Tool Bevel Angles

[crokett™]

I was doing a bit of research yesterday and stumbled across the chart on this page.  I'm not stealth advertising Tormek, it's just one of the better references I've found.

https://www.tormek.com/international/en/...ol-setter/

Scroll down, the chart is on the right.  My own personal experience tends to agree with some of the comments in the chart.  I have a skew chisel and I have a straight chisel - I made it by regrinding a scraper that was too wide and thin to be effective, it chattered.  I'm not an expert at either, but the straight chisel is easier to use.  One big difference is the bevel angle is closer to 30 degrees than my skew, which has a much longer bevel.  I was wondering about that because most of the videos I see of turners better than me have skews with much shorter bevels.   My skew came that way when I got the lathe.  I think I'm going to regrind it to a shorter, steeper bevel

For the bowl gouges, I have a 3/8 gouge that I need to regrind, a 1/2" that's become my go to and a 5/8"  the 5/8" has a grind that's closest to the Ellesworth.  The 3/8" has a grind that's probably closest to #2, and it's noticeably easier to control, especially at the bottom of a bowl.  Again, I'm not an expert and struggle with tool control.

[MichaelMouse]

I was doing a bit of research yesterday and stumbled across the chart on this page.  I'm not stealth advertising Tormek, it's just one of the better references I've found.

https://www.tormek.com/international/en/...ol-setter/

Scroll down, the chart is on the right.  My own personal experience tends to agree with some of the comments in the chart.  I have a skew chisel and I have a straight chisel - I made it by regrinding a scraper that was too wide and thin to be effective, it chattered.  I'm not an expert at either, but the straight chisel is easier to use.  One big difference is the bevel angle is closer to 30 degrees than my skew, which has a much longer bevel.  I was wondering about that because most of the videos I see of turners better than me have skews with much shorter bevels.   My skew came that way when I got the lathe.  I think I'm going to regrind it to a shorter, steeper bevel

For the bowl gouges, I have a 3/8 gouge that I need to regrind, a 1/2" that's become my go to and a 5/8"  the 5/8" has a grind that's closest to the Ellesworth.  The 3/8" has a grind that's probably closest to #2, and it's noticeably easier to control, especially at the bottom of a bowl.  Again, I'm not an expert and struggle with tool control.

Agree on the straight chisel/bedan/thick parting tool being much more friendly than a skew.  My preferences for a double-sided wants bevel(S) about 1.25-1.5 the thickness of the tool.  If going with a single bevel, which can be grabby, but still easier than the skew, go with a longer bevel of around twice the thickness of the tool. 

What I'm using.  Others' suggestions are what THEY use.  You can work from a shorter bevel and check whether you want to grind further, based on YOUR technique.  Making a long bevel shorter experimentally eats metal.

[Arlin Eastman]

Do you have the Wolverine sharpening system?  Let me know and I can help you.

[SteveS]

For the skew my alpha angle is about 20 deg. I like the control it has with that angle, particularly for peeling cuts, though I rarely use it that way. For cutting beads it probably doesn't matter much either way though I can't say which grind might result in a catch more readily.

[crokett™]

Do you have the Wolverine sharpening system?  Let me know and I can help you.

I have the jig for bowl gouges.  I have the attachment for skews.  The arm that the jig sits and and the skew attachment goes on I did shop made versions.