Safety First
For his first project, Les wanted to focus on the use of (home-made) jam chucks to make the “completely useless hollow boxy formy thing with an equally pointless finial with a point”. He was using French hard oak which leaves a shiny mark when sawn. He had a constant emphasis on safety and risk assessment, saying that he turns some very large pieces of wood and doesn’t always know who has glued them together.
Body Movement
He turned the blank to round, emphasising body movement and engaging the bevel then lifting until you find the “sweet spot” that begins cutting. He demonstrated both hand-over and hand-under grips and said that it is a matter of personal preference.
Efficient Tooling
He used the centre of the spindle roughing gouge to round the blank, so that the wings stay sharp and can be used for planning cuts later. He commented that you should look for faults in the timber and then increase the speed: “speed’s our friend until the wood falls off!”
He emphasised that a spindle roughing gouge should never be used on end grain as it is a relatively weak tool.
He urged us to think about the efficient order of tooling, saying that he often amends this order when he makes repeat pieces as he sees more efficient ways to complete the process.
Forming a Spigot
He then demonstrated his signature 10mm multi-purpose tool with a double edge, using it to create a spigot, not by pushing into the wood but by locating the bevel and lifting in a peeling cut. He led into the cut with an angle of 1 or 2 degrees to stop it running off centre, to ensure that the spigot sits securely in the chuck. He reminded us that the chuck should be securely tightened at all three holes and that a dovetail for chuck-fitting must be accurately cut.
Cutting in the Direction of the Bevel
Next he trued up the end grain for the plug that would be inserted into the bottom of the project, using his 1/2” signature spindle gouge, pointing out that a skew could be used but oak is tricky.
He spent some time demonstrating cuts using the bevel securely and how to cut correctly in the direction of the bevel. He explained that if you just push a gouge into the wood off the bevel, the wood will throw out the tool—it needs to be placed, like a needle on a record.
He reduced the plug in diameter and flattened the bottom, demonstrating both a push cut, which burnishes the wood more, and a pull cut which was okay, but don’t mix the two. He decorated the bottom of the plug with four rings amidst some banter about odds and evens. He used to use a 1/16th” parting tool for parting of but finds it difficult to get the sweet spot so now he uses a 1/8th”. When parting off the plug, he made a slight chamfer over the edge to create clearance.
Hollowing Techniques
Next he turned his attention to hollowing techniques—to drill or nor to drill? He explored alternative methods of drilling:
- using a drill in a Jacobs chuck (which takes longer to set up) and you should make a vee cut in the centre where the drill will enter for it to “bite” on;
- using a spindle gouge being careful not to drill too deep. With the spindle gouge, he emphasised how important the entry angle was: between 10.30 and 11 o’clock— drill the hole and “throw hand away”. He showed how opening the flute to 11.30 o’clock would cause a dig-in; the wrong position on the tool rest is the same as not using the tool rest at all. The more open the flute, the less support there is for the cutting edge so as you are drilling and hollowing, close the flute as you go: 10.30 to 11 to 10.30. If you go deeper, the spindle gouge will overhang the tool rest and start to “sing” as the last part of the tool is not hardened. You might need to use a bigger tool such as a bowl gouge.
- using a hollowing tool. He discussed the use of carbide cutters, recommending the Simon Hope 6mm and 8mm ones. He doesn’t shape with carbide cutters, apart from on acrylic. These tools are set at 45 degrees and are designed to lie flat on the tool rest at that angle. They remove material more slowly and scrape rather than cut but are easy to use and produce a good finish. They are useful for egg cups and small boxes. A long, smooth cut is easier with a bigger tool with less tendency to leave ridges. He discussed the small tear drop scraper to smooth the ridges and a negative rake scraper which is less “grabby”.
Finishing the Inside and Making a Jam Chuck
Once the body of the piece had been hollowed , he made a reference mark on the bottom and prepared a recess to take the plug completed earlier. He cleaned up the “fluffy” edge before making a jam chuck so that he could finish shaping the outside and the neck of the piece.Balance Turning Inside and Outside of Work
Les talked about getting the balance between turning the outside and the inside— the outside needs to be turned whilst the weight is still there but some of the inside needs to be removed so that the required shape can be used—so he alternates.Effective Cutting of Coves
In turning the neck of the piece, he discussed the effective way to cut coves, approaching the wood with the flute at 3 o’clock and as the gouge comes round opening up to 12 o’clock then dropping the handle. He pointed out that the handle is lifted to cut and therefore it makes sense to drop the handle when you want to finish cutting so that the gouge doesn’t run up the other side of the cove causing a catch. He recommended going slightly over halfway in creating the cove in order to get a smooth bottom. He reminded us of Keith Rowe’s mantra: “Maintain contact with the bevel at the biting point”. He pointed out that the principles are the same with the (often dreaded) skew—maintain contact with the bevel. The tool rest will need to be higher.
Support the Work
As he was shaping the outside of the piece , he reminded us that as the narrower part was reached, the piece was revolving more slowly and therefore two cuts would be needed to remove the same amount of waste. He drilled a hole in the neck of the piece to take the tenon of the finial that he would make next. He refined the neck of the piece, supporting it as it was thin because of the hole.
Decorating Using Thread Cutter
He next talked about thread cutters which he admitted he found tricky to use. He used them to cut a decorative series of grooves on part of the outside inserting the 2 outside teeth into the grooves just cut as he moved down the piece. He explained that this is harder on a curved surface and you need to use a slight rocking motion. The same effect could be obtained using a hacksaw blade. Then he deburred with shavings and sanded to 400 grit.
Finally the Finial
Finally he made a small (“utterly pointless pointed”) finial with a thin spigot which would be inserted into the hole he had made in the neck of the piece. He used a small spindle gouge to shape it and the spigot meant that he stayed away from the chuck. He made some comments in praise of holly as the “best densest” wood—it takes stain well and he recommended drying it on end (as all wood should be, he said) to keep it white.
Report by Mary Dunne