How To Use Your Ridgid Wood Lathe; Woodworking Chisels And How To Use Them; The Six Commonly Used Chisel Types; Selection Of Chisels - RIDGID WL1200 Owner's Manual

How To Use Your RIDGID Wood Lathe

Woodworking Chisels and How to Use Them

Gouge Skew Parting Tool Spear Point Flat Nose Round Nose

The Six Commonly Used Chisel Types

Selection Of Chisels

Better chisels have handles approximately 10-in. long, to
provide plenty of grip and leverage. Sharp tools are es-
sential for clean, easy work... buy tools that will take and
hold keen edges.

Theory Of Turning

The Two Classes of Chisels
These are: 1) Chisels intended primarily for cutting, and 2)
chisels used only for scraping. The cutting chisels are the
gouge, skew and parting tool. These are the most used.
They are commonly sharpened to a razor edge by honing
on both sides. The scraping chisels are the flatnose,
round nose and spear point. These are not honed on the
flat sides - the wire edges produced by grinding are left on
Cutting Chisel Scraping Chisel
to aid in the scraping process.
Cutting and Scraping
Cutting Scraping
To cut, the chisel is held so that the sharp edge actually
digs into the revolving work to peel off shavings. To
scrape, the chisel is held at a right angle to the work sur-
face, and removes fine particles instead of shavings.
Many operations require that the cutting chisels be used
for scraping; but scraping chisels are practically never
used for cutting. Scraping dulls a chisel much faster, es-
pecially the razor sharp cutting chisels. Cutting is faster
than scraping and produces a smoother finish which re-
* C
Means Center Line of the workpiece
quires less sanding. However, it is far more difficult to
master. Scraping, on the other hand, is far more precise
and easier to control.
When You Can Cut, and When You Must Scrape
There are two different approaches to the work when turn-
ing. One approach is toward a circumference of the work-
piece (for example, turning down the outer surface of a
cylinder or the inner wall of a hollow round box). In this ap-
proach, the surface being turned travels under the chisel
Diameter
edge like an endless belt. The second approach is toward
Approach
the diameter of a workpiece (as when turning the face of
a faceplate turning, or the side of a large shoulder on a
Circumference
spindle turning). In this approach the surface being turned
Approach
rotates like a disc under the chisel edge. Sometimes the
Circumference
Approach
approach will be a combination of both.
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