Mastering the Skew Chisel

Conquering the Mount Everest of Woodturning

The skew chisel. Just hearing its name is enough to make many woodturners, especially beginners, break out into a sweat. It sits there on your tool panel, looking clean and sleek, yet carrying the reputation of being the “Mount Everest” of woodturning tools: intimidating, unforgiving, and a major risk for catastrophic catches.

But here’s the secret: once you learn how to use it, the skew is one of the most efficient, versatile tools in your arsenal, capable of replacing three other tools and consistently leaving behind a glass-smooth surface.

If you’ve been avoiding your skew, it’s time to dust it off. This comprehensive guide, based on our in-depth video tutorial, will walk you through the anatomy, sharpening, and essential techniques you need to finally tame the beast.

1. Skew Anatomy: What Defines a Skew?

A skew chisel is generally a flat metal stock with a symmetrical double bevel and a slight angle (or “skew”) on the cutting edge. Understanding its parts and variations is the first step to mastery.

Key Terminology

• Cutting Edge: The angled edge that makes the cut.
  
• Bevel: The ground surface on either side of the cutting edge.
  
• Bevel Heel: The transition point where the bevel meets the flat shank of the tool. A critical indexing point for most cuts.
  
• Long Point/Short Point (Heel/Toe): The two ends of the cutting edge. We primarily use the long point for detail work.
  
• Shank: The body of the tool.

The Cutting Edge: Straight Line vs. Gentle Sweep

Think of the skew’s cutting edge as a miniature plane blade. Its shape dramatically influences its feel and performance:

The Straight Edge: This is like a traditional bench plane iron. It excels at making a perfectly straight, flat cut. It’s the go-to for production work because its angle is reliable and consistent from end to end. The only downside? That straight corner is often too aggressive when you try to roll it over to form a bead, making it a bit “catchy” for beginners.

The Radius Edge (Swept): This has a gentle, sweeping curve. This profile is much more forgiving when you are learning to roll beads because the curve helps guide the cut. We also love it because the radius allows it to reach into concave (cove) shapes when using it as a negative rake scraper. The trade-off is that when planing, you have to continually pivot the handle to account for the curve, making it less straightforward than its straight counterpart.

Pro-Tip: If your tool has sharp corners on the shank, file or grind them down! Sharp corners dig into your tool rest, making smooth cuts impossible.

2. Achieving the Perfect Edge: Grinding & Sharpening

The factory grind on a new skew is often just a “blank canvas.” You need to put your own preferred, symmetrical bevel on the tool.

The Gold Standard: Bevel Angle

The bevel angle determines the strength of your cutting edge and how well it performs detail work.

• 40° to 45° (Included Angle): This is the ultimate sweet spot for most turners. It provides a long-enough bevel to get into tight detail (like between beads) while still offering good edge support for both soft and hard woods. (This translates to about 20-22.5° on each bevel).
  
• 50° to 70° (Blunt): This short, steep bevel is better for very dense, exotic hardwoods (like Cocobolo) as it is less prone to chipping. However, the short bevel can bottom out when cutting deep V-grooves or tight beads.

The Skew Angle

The angle of the cutting edge relative to the shank is largely personal preference, but most turners favor a slight angle:

• Recommended Range: Anywhere from a few degrees up to 12-15 degrees of skew.
  
• An aggressive skew (like 20° or more) can be harder to control. Production turners often prefer a very slight skew for maximum planing effectiveness.

Critical Sharpening Mistake to Avoid

When sharpening a radius edge skew, you must ensure the long point remains the apex of the curve. Sweeping your handle past the center of the grinding wheel will “sweep back” the long point, destroying its effectiveness for peeling cuts (tenons, roughing) where you need that point to lead the cut.

3. Essential Setup: Tool Rest Height

This is where most beginners go wrong. You cannot use the skew with the tool rest set at the same height as your roughing gouge.

The Rule: Set Your Tool Rest High

For efficient cuts, your cutting edge needs to be engaged at a sweet spot between the 10 o’clock and 11 o’clock position on the rotating wood. This means you must raise your tool rest significantly above the centerline.

Why? This high position allows you to present the tool to the wood at the proper 45° shearing angle while maintaining critical bevel support beneath the cut.

4. The Four Foundational Cuts

Mastering the skew means mastering these four distinct cuts, each requiring a specific tool movement.

The Peel Cut (Roughing)

• Purpose: Quickly remove large amounts of material, reduce diameter, and rough off square corners (similar to a roughing gouge).
  
• Technique: Start with the handle low, then use an arcing motion to bring the cutting edge through the material towards the center. This peels the wood away in large, flaky shavings.
  
• Key: Never go straight in; the arcing motion provides the bevel support you need.

The Planing Cut (The Money Cut)

• Purpose: Achieve a perfectly flat, glass-smooth surface that minimizes or eliminates sanding.
  
• Technique: This is a bevel-riding cut.
  1. Index: Lightly touch the bevel heel to the wood surface (you’ll see a burnished line).
     
  2. Engage: Raise the handle until the cutting edge engages, presenting it at a 45° angle to the oncoming wood.
     
  3. Shear: Traverse the tool across the rest with light, consistent pressure.
     
• Critical Safety: You must cut only on the lower half of the tool (below the center line of the cutting edge). If you start cutting on the unsupported top half, the tool will roll, the long point will dig in, and you will get a catastrophic catch.

The V-Cut (Slicing)

• Purpose: Mark transitions, define features (like the corners of a bead), and clean up end grain (e.g., on tenon shoulders).
  
• Technique: Use the long point down for visibility. Just like the peel cut, this requires an arcing motion.
  1. Start with the bevel pointed in the direction you want the V-groove to taper.
     
  2. Drop the handle low and arc the long point into the wood in a series of light passes.
     
• Key: Avoid trying to force the cut by going straight in, which will cause the tool to skate and tear out the grain.

The Scrape (Refining)

• Purpose: Use the skew as a negative rake scraper for controlled refining of curves (like coves).
  
• Technique: Lay the tool flatter on the rest with the cutting edge near the centerline, and glide it lightly across the surface.
  
• Note: While easy, scraping dulls the razor-sharp edge of the skew much faster than the efficient planing or slicing cuts.

5. Putting It All Together: Rolling the Bead

Rolling a bead is the ultimate test of skew control, combining the planing and slicing motions.

1. Preparation: Use V-cuts to define the sides of your bead, providing clearance.
   
2. Start (Plane): Index off the bevel heel, raise the handle, and establish a shallow planing cut on the side of the bead.
   
3. Transition (Slice): Slowly and smoothly rotate the tool while simultaneously arcing the handle to maintain bevel contact. The tool transitions from a shearing plane to a slicing cut, ending with the cutting edge near vertical on the center of the bead.
   
4. Repeat: Repeat the process from the opposite side until the two arcs meet at the center.

The rotation and arcing must be fluid and connected. The moment you lose bevel support by getting too rigid or swinging the handle too far, you invite a catastrophic catch. Practice the smooth, continuous movement until it becomes muscle memory.

Keep Practicing!

The skew chisel is unforgiving, but that is what makes it such a great teacher. Every catch is a clear sign that you deviated from the perfect technique—a lesson no other tool teaches so emphatically. Take a piece of soft wood, grind a symmetrical 40-45° edge, set your rest high, and start practicing the motions.

Before long, you’ll find the Mount Everest is less a terrifying climb and more a rewarding path to the cleanest finishes in woodturning.