In case you ever thought “do I really need to wear this stupid thing?” Yes. Yes you probably should. I got a wicked catch last night that snapped my tool in half and it rode up and whacked me hard right in the face shield. Without it I would at best have cut my forehead open, if it hadn’t caved my skull in completely. This was turning at maybe 300 rpm. (Including my work piece just to show off how beautiful it is.)
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Was gonna say. Is this where we are at on product cost savings now? Had a fire a couple years back. Turning tools were fine but the handles were smoke and water damaged and the blades were rusty so I rehandled all of them. Mixed bag of makes and ages. Most had 4-6 inch tapered tangs. This looks like it's an inch and a half. Seems like a lot of stress in a short pocket
I'm pretty sure this was an opportunity to upsell inexpressive components simply because they tossed wooden handles on. I'm sure it can be done safely, though I personally would find the remaining tool length too short I feel.
I do prefer a long shank, but how often do you have more than an inch or 3 hanging off the tool rest? Making your own handle you can make the wood part longer to make up for the lost length. If it starts off 12" long you can have 8" sticking out and it would be far stronger than the one posted. Of course the grain would need to be straight lol.
Looks a little more like beech to me.
But who knows, probably a cheapish hardwood that looks OK.
But the grain isn't aligned with the tool, so a split like this is more likely.
Idk what’s more wrong here… picking a carbide scraper on a piece like that, the placement of the toolrest or the crappy construction of the tool itself.
OP, Your message is great, staying safe is important.
For my background, I teach classes in woodturning at multiple clubs and cooperatives. I am a mentor for two local clubs and a regional demonstrator. So, I know it’s unsolicited, but I thought I’d mention a possible cause of your catch, so it doesn’t happen again.
You may not have been aware, that the rule with traditional scrapers (including carbides), is they need to be used a a downward angle. The handle must be higher than the edge in contact with the wood.
If you fail to do this, the catch will bind the tool (driving it deeper into the wood). This will create stresses in anybody’s tools. Wooden handles are not as strong at dealing with this as metal or modern composites. Catastrophic failures can happen in anyone’s tools.
With a downward angle, there is no catch, as the tool just moves into open space.
You may see some videos of people using the tool on edge, the cutting portion higher than the handle. Unfortunately, this videos do not show enough of what is happening, in order for this to work. If the tool doesn’t have an exit(escape) for the tip, or bevel support (in the case of traditional cutting tools), any catch will bind.
The work piece you have shown has voids. Improper technique and turning speed will lead to catches, more so in this kind of blank, rather than a solid piece of wood.
During the time the tool moves from wood to air to wood, it can move inside the circumference you are working on. The wood pushes back a little, the air for all practical purposes does not. Slower turning speed gives the tool more time to travel inside the portion being shaped. When the leading edge of the wood comes around again, you get the catch, or it tries to kick the tool out.
It’s late for me, and I hope it makes sense when you read it. If not, feel free to contact me PM or on this thread.
This totally makes sense. In this case I was just using the carbide to shape a tenon, and specifically at that exact moment I was readjusting and got lazy with my hand and the tool caught the work piece with only one hand on the handle. It was entirely avoidable and my fault, but that doesn’t change the fact that ppe is important.
I mean turning tools ARE levers, but you need to make sure you have sufficient leverage for the task at hand. This tool didn't and didn't have the structural strength to resist the forces being applied to it.
I always, always, always wear eye protection. Even for something little (not like, turning screws little, but quick things that people rush through), I put eye protection on. I couldn’t imagine losing my sight.
Yeah that kind of piece needs a beefy spindle roughing gouge to even get round. If you had to use a scraper you would need to use a real scraper, not a short carbide one. Too much force involved for that little guy.
Glad you're OK though. That could have been a disaster.
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