Spindle Gouge Skipping Across Wood

[Todd Acker]

I'm just starting out and practicing using my tools. I bought the Benjamin Best 8 piece set. I've been using the 1 inch gouge as a roughing gouge, and then when I have a round piece, I try to practice going back and forth on the piece of wood (cherry) to get a smooth cut. I am finding it to be very challenging. The gouge skips across the piece. How do I prevent this from happening?

 

[Brian Gustin]

You're not following the basics - float the bevel before starting the cut - ABC = Anchor (Anchor the tool on the tool rest without touching the wood yet) Bevel (Gradually bring the tool into "just kissing the wood" contact so the bevel is floating across the wood - to do so you're generally pulling the tool towards you while lifting up on the handle - try to point the flute of the tool in the direction you wanna go...) and Finally Cut - You continue to bring raise the handle (moving the tip of tool so the cutting edge starts cutting into wood- NO FUTHER- soon as it starts to cut you see a shaving coming off the edge and into the flute, stick at that point and float the bevel in direction of cut, just let the tool cut the wood, not pushing it in..

Looks to me like you are starting the wrong way - more like trying to push the cutting edge into the wood (like you'd do with a carving chisel - not what you wanna do with turning tools) - without the bevel to provide support to the cutting edge, the cutting edge will just try to follow the wood grain and cut deeper..

Oh yes and most importantly to work well, the tool does need to be properly sharp (if you have to push the tool in to make it cut, it is dull)

 

[hockenbery]

Everything @Brian Gustin said about ABC
Takes practice. Taking a class or working with a mentor can speed up the learning curve.

These little clips may help. A couple spindle gouge shots show the ABC and the shots of the SRG show the bevel riding cut into a smooth cylinder - the one I use the spindle gouge on

Notice I just hold the tool steel with the thumb and forefinger. I let the tool work.
A light grip on the tool lets it maintain bevel contact and follow the bevel cut

A - tool on the tool rest B- bevel on the wood not cutting


C- lift the handle role the tool to engage the cuttin edge then follow the cut.


SRG - starting the cut.
…

SRG cutting square to round…

 

[Vicki Hayden]

It looks like what happens to me when the lathe is too slow or I move the tool too slow. You Tube is a great teacher. Look for beginner videos and those for spindle gouge and roughing gouge. A cheap piece of 2x4, but square might be better for practice and save nice wood like cherry for the final project. Hang in there. It does take practice.

 

[Greg Wold]

It looks like what happens to me when the lathe is too slow or I move the tool too slow. You Tube is a great teacher. Look for beginner videos and those for spindle gouge and roughing gouge. A cheap piece of 2x4, but square might be better for practice and save nice wood like cherry for the final project. Hang in there. It does take practice.

Agreed. I was rounding off a piece of cherry firewood yesterday, so started at about 400 rpm to slowly work down the large wings (no bandsaw to do that for me). My piece looked a lot like the OP's image, until I'd gotten it down to nearly-round and could bump up the speed.

 

[Gabriel Hoff]

I rough spindles 3" in diameter or under at about 1800-2000 rpm. That might be a little fast if you aren't confident yet, but increasing speed just a little will help.

 

[Todd Acker]

It looks like what happens to me when the lathe is too slow or I move the tool too slow. You Tube is a great teacher. Look for beginner videos and those for spindle gouge and roughing gouge. A cheap piece of 2x4, but square might be better for practice and save nice wood like cherry for the final project. Hang in there. It does take practice.

Thanks, since I started with a square blank, I reduced the speed to 900 rpm (I have a 5 speed lathe). I will move it to the next speed up (1400) and try that.

 

[Dean Center]

It's also possible to get that look by sliding the tool along too fast. 900 rpm shouldn't be too slow, but there needs to be a balance between lathe speed and your tool movement speed.

 

[Todd Acker]

I did increase the speed to 1400 and resharpened my gouge. That helped cut down on the chatter but didn’t eliminate it. I am aware of the anchor, bevel, cut technique, and while it feels like I’m doing it, I can’t say for certain. All I can say is it doesn’t look as smooth and easy as the videos I watch

 

[Dean Center]

It's very hard to get the bevel of a SRG to glide along the wood. They aren't really designed for that and the handle ends up in a very awkward position if you get there.

 

[robo hippy]

I get marks like that mostly when I have the SRG straight on to the wood, or the handle is square to the spindle. Try angling the handle to 45 or so degrees, and each way. That gives you a little larger bevel area to 'ride'. The bevel should rub the wood, but the wood should not know it.

robo hippy

 

[Bill Boehme]

Something that I don’t think has been mentioned is the roughness of the tool rest. It would be next to impossible to glide any tool smoothly along such a rough surface.



I don’t think that lathe owner’s manuals ever mention that the tool rest needs to be dressed both flat and glass smooth. Start with a file laid lengthwise on the rest and clean up all of the roughness as well as getting the edges rounded over. Next, use silicon carbide sandpaper progressing through at least 600 grit to polish the surface. Finally, use paste wax to minimize friction.

Based on the torn grain that I see, I suspect that the SRG isn’t as sharp as it needs to be which generally leads to applying increased pressure to force the tool to cut. It’s also possible that you are using the tool to scrape rather than cut.

 

[Roger Ziegler]

Hello Todd, welcome to the woodturning world. I am sure you by now, you know have some nearby resources in your family tree. Your dad's cousins are turners of various degrees of experience: Charlie, Bill, and Roger, all with the same last name. You sound like you are making great progress already.

 

[Todd Acker]

Hello Todd, welcome to the woodturning world. I am sure you by now, you know have some nearby resources in your family tree. Your dad's cousins are turners of various degrees of experience: Charlie, Bill, and Roger, all with the same last name. You sound like you are making great progress already.

Thanks Roger. I’ll try to reach out to them. By the way, I love your profile picture!

 

[Jay S Schlossberg]

In a pinch I've used low friction tape across the tool rest to smooth things out. The tool does glide on the rest. Got it on Amazon.

 

[Roger Ziegler]

Thanks Roger. I’ll try to reach out to them. By the way, I love your profile picture!

Thanks, Todd, for the reply. Bill and Charlie are especially talented with bowls. I do some bowls, segmented bowls, lots of pens, bottle stoppers, small magnets and light pulls. I don't sell them, just give them as gifts. Since I have more items than friends, they accumulate. As for the picture, our son and daughter are Lego fans, and created this scene two years ago. one of five "shop" scenes. In the picture, I am turning "Legoite", a substance that originates in Denmark. I have never turned it, but I am sure my skew would skip. Take care and say hello to your parents when you can break away from your lathe. Roger Z.

 

[Lou Currier]

Something that I don’t think has been mentioned is the roughness of the tool rest. It would be next to impossible to glide any tool smoothly along such a rough surface.

View attachment 60885

I don’t think that lathe owner’s manuals ever mention that the tool rest needs to be dressed both flat and glass smooth. Start with a file laid lengthwise on the rest and clean up all of the roughness as well as getting the edges rounded over. Next, use silicon carbide sandpaper progressing through at least 600 grit to polish the surface. Finally, use paste wax to minimize friction.

Based on the torn grain that I see, I suspect that the SRG isn’t as sharp as it needs to be which generally leads to applying increased pressure to force the tool to cut. It’s also possible that you are using the tool to scrape rather than cut.

I was going to say the same thing...each mark in the tool rest creates a hesitation in the movement of the tool causing the tool marks. Tool rest needs to be sanded down and cleaned up until smooth. If you have new tools, the sharp edges going down the length of the tool steel will make these divots. Relieve the sharp edges and your tool will move smoother.