On Sun, 10 Jun 2007 21:47:35 GMT, "Toller" wrote:

I have some experience with bowls, and am reasonably comfortable with them.

Today I tried my first spindle; a baseball bat for my son out of a large
branch someone left in the street.
I can't get my spindle gouge to do much of anything other than scrape. I am
having better luck with a bowl gouge, but only occasionally.
I presume the problem is that the spindle is a much smaller diameter than a
bowl, so catching it at the right angle isn't the same.
Any suggestions for making the transition?


I don't do much spindle turning either, but I have found that the
angle of the tool needs to be pretty dramatically different than when
I am turning a bowl. When bowl turning, I usually keep the gouge at
or near perpendicular to the ways and adjust the cut vs. scrape by
raising and lowering the handle.

To shear with spindles, I've often found it helpful to turn the flute
towards me, and hold the tool at almost 45* to the ways. Couldn't
tell you exactly why that is offhand, but it works well enough.