Well, the lathe is up and running, hurrah!!!
Spent 3 different nights playing with practice wood, most of it not the best type. Last night, I found a piece of basswood in the stack and tried that, much better.
The biggest challenge was getting the grind on the skew chisel close enough to actually work.
I made the skew by grinding down a flat (not diamond-shaped) parting tool and shaping the end to suit. The bevel was the big challenge, had to grind it down again, re-bevel, still not right -- then tonight I found the sweet spot. All freehand. Had to use the side of the wheel to get the right finish (where
is that diamond paddle anyway?!)
Tomorrow, I'm going to get some practice stock out of an alder log that's laying around. It will be nice to turn some green wood. Hubby's going to fetch some green maple from his property north of here, that will really be fun!
Thanks for listening, and for the help over the past couple weeks!