Make splinter-free square edges every time.
by Alan Lacer
A pommel is any area left square on a turning. You’ll find pommels on table legs, balusters, porch columns and other furniture parts. A pommel can have an abrupt square shoulder or a gently shaped shoulder as it meets the rounded section of the turning. Using the wrong tools and technique can easily reduce each of these corners to splinters. Many new turners approach pommels with fear and trepidation, but the correct technique is not hard to learn. Follow each step described here and with a little practice, you’ll be cutting great-looking pommels every time.
I use two tools to make pommels: a skew chisel and a detail gouge (see photo, right). Many skews have a straight edge that runs at a diagonal, but mine is different. I shape my skew so the cutting edge near the long point is square across. From there, the edge curves down to the skew’s short point. This shape is a bit more versatile and forgiving in tight situations.
I use a detail gouge to shape the shoulders of a pommel. This tool’s rounded profile is easy to roll from one position to another while supported on the tool rest.
Pommels have three primary variations: square, rounded and lamb’s tongue (see photo, above). To make each type, begin by creating square shoulders. Next, shape one of the variations, if desired. You’ll turn the rest of the leg or baluster after the pommels are done.
Tools You’ll Need
The best tools for shaping a pommel are a skew chisel and a detail or shallow gouge. Many skews have straight edges, but I prefer a rounded edge with a short straight section. This profile is easier to use and more versatile. I’ll show you how to create it in the next issue.
Prepare Your Stock
Your stock must be perfectly square. Locate precise centers at both ends by marking diagonals with an awl (Photo 1). Mount the workpiece onto your lathe. Use a square to draw a dark pencil line where you’d like your pommel to end (Photo 2). If you’re working with a dark wood, mark two or more faces or use a white pencil to make the lines visible.
Photo 1: Scribe lines to find the precise center of your leg stock. This ensures that square and rounded sections will be centered; if they’re not, the rounded sections will appear offset.
Photo 2: Mark the pommel’s end with a pencil line or two. The darker the line, the easier it will be to see when the leg is turning.
Cut a V Groove
Adjust your lathe to a moderate speed of 900 to 1,200 rpm. Position the skew on the tool rest, long point down, and cut into the workpiece about 1/8 in. from your pencil line (Photo 3). Aim the skew toward the turned side, the portion that you’ll form into a cylinder later. This first cut won’t go very deep. To form the V groove, reposition the skew slightly farther away from the line and cut in from the turned side back toward your first cut.
Photo 3: Cut a V-shaped groove 1/8 in. from the pencil line. Hold the skew’s handle low and its long point down, high on the workpiece. Slowly lower the point into the spinning corners to begin making one side of the groove. When you feel resistance, make another cut from the other side to complete the V groove.
Now, remove wood from the turned side using the skew’s long point. Peel the wood back toward your V cut, but not deeper (Photo 4). The turned side will begin to resemble a cylinder but still have flat sections. Go back and deepen the original V cuts, and then remove more wood from the turned side. Repeat this process until you are very close, about 1/16 in., to the round diameter of your stock.
Photo 4: Peel away the waste. With this cut, the skew is flat on the tool rest, its handle is low and the long point is facing the pommel. Cut to the bottom of the V groove. Alternate between deepening the V shape and the peeling action until you are close to a round cylinder.
Define the Pommel
Now you’re ready to create the pommel’s actual shoulder. Place your skew on the tool rest with the long point down and handle low. Cant the skew blade a few degrees away from the pommel. Raise the back of the tool handle to bring the skew into the wood at the pencil line and slice away a very small amount of wood (Photo 5). Remove the wood with several light cuts, rather than one or two heavy cuts, to avoid tearing the corners. If your goal is a square pommel, be sure you cut perpendicular to the line.
Photo 5: Define the pommel’s end with the skew’s long point. Cut down near the pencil line with the skew angled slightly away from the pommel. Sneak up to the pencil line with a series of small cuts.
When you’ve reached the full rounded diameter of the stock, use the skew to plane from the round portion up to the pommel’s shoulders (Photo 6). The squared-off pommel is complete. If you choose not to round the shoulders, you can complete the rest of the turning.
Photo 6: Plane away the waste up to the shoulder. Flip the skew so the short point faces the pommel. Cut most of the waste using the skew’s lower section. Use the short point to cut right up to the pommel.
Shape the Rounded Pommel
Precise starting and stopping points of shaped pommels’ shoulders are critical, especially when turnings are placed closely together, such as stair balusters. Mark the shoulder’s starting point in the same manner that you marked its stopping point.
Start the cut with the flute or hollow of your gouge pointed upward (Photo 7). Roll the tool over onto its side and advance it slightly toward the edge of the pommel to create the curve. Repeat this action in a series of light cuts, advancing from the starting line to the end of the pommel, until you’ve defined the shape. If you’re making a lamb’s tongue, shape an ogee rather than a roundover.
Photo 7: Use a detail gouge to round the pommel. Begin with the flute facing up, the handle low and the gouge’s bevel rubbing on the area to be cut. Roll the gouge over while lifting the handle (see photo, above). Continue to rub the bevel on the wood. Repeat this process with light cuts until the pommel is rounded.
Remove the tool rest. With the workpiece spinning, lightly sand the rounded portions of the pommel with 180-grit or finer sandpaper.
Source information may have changed since the original publication date.
Dec/Jan 2007, issue #126
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