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This is the first turning video I've watched, but I doubt I'll ever see a better one. Raffan is an immediately likable expert without any of the arrogance that so frequently accompanies expertise. He's a fast worker, so like another reviewer said approximately, "It's good that there's a rewind button." One thing that I wish he had told me was that the skew he wields with such wild abandon is apparently his own design. It has a slightly curved cutting edge, which I think makes it both safer and more versatile.
Where the rubber meets the road with a video such as this one is the effect it has on one's own technical evolution. While I rank myself as a <rank> novice, my work has improved noticeably since watching the DVD. I highly recommend it, and I'll be renting others starring Richard Raffan. The entire video production was excellent as well.
The Skew Chisel Series is another Must View for anyone who has blown up an otherwise beautiful piece of work. The nice thing about this series is the emphasis Lacer places on proper sharpening. I have the world's cheapest (as far as I know) full-size lathe. For years I drooled over PowerMatics and other HFM's (Heavy Freaking Machines). I have since decided to my own satisfaction that, at least for spindle work, a CAM (CheapAss Machine) is just fine, as long as you have good gouges and chisels that are sharp enough to split the atom. I'm thinking about posting a radiation symbol in my converted horse stall shop in my open-air barn, just because I have finally learned to keep my tools sharp.
Lacer makes everything look easy and intuitive, as do so many seasoned turners. But he encourages you to practice the skew on CAL (CheapAss Lumber) until it becomes second nature. There is no tool that will give you the clean grain of a well-sharpened skew, but constant practice and a well-crafted video make all the difference.
This one was okay. It covered the utter basics -- utterly thin steel-on-steel. I would like to see one that covered thin-to-thick and brazing (but, come to think of it, the title is about welding, isn't it?). I'd give it a B.
