Ribbons

[Garno]

Todays silly question live from Dronfield is,

When turning things in wood I have noticed that I only seem to make fine dust and no ribbons whilst making whatever it is, this is not only on pens but bowls as well.
If I am turning acrylic pens I do get ribbons albeit very thin and narrow ones.

Two thoughts have sprung to mind, (Three if you include that I am an awful turner) firstly my tools are too blunt or not sharp enough or secondly the wood I am turning is too dry (Little or no moisture content).

I only use carbides as well.

 

[TonyMilner]

I don't seem to get long ribbons as well, except recently when turning a small Apple log, the friend who gave it me said it was seasoned for 18 months but I'm sure was not that dry - I had long ribbons flying over my shoulder. I'm sure you keep your tools sharp so I recon it's too dry.

 

[flexi]

Some one who knows more than me will be along with better terminology than me, but I think it's to do with grain orientation
Plastic dosent have a grain and when turning your cutting is not interrupted by voids within the grain so you get long ribbons created. When turning pen blanks the grain is 90° to the cutter so you will only get small chips, unlike bowl blanks where your cutter has larger sections of grain in line with the cutter so you will get ribbons....
I hope this makes sense!

 

[apw43]

With carbides especially the flat ones, you will not make a lot of shavings as you are scrapping the wood rather than cutting it, Mark is right about the acrylic blanks as it has no grain orientation, hence why you get the nice ribbons, with a bowl blank you are cutting both side grain and end grain, and with a carbide you have no bevel support to support the fibres as you cut into the bowl, There's not one tool that will do every job unfortunately, but if I was limited to only one tool, it would be my 3/8th bowl gouge, as there is so many different cuts you can do with it, i.e pull cut, push cut, shear cut, etc

 

[Phil Dart]

A carbide point tool is just a glorified scraper that you don't have to sharpen as often as an HSS scraper. You wouldn't get ribbons out of wood with an HSS scraper either, but you would with a fluted gouge.

 

[wm460]

When I saw the title I thought you were looking for ribbons for your hair.

 

[Garno]

When I saw the title I thought you were looking for ribbons for your hair.

Not with a head like a billiard ball,

I paid some good money for a hair restorer from a doctor named Dr R.I Poff

Instructions read massage into scalp, all it did was give me hairy fingers

 

[wm460]

Not with a head like a billiard ball,

I paid some good money for a hair restorer from a doctor named Dr R.I Poff

Instructions read massage into scalp, all it did was give me hairy fingers

I will believe you about the hairy palms thousand wont.

 

[TVS]

Sorry boys but you can get ribbons from carbide and HSS scrappers try sheer scrapping that said some very course woods will never produce ribbons practice is the order of the day

 

[alan morrison]

A plunge cut with a square carbide will give you ribbons.

 

[Penpal]

I am amazed at the variations using carbide {angle of cut etc the one I used today even had the corners clipped that for me made it easier to use. But i still break down with a bowl guage.