It is worth reiterating that the woodturner's roughing gouge is designed for spindle work only and on no account should be used for roughing out bowls or hollow forms, which is an error many a woodturner makes. The roughing gouge is not intended to withstand the rigours of changing grain direction. One of the consequences of this misuse is the potential for the gouge to snap at its weakest point, the tang, whilst in contact with a piece of wood travelling at over 1000 rpm. That can have disastrous consequences for the unwitting turner. There are many other tools specifically designed for roughing or hollowing out bowls.

Instead, the roughing gouge - or spindle roughing gouge, as its is also known - is intended to convert square stock to round between centres. It can be used both aggressively or with finesse.

So, please, use the roughing gouge for its intended purpose and avoid broken tools.

The teeth of the Stebcentre can be sharpened using a very small triangular file and also a small half round file. To repair or replace the spring loaded point there are two methods of removal. -a long 3mm (1/8") blunt shaft can be gently tapped through the back to knock out the existing centre point. Or - grasp the point with a pair of grips and twist clockwise as you pull. To remove the pin from the spring, hold the pin in a vice and grasp the spring with the grips and twist and pull to release. Twist and push the spring onto the new/repaired pin. Hold the Stebcentre in a vice and gently tap the pin and spring back into the hole using a heavy instrument. Ensure that this instrument is slightly softer material than the pin so not to cause any damage to the pin or the teeth. Push the pin right in to ensure that the spring engages and becomes pre-loaded.

Robert Sorby manufacture two sizes of corner chisel - one is 3/8" and the other 1". Both need to be sharpening in the same way. Remember the first principle of sharpening is little but often. Sharpening a corner chisel is by no means easy even for the expert. There are two alternative methods which may be used. The first – and probably the easier – is to place the chisel in a vice and hone each of the inside cutting faces separately with a diamond hone or file. This method gives you a clear sight of exactly what is being honed. The second method involves and oil or waterstone. These should be flat and have a sharp edge. Again the inside cutting faces should be treated separately. The first cutting face should be worked against the stone with a side angle to ensure that the whole face is sharpened. The second face should be sharpened in the same manner but using the opposite edge of the stone. Should you badly damage the edge, we recommend that you return your chisel to us for professional re-furbishment.

Sheffield has been a major centre of tool manufacture for over 200 years. In that time tools from the city have found their way all over the world. Some are family heirlooms loving passed from father to son, others were carried far and wide by emigrants and many more were sold internationally by enthusiastic Sheffield manufacturers. To complement its already well established cutlery industry Sheffield produced a vast array of cutting tools – saws, edge tools, files, awls, agricultural tools, jewellers’ tools, butchers tools. Each of these tools has a history of its own but tracing that history is nowadays far from simple. Many factories have closed as technology has overtaken them, many businesses for long a family concern have been bought out by much larger international groups. As a consequence much of that valuable history has been lost making it almost impossible to date many of those old tools languishing in garages or workshops. A brief history tracing the origins of Robert Sorby can be found in the ‘About Us’ section of this web site. It deals largely with the development of the business rather than with the change in products. Other Sheffield companies also offer short histories of their company:

• Footprint – www.footprint-tools.co.uk
• Eclipse and Spear & Jackson – www.spear-and-jackson.com
• Joseph Marples (not to be confused with William Marples) - www.marples.co.uk

These chart the histories of the few companies from the 19th century which still exist today. However, there are other excellent sources of information. The Hawley Collection – www.shef.ac.uk/hawley – contains a vast array of information on tools and customer including manufacturers’ catalogues, product samples and other ephemera. This unique collection, now housed at the University of Sheffield, was lovingly built up over many years by Ken Hawley, a prominent local tool dealer. The Tools & Trades Historical Society – www.taths.org.uk – aims to preserve knowledge of old tools and trades. Its members have a wealth of experience in the history of various tools. For those visiting Sheffield there are also two historical industrial locations. Abbeydale Industrial Hamlet located in the west of the city is a preserved eighteenth century site whilst Kelham Island is an archive of Sheffield industrial heritage in cutlery, steel and tools. Further details are to be found on www.simt.co.uk.

Unlike regular augur bits which have a screw nose which pulls itself through the wood, Lamp Standard Shell Augers have a lip and flat cutting face to ensure that they cut straight and true. As a result it has to be pushed into the wood by the turner. The curve of the lip ensures that the auger runs centrally and is unaffected by either the grain or texture of the wood being turned. The leading edge of the shell serves to start the hole and is relieved on the outside to prevent binding. The form of the nose then allows the Augur to cut into the wood under steady pressure. Great care should be taken when using a Lamp Standard Shell Auger. It is particularly important to avoid running the Auger through the wood and into the drive centre. You should avoid potential damage to the nose by preventing contact between the Auger and the long hole boring attachment in the tailstock. You should frequently withdraw the Auger and remove waste wood. Failure to do so will lead to a build-up of wood in the hole which prevents the Auger from cutting and causes the wood to burn. This may in turn lead to drawing the temper in the nose of the Auger thereby causing permanent damage. Sharpening of the Auger should be carried out with a degree of care to avoid removing too much metal from the nose. You only have a small amount of material to work with. Therefore you should never sharpen your Auger on a bench grinder. With the Auger held vertically, use a flat diamond hone on the bevel of the nose. A few strokes should suffice. For the inside of the flute use a suitable slip stone or diamond hone. When sharpening move the slipstone to the left so that the leading edge is honed. Do not try to sharpen the outside of the Augur as clearance may be lost causing the Auger to bind in your wood.

Probably the most frequently asked question amongst woodturners is 'How do I sharpen my tools'. There are many different answers depending on who you ask. There is no one correct answer. Some advocate slow speed or wet grinders, some oil stones or waterstones and some the fairly new diamond sharpeners. The truth is that with a standard bench grinder, fitted with an 80grit (white) aluminium oxide wheel and with some practice most woodturners can put an acceptable edge on their tools. Do not use the standard grey wheel that comes with most grinders as it will glaze over very quickly and heat the tools. If you have damaged a tool or feel the need to significantly re-shape it you will need to use a coarser 36 grit wheel. Remember to dress the wheel with a devil stone, star wheel or diamond dresser to avoid forming a groove in the wheel as this will adversely effect the grinding of skew chisels and parting tools. Should I try to sharpen freehand or use a jig?. With practice most turners could manage without a jig but many people do not want to grind away an expensive tool practicing so a jig is the sensible and efficient option. There are almost as many different jigs available as there are grinders. The Robert Sorby 447 Deluxe Universal Sharpening Jig allows turners of any skill level to put consistent accurate grinds on their tools. It is easy to set to the majority of bench grinders and you do not need a high degree of skill to use it. It will eliminate at a stroke those facets which may be created by freehand sharpening. Many turners now prefer a fingernail profile on their spindle and bowl gouges - it is also known as a Celtic or Irish grind. This is very difficult to achieve free-hand. The Fingernail Profiling arm that comes with the Deluxe Sharpening Jig makes light work of profiling and again is easy to use. Whichever method you use remember to keep your tools sharp, try to achieve one consistent bevel which makes for easier tool control and most of all enjoy you turning. The key to succesful sharpening is little and often. So you have your lathe, chuck, accessories and wood. You have read the books and watched the videos. All you need now are some tools and you can start to create the bowls, candlesticks and table lamps that you have told your friends and family they will be receiving as presents in the future!! There are as many opinions on the first set of tools you need as there are tools available to buy. If you read many of the books or watch the videos that are available for the beginner you will note that most advocate five or six tools to start. In the early stages stick with the basics. Don't be mesmerised by the array of specialist tools. They will come later. For spindle turning (lamps, candlesticks, goblets, stair parts) you need a roughing gouge, a spindle gouge, a skew chisel, a parting tool. Each has a separate role to play.

• Roughing gouge - used for turning from square to round
• Spindle or detail gouge - for producing shapes like beads and coves
• Skew chisel - acts like a plane and is used for cleaning up the surface
• Parting tool - for parting off your project and cutting grooves
• For faceplate turning (bowls and platters) you need a bowl gouge and a scraper.
• Bowl gouge - this is the work horse which will do the bulk of your shaping and hollowing
• Scraper - used to give a fine surface your project.

The Robert Sorby beginners set of turning tools (ref. 67HS) includes the six tools detailed above. They are full size high quality HSS tools which if treated correctly will give you years of service. Once you have started to turn and you decide whether to concentrate on spindle or bowl turning you will need to buy different sizes and more specialist tools, especially for creating hollow forms, as the standard tools are not suitable for this. This is a much more complicated area and you should seek the advice of your local dealer or fellow turners. Whatever you decide always buy the best you can afford, some tools look good value but are made from inferior steel and require sharpening more often so work out more expensive in the long run.. One old hand used to regularly say 'There is nothing more expensive than cheap tools'. This holds very true in turning. Cheap or inferior tools will lose their cutting edge quickly, and will need sharpening frequently. This can lead to frustration in the belief that you lack the necessary skills when in fact it is the tools that are letting you down. Such frustration can lead to you giving up your new found hobby having already spent heavily on equipment. If you do receive a set of poor quality tools with your lathe, it is a good idea to keep these to practice sharpening. You will come to find that sharpening needs the same degree of skill and know-how as turning. Remember the most important piece of advice, 'Enjoy your turning'.

1. Choose a bowl blank remembering that the blank will be turning 1.1/4" / 30mm from centre so ensure that it will clear the bed bars of your lathe. A plain, unfigured piece of wood works best for this project.
2. Mount the blank using a standard faceplate and turn the outside profile of the bowl.
3. Measure the diameter of the eccentric chuck faceplate with a pair of dividers and mark the base of the bowl. Remember to only allow the left leg of the dividers to touch the wood. With a parting tool part in 1/8" / 3mm and remove the timber to create a recess - check that the faceplate fits.
4. Remove the blank from the standard faceplate and fit the eccentric faceplate. Divide the blank into three sections and mark three positions at 120 degrees and label them 1,2 & 3
5. Fix the faceplate to the eccentric boss at position 1 using the machine screw and set to the 0 offset position. You will see that there are 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30 and 35mm positions marked. With a bowl gouge clean up the face of the bowl. With a pencil mark a circle 3/8" / 10mm in from the edge of the bowl.
6. Slacken the two grub screws and move the boss to the 30mm offset position. Check by hand that the bowl clears the tool rest. Turn on the lathe and scribe a line with the pencil over the existing line this will give you the first section of the clover-leaf. With a bowl gouge turn the first section, remembering not go too deep because of the screws.
7. Remove the boss and move the faceplate to position 2. Reset in the 30mm offset position and scribe the second section with a pencil. Using a bowl gouge turn this section but be careful as the tool will not have full bevel support as it goes across the first section.
8. Move to position 3 at 30mm offset and repeat the procedure described in 7 above.
9. Switch off the lathe and sand your bowl by hand.
10. Reposition the eccentric boss to the 0 offset position and turn a small dimple in the centre of the bowl. Clean up the top edge of the bowl to remove any pencil lines.
11. Finish the bowl without the lathe turning - an oil finish works well. And you have a clover-leaf bowl

Remember -

• Always check by hand that the wood clears the toolrest.
• Use a slower lathe speed than normal.
• Never try to sand and finish the work moving in the eccentric mode.
• Always finish by hand - this will take longer but is much safer.
• You will benefit from having a sharp gouge.

If you have created any designs using the Robert Sorby Eccentric Chuck please let us know by e-mail with a description of how you used the chuck and pictures if possible.

1. Take a bowl blank and mount on a faceplate or faceplate ring. True the edge and face of the blank - the face must be turned flat. Cut a recess for your chuck leaving the centre of the recess level with the face of the blank - this is needed for the marking out later. Next mark the centre.
2. Remove the blank from the faceplate or faceplate ring and mount on a chuck. True the other face ensuring that it is flat. Again mark the centre. Using the tool rest mark a line across the edge of the blank. Then take the blank from the chuck.
3. The next step is mark out your blank. This is a vitally important stage, as it will determine the size and shape of your bowl* (see below). Let us assume we are planning to turn a three-sided bowl.
   Draw a circle on each face with a compass - the diameter of the circle will depend on the swing you have over the bed of your lathe. Then mark a line from the one marked on the edge to the centre point and with a pair of dividers or a protractor mark 3 points at 120 degrees apart on the circle. Where these lines intersect the circle mark with a bradawl. Repeat on the other face using the line marked on the side as a datum point. Using a compass, mark from one intersection on the circle to the opposite edge to determine the edge of the bowl. Repeat this on the other two intersections and on the other face. These lines will show in turning and will give a line to work to.

1. Fit a standard Stebcentre (preferably 7/8" diameter) or a Steb Drive in a chuck (which is 7/8" diameter) in the headstock end and a Revolving Stebcentre in the tailstock. Mount the blank between the Stebcentres on the first point (point 1)on the circle. Ensure that the blank clears the lathe bed and carefully position the toolrest.
2. Select a slow speed and turn on the lathe. If you have a variable speed lathe it is easy to increase or decrease the speed. The faster the better but remember the blank will be turning off centre so there will be vibration.
3. With a 3/8" or ½" bowl gouge turn the first side. Move the tool rest in frequently as the side becomes smaller (always ensuring the blank clears the rest). Turn down as far as the line marked on the face of the blank. Remember that the bevel of your gouge will only be in contact with the wood for a third of the time so tool control is more difficult.
4. Repeat stages 4 - 7 for the other two sides.
5. Remove the blank and remount on the faceplate. Turn the base to the required shape and clean up the chuck recess. Sand the base section using a hand held sander like the Robert Sorby Sandmaster or use a power sander. It is not recommended that you sand by hand. With the lathe stopped you can apply an oil finish. If a friction polish or other finish that requires buffing is used then this is best done with the bowl removed from the lathe and use a lathe mounted buffing system.
6. Now remount the bowl on the chuck and turn the bowl as normal, sand and finish to complete the project..

* You can turn any number of sides as shown in the picture above. It is best if the number of sides is easily divided into 360 degrees. 3 = 120, 4 = 90, 5 = 72, 6 = 60.