Michael Werner Wo...
Michael Werner Presents Crisp-It-up By Anthony Napoli, CMW The day after the CMW monthly meeting, ten members gathered together with Michael Werner from Washington State to “Make a 3-piece Stemmed Dish.” None of the participants completed the project but we learned more than we anticipated. For all but two of the participants we heard some of the same techniques that Michael covered during his Saturday demonstration. However, the benefit we had was being able to see and hear him up close to better understand what he was demonstrating. Michael discussed the “sequence” that has a flow to it that will produce in better results, safely. He talked about the ABC’s of turning; anchor, bevel, and cut. One of his students added the “D” for “Disaster” because not following the sequence you will end up in trouble. The first step was to create the “idea-design.” Everyone was tasked with sketching out what their end result would look like for each section of the stemmed dish project. The result was for us to think about how the design would have a beginning and an end to the shapes used. Whether you use a crisp line to define or a shoulder, it defines where you start and end your cuts. Spindle Turning: We started with spindle turning which Michael stated was the basics of woodturning skills. We practiced first before moving into creating the stem portion of the project. Michael talked about the three different drive spurs; spur drive, steb drive, and the safety drive. Once the piece of wood is mounted Michael discussed tool rest height. Basically, positioning the tool rest at the center of the wood is too high because it positions the cutting edge in almost a scraping position. The height of your tool rest depends on your height and the height of your lathe. Ultimately, you want the cutting edge of the tool being used to be positioned with the cutting edge centered on the wood at the proper angle for cutting. You may have to hold the handle lower to achieve a cutting action. There are three basic positions and cuts: 1. Slicing has the bevel rubbing but there is a small angle between the tool and the wood. In this mode your tool is either cutting above center or your tool handle is held low to give this type of cut. 2. Cutting also has the bevel rubbing but the angle is slightly large. 3. Scraping has the tool positioned at 90º to the wood with no bevel rubbing. Michael finished his spindle by reminding everyone to cut downhill because each layer of grain supports the next and will eliminate raised grain. If you find that the grain is lifting, reverse the direction of cut. Off-center Turning: Before we started turning the spindle and bowl, Michael went over the various positioning of the piece of wood which results in different shapes. He marked each end with crosshairs and then chose a distance from the center that was marked on each leg of the crosshair. Each mark was then numbered the same on each end of the wood. Then the decision needed to be made which combination of numbers would be used. For instance, if you wanted to have one section off-
centered (the same axis) you could choose to place the centers on the intersection marked “1” or for a wobble select “1 and 3” and then “2 and 4,” or perpendicular by doing “1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, and 4 to 1.” So each combination produces a different result. By using a light, you can see the shape outlined. Michael recommended that for each combination tried you should document the results for future reference. Also, when off-center turning you are going to be cutting air and holding the tool steady and maintaining the distance necessary for consistent lines. Michael listed several items for safe off-center turning: 1) use a safety center, 2) reduce the speed down to 500 rpm or less before starting the lather, 3) always set the tool rest for offset distance, and 4) always rotate the piece before turning on the lathe to verify clearance. One final safety item to remember: diameter multiplied by rpm should equal between, 6000 to 9000. When doing offcentered turnings the numbers should be below the 6000 result. The Skew: Michael talked about having the bevel pointing in the direction of the cut. He demonstrated this by laying a pencil on the bevel. For making a “V” cut with the skew, he held the skew with the toe or long point down and plunged it slowly into the wood. The next cut was made with the skew angled toward the side being cut with it slightly tilted in the same direction. Michael then showed how to make a bead out of the “V” cut. Flipping the skew over so that the heel is placed on the wood, it is lifted until the cut starts and is slowly pushed to make the curve. Several of us questioned using the heel because we have been shown that the cutting should be done in the center of the skew. Michael showed that as long as you keep the bevel pointing in the direction of the cut it will not catch. He showed it by doing a shear cut down the length of the spindle. As long as he had the bevel pointing in the correct direction and had wood fuzz being created, he was getting a smooth cut. The Bowl: Michael showed how to cut the tenons for turning the outside of the bowl centered and the inside bowl off-centered. Before placing the wood on the lathe he looked for the growth rings in the end grain so the high point of the ring curve was pointing toward the top of the piece. This would produce a puddle effect in the bottom of the bowl. He then started by placing the top of the bowl against the chuck and brought the live center against the bottom and tightened. He trued up the outside of the blank. Then using a spindle gouge he cut the recess about 1/8” deep to the larger diameter of the chuck for the centered turning. He then cut 1/8” deeper in the center for the offcentered turning. He finished both recesses with the toe of the skew so the edges were square and perpendicular for the chuck jaws to grab. He then reversed the piece and clamped it by the offcentered tenon. He reminded us to keep the flow of each cut for consistent shaping of the bowl. With the bowl complete, it is repositioned in the tenon for centered cutting and the rim and outside are completed. During Michael’s demonstration of how to cut the tenons, I was seated in a position where I could not see everything he was doing. As a result I did my tenons backwards with the small one for centered turning and the large one for off-centered turning. As a result not all of the chuck jaws made contact with the tenon and the piece flew out of the chuck. Not a problem since the lathe was set at 500 rpm but I was unable to completely finish the bowl during the class. This allowed Michael to show the class why reversing the tenons does not always work. I was
however, able to complete the bowl when I returned home and used my Nova chuck. The dovetail jaws of the Nova chuck took a stronger bite into the wood. As I stated, we did not finish the project, but covered a multitude of topics and had a clearer understanding of what Michael showed everyone on Saturday with some additional techniques. Thank you, Michael. Attendees: Bill Collison, Lee Davidson, Richard Dwyer, Bob Gunther, Melissa Gunther, George LaRose, Anthony Napoli, John Roller, Tony Union, and Tom Zumbach
centered (the same axis) you could choose to place the centers on the intersection marked “1” or for a wobble select “1 and 3” and then “2 and 4,” or perpendicular by doing “1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, and 4 to 1.” So each combination produces a different result. By using a light, you can see the shape outlined. Michael recommended that for each combination tried you should document the results for future reference. Also, when off-center turning you are going to be cutting air and holding the tool steady and maintaining the distance necessary for consistent lines. Michael listed several items for safe off-center turning: 1) use a safety center, 2) reduce the speed down to 500 rpm or less before starting the lather, 3) always set the tool rest for offset distance, and 4) always rotate the piece before turning on the lathe to verify clearance. One final safety item to remember: diameter multiplied by rpm should equal between, 6000 to 9000. When doing offcentered turnings the numbers should be below the 6000 result. The Skew: Michael talked about having the bevel pointing in the direction of the cut. He demonstrated this by laying a pencil on the bevel. For making a “V” cut with the skew, he held the skew with the toe or long point down and plunged it slowly into the wood. The next cut was made with the skew angled toward the side being cut with it slightly tilted in the same direction. Michael then showed how to make a bead out of the “V” cut. Flipping the skew over so that the heel is placed on the wood, it is lifted until the cut starts and is slowly pushed to make the curve. Several of us questioned using the heel because we have been shown that the cutting should be done in the center of the skew. Michael showed that as long as you keep the bevel pointing in the direction of the cut it will not catch. He showed it by doing a shear cut down the length of the spindle. As long as he had the bevel pointing in the correct direction and had wood fuzz being created, he was getting a smooth cut. The Bowl: Michael showed how to cut the tenons for turning the outside of the bowl centered and the inside bowl off-centered. Before placing the wood on the lathe he looked for the growth rings in the end grain so the high point of the ring curve was pointing toward the top of the piece. This would produce a puddle effect in the bottom of the bowl. He then started by placing the top of the bowl against the chuck and brought the live center against the bottom and tightened. He trued up the outside of the blank. Then using a spindle gouge he cut the recess about 1/8” deep to the larger diameter of the chuck for the centered turning. He then cut 1/8” deeper in the center for the offcentered turning. He finished both recesses with the toe of the skew so the edges were square and perpendicular for the chuck jaws to grab. He then reversed the piece and clamped it by the offcentered tenon. He reminded us to keep the flow of each cut for consistent shaping of the bowl. With the bowl complete, it is repositioned in the tenon for centered cutting and the rim and outside are completed. During Michael’s demonstration of how to cut the tenons, I was seated in a position where I could not see everything he was doing. As a result I did my tenons backwards with the small one for centered turning and the large one for off-centered turning. As a result not all of the chuck jaws made contact with the tenon and the piece flew out of the chuck. Not a problem since the lathe was set at 500 rpm but I was unable to completely finish the bowl during the class. This allowed Michael to show the class why reversing the tenons does not always work. I was
however, able to complete the bowl when I returned home and used my Nova chuck. The dovetail jaws of the Nova chuck took a stronger bite into the wood. As I stated, we did not finish the project, but covered a multitude of topics and had a clearer understanding of what Michael showed everyone on Saturday with some additional techniques. Thank you, Michael. Attendees: Bill Collison, Lee Davidson, Richard Dwyer, Bob Gunther, Melissa Gunther, George LaRose, Anthony Napoli, John Roller, Tony Union, and Tom Zumbach
