Sorby recommends 500 rpm. I find for diameters under 2" a speed of 600 - 800 gives me better results. For diameters over 2" I go with 450 which is the minimum for my lathe. If you have the ability you might try experimenting with slower speeds on larger objects. I haven't cut a spiral on anything over 4" diameter.
With the lathe on, set the tool at a downward angle so you can ride the bevel on the cutter. Slowly pull the tool back and tilt up until the cutter begins to spin and cut. You can't just tilt up and down to adjust cutting at this point. You also have to move in and out slightly as well. If you tilt up too far you'll get rough cutting and eventually no cutting. If you tilt down too far the tool will not cut as well and it will have a tendency to jump and start cutting a new set of spirals. There is a definite sweet spot for cutting. Once you get used to where it is you can just approach the piece at the optimal angle without starting out riding the bevel. I find cutting slightly below center works best for me.
Once you've started cutting the spiral, don't stop and check it like Sorby recommends. Give it a few seconds at the beginning and then slowly start moving across the piece. When you get to the end don't pull the cutter away from the work. Lightly move it back to the beginning, keeping it in the spiral.
I find you don't need to put a lot of pressure on the tool. I'll do 10 or more light passes. Too much pressure on the tool while cutting will give you distorted spirals, tearout and possibly cause the tool to jump and start cutting a new spiral over the old.
Don't stop and stay in one spot. The tool works easiest across a level surface. If you stop in one spot it will start cutting a cove.
Don't try and move too fast. It's not like thread chasing. Slow and easy does it.
If you have trouble advancing the tool (particularly on the first cut) you can try a swivel cut. Pin the tool to the toolrest with your free hand. Pull the handle of the tool away from the direction of cutting which will move the cutter forward. Keeping pressure on the tool, slide the tool in the direction of travel on the tool rest until you are again square with the workpiece. Repeat this seesaw action until you reach the end of the area you want to spiral. Don't go overboard on the seesawing. You only want to advance the tool a small amount each time.
Give it a try.
Ed
When you are just getting used to the tool, start out with the 4mm U-cutter and set the tool on the number 1 position, with the low end towards the direction you want to cut. The higher you set the tool (the more you move the cutter to vertical) the more difficult it becomes. Resist the temptation to try anything above the 1 position until you can reliably cut spirals.
I've had good results with maple, cherry, walnut, mahogany, camphor, jacaranda, rosewood, bubinga, bocote, cocobolo, australian pine, african blackwood and tulipwood. I didn't like the results with wenge, purpleheart, jatoba and palm. The one that cut the best is camphor and it's certainly not the hardest on my list.
Before cutting the spiral, sand the area to finish grit.
Set the lathe tool rest about 0.25" below center. You want the top of the tool baseplate on center. I took the baseplate off the tool and figured out the exact height I needed to set my toolrest. I then cut a piece of pvc pipe with an I.D. equal to my post diameter to use as a stop collar so I can quickly set the tool rest height each time I want to use the tool.
Make sure you have the washers in the correct place on the cutter. Two on top and one below. Don't over tighten the screw on the cutter. Snug is fine.
While you are setting the cutter angle on the tool, move the baseplate on the tool as far forward as you can without it interfering with the cutter. In the number one position you can go pretty far. Positioning the front edge of the baseplate about midway down the slot the cutter sits in is fine for the number 1 position.
Make sure the screws on the baseplate are really really tight after you set the spiral angle. You should not be able to twist the tool and change the setting if the screws are tight enough. They have to be really really really tight. Twist and test to make sure.
Set the lathe tool rest close enough to the wood so that the very front of the tool base plate rides on the rest. Make sure the tool slides easily on your tool rest. I wax my tool rest before cutting spirals.
Sorby recommends 500 rpm. I find for diameters under 2" a speed of 600 - 800 gives me better results. For diameters over 2" I go with 450 which is the minimum for my lathe. If you have the ability you might try experimenting with slower speeds on larger objects. I haven't cut a spiral on anything over 4" diameter.
With the lathe on, set the tool at a downward angle so you can ride the bevel on the cutter. Slowly pull the tool back and tilt up until the cutter begins to spin and cut. You can't just tilt up and down to adjust cutting at this point. You also have to move in and out slightly as well. If you tilt up too far you'll get rough cutting and eventually no cutting. If you tilt down too far the tool will not cut as well and it will have a tendency to jump and start cutting a new set of spirals. There is a definite sweet spot for cutting. Once you get used to where it is you can just approach the piece at the optimal angle without starting out riding the bevel. I find cutting slightly below center works best for me.
Once you've started cutting the spiral, don't stop and check it like Sorby recommends. Give it a few seconds at the beginning and then slowly start moving across the piece. When you get to the end don't pull the cutter away from the work. Lightly move it back to the beginning, keeping it in the spiral.
I find you don't need to put a lot of pressure on the tool. I'll do 10 or more light passes. Too much pressure on the tool while cutting will give you distorted spirals, tearout and possibly cause the tool to jump and start cutting a new spiral over the old.
Don't stop and stay in one spot. The tool works easiest across a level surface. If you stop in one spot it will start cutting a cove.
Don't try and move too fast. It's not like thread chasing. Slow and easy does it.
If you have trouble advancing the tool (particularly on the first cut) you can try a swivel cut. Pin the tool to the toolrest with your free hand. Pull the handle of the tool away from the direction of cutting which will move the cutter forward. Keeping pressure on the tool, slide the tool in the direction of travel on the tool rest until you are again square with the workpiece. Repeat this seesaw action until you reach the end of the area you want to spiral. Don't go overboard on the seesawing. You only want to advance the tool a small amount each time.
Give it a try.
Ed
Jim - I find that using several passes to reach final depth gives me the best results. Cutting to final depth before moving on was much more difficult for me and didn't give as good a result.
The tool is definitely capable of producing good results. For those having trouble, you just have to find the technique that works for you. Keep trying until you get it.
Ed.
The tool is definitely capable of producing good results. For those having trouble, you just have to find the technique that works for you. Keep trying until you get it.
Ed.
john lucas
AAW Forum Expert
Thanks Ed, Jim and everyone else. I'm getting excited about that tool again so I'll copy Ed's directions and give it a try.
Thanks
The video on the Sorby site was a big help. I sharpened the cutter with a diamond hone, but maybe I need to do a little more. It looked more like shavings coming off the cutter on the Sorby video, and it looked more like dust coming off of my cutter. Thanks to everyone that helped, now I'm heading out to the shop and hope everything works ok now. Tom.
The video on the Sorby site was a big help. I sharpened the cutter with a diamond hone, but maybe I need to do a little more. It looked more like shavings coming off the cutter on the Sorby video, and it looked more like dust coming off of my cutter. Thanks to everyone that helped, now I'm heading out to the shop and hope everything works ok now. Tom.