6. Tools

Types and sizes of gouges; How to use the gouge - Chisels; types and sizes: how to use the chisel - Parting tool and its uses - Scraping tools; why and how they are used; Simple scraping tool the amateur can make - Special and unusual tools - Grinding and shaping tools - Minimum tools required

On the market today there are many types of turning tools, but please do not be in too much of a hurry to buy the very first ones you see. Some of them are exceptionally good, but some are quite useless for the job for which they are inten­ded. You will see very imposing boxes of turning tools offered for sale, but, I am sorry to say that quite often this is only a manufacturer's way of getting rid of some of the tools for which he has little sale. I must hasten to add, of course, that this is not the case with reputable manufacturers.

Speaking for myself, I prefer to have a small basic kit of tools and add to it as the need for others arises. On my work­bench, I have a whole regiment of turning chisels and gouges, but I only ever use three or four of these.

Gouges. The most generally used tool in turning is, no doubt, the gouge which is used for roughing out and also for intricate detail. Gouges can be obtained in various sizes, rang­ing from 1/4 in. to 2 in. wide, some of shallow section and others deep, as you will see from figure 5. For shaping and hollow­ing out bowls I nearly always use a gouge called a 'long and strong', which is of fairly deep section and made with quite a long and heavy blade. This is most essential, as there is quite some distance between the tool rest and the part of the bowl being turned, and this exerts considerable leverage on the tool. Good turning tools are made of cast steel and the cheaper tools which look as if they have been pressed out of a sheet of steel, should be avoided. When buying cutting tools, always choose the best. They keep their edges keener and longer. For the amateur, I would suggest three sizes of gouges only for a start, i.e. 3/8 in., 3/4 in. and 11/2in. The larger one is a most useful one for roughly rounding a piece of wood, while with the 3/8 in. gouge, practically all other detail work can be done. For bowl turning, you will find this size is a good maid of all work.

Figure 5. Typical gouge sections.

As I have already told you, I have quite a number of turning gouges, but my favourite weapons are a good old 21/2in. gouge, which I use for roughing out. It is quite spectacular in use, as it really butchers the wood. My other favourite, is a shallow 3/8 in. gouge. These I usually buy two at a time and use them for practically all turning operations. The in-between sizes I only use when the others need sharpening and I cannot find my sharpening stone!

Now I think it time to show you how to cut the wood with a gouge and how to avoid getting into trouble. Many times people have come up to me when I have been demon­strating and have told me that I make it look so easy. Turning is not too difficult if you go about it in the right way and you fully understand what you are doing.

Beginners in turning often have small mishaps while they are learning, such as the tool digging in and being forced out of their hands. This usually frightens them and they quite often pack up the whole idea, instead of giving it a fair trial and persevering and trying to understand what went wrong.

Let us look at a cylinder of wood, with the grain running from end to end as in figure 6A. Now, if we were going to cut it with a knife or chisel, we should make the cut in the direction V to W, as this is cutting with the grain. On the other hand, if we were to try to cut from W to V, there would be every chance of the wood splitting and the knife or chisel not going where we intended it to go. Coming back to turning, if this same block of wood was on your lathe, and you wish to cut a V-shaped groove, the same princi­ple must apply, and as far as possible, always cut with the grain. Commencing at point X, cut alternately from direction V to W, and Y to W. On no account cut in the opposite direction to the arrows. If you do not believe this, just you try it and see where your gouge goes, but do not say I didn't warn you.

Figure 6. Stages in turning table leg showing positions of gouge while shaping.

Whatever the nature of the work on your lathe, always try and visualize the direction of the grain of the wood. Have a good look at it before you switch on the lathe and mentally note if there are any peculiarities in the grain and when you commence to turn always cut with the grain. You will have already noticed from figure 6C that you cut from the larger diameter to the smaller. Never, I repeat, never, from the smaller diameter to the larger. You will under­stand now, how the wood should be cut, so take a piece of wood about 3 in. across, which has previously been roughly rounded with chisel or plane and mount between centres. Screw up the tailstock, so that the wood is held securely on to the prong driving centre and lock the tailstock. Set the speed of your lathe, by selecting the appropriate pulley size so that the work will revolve at about 2,000 r.p.m. Bring up the tool rest so that it is at a height just above the centre line of the work and as close to the work as possible without touching it whilst it is rotating.

Now comes the question of how to hold the tools and position the hands. In handling all tools, the handle hand will take up a more or less natural position, depending upon the amount of leverage required to manipulate the chisel or gouge. The other hand will naturally be holding the blade of the tool and it is more or less a matter of individual preference rather than making a hard and fast rule on any definite position. Using a gouge, I prefer a palm up grip with the fingers close to the tool rest, the first finger being used as a guide and the thumb pushing or guiding the tool. This is a more delicate method of holding the tool and less tiring than the clenched fist or palm down method. In this position the whole of the blade is gripped and the little finger used as a guide along the tool rest. If the work is very uneven, such as at the commencement of turning, then the latter grip may be more suitable to some, especially begin­ners as there is a better grip of the tool in the event of accident.

Using a 3/4 in. gouge, and holding it level, gently push the tool into the work and note what happens. You will see that you make a groove and small chips of wood come away from the tool and that the cut is rather rough. Now gradu­ally slide the gouge along the tool rest, keeping it at the same angle to the work and you will notice that the piece of wood is gradually becoming a cylinder. Repeat this until the whole piece of wood is the same diameter throughout. Stop the lathe now and have a look at your handiwork. You will notice, that although it is round, it is rather rough, but do not be downhearted. Start up the lathe again and this time, slightly tilt the gouge, with the handle down a little and the bevel of the tool rubbing on the work. Move the tool along the rest in the direction of the tilt and again note what happens. This time, instead of chips of wood, you will notice that you are getting shavings to come away. This is what we are aiming at always, shavings instead of chips.

Whatever the nature of the work, always try to cut the wood so that the waste wood comes away in nice curly shavings. This will save a lot of time and will make for less sand papering of the finished article.

Now put down your 3/4 in. gouge and select a 3/8 in. one, of not too deep a section. This time I want you to round off the end of the piece of wood, so with the gouge on its right side and at an angle to the tool rest, by pulling the handle towards you, take a cut at the right-hand end of the work. Again shavings will come away and the cut will be quite smooth. Repeat this several times, until you have the feel of the tool and confidence in the way you are working. Do not be in too much of a hurry to make a finished article. It is much better to master the use of the tool. Spend some considerable time just playing about. It is well worth it.

Take the same 3/8 in. gouge and this time shape the left-hand end of the wood. That is, with the gouge on its left side and the handle a little way away from you on your right side.

It will be evident by now that there are only a few basic principles in using the gouge. Firstly, the tool may be advanced along the work from right to left or vice versa. From headstock to tailstock is preferable, as this will throw the waste material away from the operator. The gouge is rolled over slightly in the direction in which it is advancing, with the bevel rubbing the work making a clean slicing cut. You will have already noticed that when pushed straight into the work, the gouge has a scraping action. This is not true woodturning.

Figure 7. Skew chisel in use, palm downwards.

Chisels. It is generally accepted that the skew chisel is the most difficult of the turning tools to handle, and can be the reason why a lot of beginners give up turning entirely. I must admit that it is not a favourite tool of mine at all, however, if you are going to be a successful wood­turner, the chisel must be mastered. To get the feel of the tool, your best plan is to smooth an ordinary cylinder of wood, which has been previously roughly turned to shape with the gouge. The chisel should be held in a similar man­ner to the other turning tools, but must be supported by the tool rest at all times. Quite often beginners overlook this point, whilst trying to execute some detail in design, with unfortunate results. The chisel will be easier to handle if the tool rest is slightly higher than it is for other turning. Now place the chisel well over the work and flat against it. Gradually pull the tool towards you into such a position that it will begin to cut the wood. A firm grip on the chisel is important. If the handle is raised, you will notice that the chisel takes a deeper cut. Similarly, if the handle is lowered, the tool will cut less. It may be advanced in either direction, much in the same way as with the gouge, but remember to keep it firmly on the tool rest, using this as your guide while advancing the tool to the left or right. It is interesting to note, that although our chisel is quite wide, we only use half of the cutting edge, that is, the portion between the heel and the centre. If you should try to use the other half of the tool, be prepared to have a nice chunk taken out of your work. It is surprising how easily the point of the skew chisel will dig in if these points are not observed. If you can imagine the cutting action of the chisel in slow motion, you will notice that the bevel does all the work very much in the same manner as the cabinet makers' smoothing plane and it is most important that the bevel be kept really flat and long so that your actual cutting edge is an angle of between 20 and 30 degrees.

Figure 8. Skew chisel showing only half of cutting edge in use.

The shavings coming away from your work, will soon tell you whether the chisel is cutting correctly and if the bevel is ground to the correct angle. The shavings should come away quite cleanly in a continuous stream and not as if they have been scraped off. The width of cut can be altered by changing the angle at which the tool is held. The widest cut will be when the cutting edge is nearly parallel with the work and when the cut is at an angle to the work the shavings will be much narrower.

Having smoothed your cylinder of wood, and by now you should have some idea of how to do it, let us practise turning beads, but not the ones you wear around your neck. For this project, a 1/4 in. or 1/2in. skew chisel will be required with an even bevel on both sides. The cut is started with the cutting edge on top of the revolving wood, with the handle well down. The heel of the chisel is then brought into con­tact with the wood and the cut begins. At the same time the handle is twisted and lifted. This will form one side of the bead. Turn over your chisel and repeat for the other side of the bead. Twist the handle in the direction of the cut, that is for the left-hand side of the bead you twist the handle anti­clockwise and for the right-hand side, clockwise.

In turning a cylinder, we have the chisel held flat on the tool rest, but if we wish to turn a straight taper or convex shape, the cutting operation is very similar, except that the cut is started with the heel of the skew chisel, to prevent the tool digging into the work, and also to form a bevel for the chisel to ride on whilst continuing the cut, which must be from the larger diameter to the smaller, or downhill. It will be found necessary to slightly twist the blade of the chisel and this is done by means of the thumb and fingers of the hand holding the blade, using the tool rest as a guide and support. As the cut continues, the angle of attack can be altered so that a wider cut is taken, but do not go beyond the halfway mark of the cutting edge from the heel end, or you will have the point of the chisel giving you trouble.

Tapered cuts can be made a little easier if the work is previously roughed to shape with the gouge.

When using the chisel for smoothing, you will find that the wider ones are easier to handle, as only half of the cutting edge is used and furthermore, the extra weight is helpful.

I have heard of a carpenters' hand plane being used to smooth a cylinder of wood, whilst it is rotating in the lathe. Other people use a wood rasp in an endeavour to smooth the wood. Presumably this works, but again I say, this is not woodturning.

Parting tool. The parting tool is, perhaps, the easiest of the turning tools to master, as it only requires to be pushed into the work, in a scraping action, as shown in figures 9A and B. If a cutting action is preferred, it is obtained by holding the handle low with the cutting edge touching the work, raising the handle as the diameter of the work decreases. For marking the various positions of beads and hollows, the parting tool has many uses. It can also be used as a small chisel for shaping beads, if the proper tool is not to hand. It will be noticed, that with a well-shaped parting tool, the cutting edge is slightly wider than the rest of the blade. This is to give clearance when deep grooves are being cut. In practice, you will find turners using the tool single-handed and the other hand holding a pair of calipers. Do not try fancy tricks until you know what you are doing. Parting tools usually have a cutting blade 3/16 in. or 1/4 in. wide. Any wider than this and they are not too easy to use.

Figure 9. Gutting action of parting tool.

Scraping tools. Practically all turning operations should be done with cutting tools such as chisels and gouges, as these give a far superior finish. After all, the smoother we can cut the wood, the less sand papering is required and the easier the polishing. However, there are times when a scraping action has to be used. Some woods, having very curly grain, can only be scraped to shape. Also very small items are more easily fashioned in this way. The inside of a bowl, for instance, has to be partly scraped before finishing, as the gouge cannot be used, owing to its corners digging in. Articles turned in ivory or rosewood have to be scraped. Scraping tools can be bought, but the best are made from old worn out files ground to shape and bevelled. Definite shapes cannot be laid down but figure 10 shows some of the most useful ones. When grinding a file to shape, beware of getting the tool too hot and spoiling the temper of the metal. The end of the toot should be ground to the desired contour and given a bevel of approximately 60 degrees.

Figure 10. (A) Scraping tools from old files.

Figure 10. (B) Tool angles when using scrapers.

Figure 11. Tool for cutting small tenons or dowel ends.

Special and unusual tools. Quite a number of turning operations can be simplified by one or two homemade tools. For instance, where a number of pieces of wood have to be turned with a parallel pin at one end to a definite size. This can be done with a parting tool and a pair of calipers set to the finished size. A much simpler way, is to mount a piece of thick, mild steel about 1 1/2in. wide at one end and tapered to fit into a wooden handle. In the wide end of the metal a deep U is cut to the width of the pin required. The work is roughly turned to shape and size with normal turning tools, then this special tool is rested on the tool rest and pushed into the work and will scrape the pin to the size of the U cut. Several of these tools should be made up of various sizes, ranging from 1/2in. to 1 in. They will cater for most sizes of pin.

Sometimes one is called upon to cut a thread on a wooden spindle. The usual method is by means of a hand-screw box, but it can be done with a tool called a hand chaser or thread chaser. Chasing tools should be made of good quality tool steel of about 1/4in. thick with teeth well spaced at 8 to 10 to the inch. Two types are made for internal or external work as shown in figure 12A and B. To use this tool, the work is turned at the slowest speed and the tool lightly pushed into the wood and moved along the tool rest at a uniform speed. A light cut is made first to start the thread, but more pressure is applied as the thread takes shape, and will, more or less, cut itself once started. Thread chasing is not very successful in soft woods and should be used only on hard, close grained woods. In use, the tool should be applied to the work with the handle held well up, so that it is at right angles to the revolving work, then there will be no fear of the tool digging in.

Figure 12. (A) Thread chaser, internal type.

Figure 12. (B) Thread chaser, outside type.

Another useful tool is one with a blade similar to a long chisel but with detachable cutting edges. Various cutters can be made of tool steel to different shapes. This is very useful, where repetition work of small parts is required, such as in the manufacture of beads, etc. On the other hand, tungsten steel cutters could be fitted if you do not wish to be continually sharpening your tools.

Lastly, an old hacksaw blade mounted in a wooden handle has its uses. Very often, on small turned work such as novelties found in gift shops, a decorative black band is required to finish it off. With the lathe turning at high speed, press the back of the hacksaw blade into the revolving work and you will quickly have a lovely black ring, due to friction heat between wood and metal.

Grinding. To be a successful turner, you must always keep your tools sharp and in good shape, and to do this a good grinding wheel, preferably one which is electrically driven, is well worth buying. With most amateur lathes it is possible to obtain a grinding wheel attachment. Grinding tool steel is an art in itself and a whole book could be devoted entirely to this subject. However, we are chiefly concerned with only keeping our chisels and gouges in good condition. There are numerous sizes and grades of grinding wheels, but for our use, one of medium texture will suffice, preferably 6 in. in diameter and 5/8 in. wide. Most turning tools, when bought, will not necessarily have a bevel which suits the particular individual. Some prefer a long bevel, others a short, but one thing must be remembered and that is, the longer the bevel, the more delicate the cutting edge. Gouges used for hollowing out bowls, have a very short bevel, which will give a cutting angle of about 45 degrees, whereas those used in spindle turning, that is between centres, have a bevel of about 30 degrees. Grinding should be carried out on the edge of the wheel, care being exercised to maintain the required bevel, and not to damage the cutting edge. Always have a jar of water by your side when grinding, so that if there is any evidence of your tool begin­ning to turn blue and overheat, it can be easily quenched.

I have seen quite a number of people, including myself at times, grind their tools on the side of the wheel. This is a very dangerous practice, as it can weaken the stone and cause it to fly apart whilst rotating at speed and cause considerable injury to the operator.

Chisels are ground with a fairly long bevel, to prevent the tool digging in when in use. A short bevelled chisel is very difficult to handle, as the cutting angle is too acute, thus making it more likely to dig in if not handled with care.

Having ground your tools to shape and put a rough edge on them, you must now give them a good cutting edge by means of an oilstone. The best oilstones are those made of Arkansas or washita stone, but for some, the price is a little too high, but whatever you choose, have one of a fine grade. Your oilstone should be 8 in. × 2 in. × 1 in., you will also need a slipstone 4 in. to 5 in. long, tapered from 3/8 in. to 1/8 in.

A carpenter sharpens his chisels and gouges by placing the stone on the bench and taking the tools to the stone. In woodturning, of course, we have to be different and take the stone to the tools! When stoning a gouge, I hold the tool in my left hand, with the handle tucked under my left arm, and the stone in my right hand, being very careful to keep the bevel of the tool in contact with the stone which is used with a circular motion.

Having stoned the bevel of the gouge, a false edge, or burr, is formed which will have to be removed. This is where the slipstone comes into use and is rubbed on the inside of the gouge. The slipstone, being tapered, will fit the curvature of various sizes of gouges. Most people develop their own particular way when sharpening tools and it is best left to the individual to form his own idea. Some prefer to rest the tool on a part of the lathe whilst it is sharpened, others hold it steady into the side of the body. A good way to remove the burr on the cutting edge, is to jab the tool into the bench or a handy piece of wood. Figure 5 shows some of the various shapes of gouges after grinding.

All have their uses, square ground is for roughing out, round shaped being used for shaping between centres.

Sharpening a chisel, I usually rest the blade on some con­venient part of the lathe or bench and rub the stone along the bevel, again being very careful to maintain the original cutting angle. To be really effective, chisels must be kept really sharp.

Scraping tools come in for less careful treatment, and are not usually oilstoned at all. To get scraping tools to work well, we take great care to put a burr on the tool. The usual way to do this, is to grind the end to shape and remove the burr on the grindstone. Then with a piece of hard steel rod, called a ticketer, turn the edge of the scraper very much in the same way as the cabinet maker does with a hand scraper. If you need the scraper for soft woods, you can dispense with the ticketer and use the tool as it comes off the grindstone, with a good rough edge. Again, this is a case of practice makes perfect, and you will soon find the best edge to suit your own particular work and materials.

I suggested earlier, that you should not rush to buy a com­plete kit of tools for woodturning. Well, perhaps by now you have some idea of the type of tools you require and I would suggest the following as a good basic kit.

Gouges. 1/4in. 'long and strong', 3/8 in. deep 'long and strong', 3/8 in. half round, 5/8 in. half round, 3/4 in. half round, 11/2in. half round.
Chisels. 1/4in. square, 1/4in. skew, 1/2in. skew, 1 in. skew,2in. square.

Parting tool. 1/4in.

Scrapers, half round, about 11/4in., square about 11/4in. The scrapers will best be made to the turner's own require­ments, as there are very few of them on the market. Remem­ber to keep all your old files for making these.

When I first started turning, I bought only one 3/4 in. gouge, complete with handle, and with that one tool made several tool handles. This is a good exercise for anybody to start with. Having made half a dozen handles, not expertly, I can assure you, I felt that they would suffice and I bought the blades only of other gouges and chisels. Some manufacturers market the blades only and this can cut your initial outlay considerably.

After a little woodturning, you will have quite a layer of wood chips and dust all over the place. Do not clean it all away, as a layer of wood dust on the tools and lathe appears to keep the rust away, so do not keep the workshop too spick and span.

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