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How To Use Your RIDGID Wood Lathe (continued)
If the rest is placed too low, so that the
chisel is held with the bevel out from the
work (sketch 2), the cutting edge will con-
tinue to dig deeper into the work. It will dig
in until the "bite" becomes so deep that
your hands have difficulty holding the
chisel - then the improperly supported
chisel will begin to bounce, or chatter,
against the workpiece.
If the rest is placed too low, the chisel
must be held extremely high to position
the bevel against the work (sketch 3).
Then the rest loses most of its value as a
fulcrum, and the down ward force of the
revolving workpiece tends to kick the
chisel back out of your hands.
If the rest is placed too high (sketch 4)
and the chisel is correctly positioned for
cutting, it strikes the workpiece near the
top where the direction of force exerted by
the workpiece is nearly horizontal - and
kickback will again result.
If the rest is placed too far out from the
work surface (sketch 5) - then, when cor-
rectly held, the chisel is again too high on
the work. Also, you have less leverage on
your side of the tool rest - and it is even
more difficult to hold the chisel.
With large diameter work (sketch 6), the
tool rest can be above the workpiece cen-
terline, and somewhat out from the work
surface. With small diameter work (sketch
7), the rest should be lowered almost to
the centerline, and should not be far from
the work surface. As work grows smaller,
the rest should be repositioned.
How to Position Tool Rest for Circumference Scraping
In scraping operations, the tool rest posi-
tion is not as critical as it is for cutting
operations. The chisel generally is held
horizontally, though it can be held at an
angle to reach into tight places. Consider-
ing that the wire edge of the chisel does
the scraping, sketches 9 and 10 show the
results of too low or too high a position for
the rest; and sketch 8 shows the chisel
action with the rest correctly positioned.
How to Position Chisel and Rest for Diameter Scraping
When scraping on the diameter, that por-
tion of surface to the right of center is
moving upward (sketch 11). If chisel is
placed in this area, it will simply be carried
up off the rest and out of your hands. All
diameter approach operations must be
done at the left of center.
Three different chisel contact points are
shown in sketch 12. It will be noted that,
when chisel is above the workpiece cen-
ter, or below it, the work surface sweeps
past the chisel edge at an angle and
tends to carry the chisel in one direction
or the other along the rest. Only when the
chisel contacts the work on the centerline
does the work surface pass squarely
under the chisel edge. This, then, is the
position in which it is easiest to hold the
chisel steady. To obtain this position,
place the rest approximately 1/8-inch
(thickness of chisel) below center.
Correct
Edge
Digging
In
No
Stock
Removed
10
9
11 12
1/8"
Rest
Face
Edge