I’ve been turning the post for the chess table inefficiently. I’ve generally done one step at a time on the post: bringing to round, turning the tenon, cutting down the area that will receive the sliding dovetails, etc. Unfortunately, I bungled the layout and won’t be able to use it in the final table.
Since all wood is good wood (so far), I decided to use this piece as a chance to practice skew work. Long planing cuts were the first place I practiced, cleaning up the long sweep from the widest part to the neck before the tenon. There are a few knots in the piece that give off a great Christmas tree smell every time I hit them. What is most amazing is that even those knots feel perfectly smooth after planing cuts with the skew. This is a very versatile tool.
The initial surface left by this was great, even in the fir. Next, I wanted to be able to turn some coves and beads. As this is an area that I’m not particularly comfortable with (skew catches are no far), I decided to see about getting some instruction on the tool.
Luckily, I have an on-call turning instructor called YouTube that is always happy to provide some one-on-one-million teaching assistance. I found this excellent video from CraftSuppliesUSA: The Skew Chisel with Allan Batty.
After watching the video, I had a go at a few beads, v-cuts, and more planing cuts. I couldn’t quite get the feel for beading with the skew, achieving both catches and tear out. That means only one thing: time for more practice is needed.