Another Shop Made Carbide "Pen" Tool

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JD Combs Sr

JD Combs Sr

Member
Joined
Jan 30, 2010
Messages
767
Location
Owingsville, KY
Similar to the EW 15mm carbide rougher the Pen Genie or the Woodchuck it is sized for making pens at about 16" OAL but is still very useful for making larger items. The 1/2" square shaft is cold-rolled, $9 from the local Tractor Supply hardware, the cutter, $2.61, is from Global Tooling, the 15mm radius-ed version. The handle is from a piece of 8/4 maple from my scrap bin, lets call it $2 and the ferule is a piece of 1" copper pipe from Lowe's at maybe $.25. Total monetary investment no more then $14 including the $9 for the 4ft piece of cold-rolled which I can make about 5 more of these from. Again this is a "Pen" version, I have a similar one that uses the same cuter but it is another 6-8" longer. Since I have one I made previously I made this one as a gift.

Of note:
I have recessed the cutter into the cold-rolled by about 1/4". I tend to use these tools in a skew orientation as well as scraper. Having the cutting edge more centered does not effect the scraper function but significantly improves the ability to place it into a skew orientation.

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Close-ups:
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I used a hack-saw to rough out the notch then use a small mill to level it and drill the screw hole.
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For DIYers the notch could be dressed and leveled with a sander or grinder. I used this belt sander to round off all the sharp edges.
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Comments and Critiques welcomed.
 
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Dale Allen said:
Excellent JD.
I especially like the deeper recess. Mind if I use that idea?:biggrin:
Professional workmanship indeed.
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Thanks Dale, don't mind at all, grab yourself a hack-saw.:biggrin:

Rockytime said:
The cutting end is great and the handle is beautiful.
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Thanks Les, I said I had about $14 in this tool but if I added my labor even at the old minimum wage nobody would buy it.:eek::rolleyes: Just a way of saying yeah I got a lot of time in this and most things I do. Good thing it is hobby activities and not a paying job, I'd starve.:wink:
 
How well does it cut? I've heard some folks having bad results from carbides purchased for uses other than turning tools. Something about the angle or what not.
 
redneckmedic said:
How well does it cut? I've heard some folks having bad results from carbides purchased for uses other than turning tools. Something about the angle or what not.
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Thanks Matthew for commenting. I have seen similar "wrong angle" comments but they have been relatively few. I find the non-wood purpose carbides very sharp and yeah the angle may not be optimal but In my experience they work great for me especially when used in a skew orientation. I don't have any problems using them in scraper mode either. UMMV is all I can say.

wob50 said:
Nice that gives me a few more ideas mite used yours ( if okay with you)
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No problem Robert, the ones I make are pretty much ideas I have gotten from someone else anyway.
 
You have a part/number for the inserts I see two one a 100 radius and one 150 hope its not the 150 there out of stock ,also any ideas on square tube for a tool I have seen them but do they last ,cause bar stock just has that solid feel to it. I know I mite have just answered my own question , but I had to asked.Thanks for your info.
 
wob50 said:
You have a part/number for the inserts I see two one a 100 radius and one 150 hope its not the 150 there out of stock ,also any ideas on square tube for a tool I have seen them but do they last ,cause bar stock just has that solid feel to it. I know I mite have just answered my own question , but I had to asked.Thanks for your info.
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Robert on the inserts, the out of stock "Byrd" version and the one just above it the "Titan" are very similar. Both are radius edge 15mm cutters. The biggest difference I see is that the Titan has rounded corners where as the Byrd has sharp corners. The rounded corners may actually be a positive for anyone not use to these tools, less chance of the cutter digging in a corner and causing a catch. In any case if I were ordering right now with the Byrd out of stock I would just switch to the Titan and go on.

I don't really have any thoughts on tubes versus solid bars other then I use solid bars and all the retail tools I have purchased are solid, nuff said I think.

Good luck on building yours.
 
Very nice work!
I've recently purchased the steel and cutters necessary to make a few of these, and yesterday I took the time to drill and tap all of the bars, so now it's on to the handles.

How much steel do you have in the handles? Is 4" enough? I bought 12" bars and want to leave one or two of these tools as long as I can, but have no idea what that final dimension should be.

Thanks!
 
Cavediver said:
Very nice work!
I've recently purchased the steel and cutters necessary to make a few of these, and yesterday I took the time to drill and tap all of the bars, so now it's on to the handles.
How much steel do you have in the handles? Is 4" enough? I bought 12" bars and want to leave one or two of these tools as long as I can, but have no idea what that final dimension should be.
Thanks!
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Thanks Jay, this one is intended as a pen tool so it is not all that long but it is longer then necessary for this application. They whole steel shaft is 8" with about four in the handle. For this one 6-7" over all with a couple in the handle would have been plenty. If I were making a full size tool with maybe 8-10" of shaft showing I would go with the 3-4" tang inside the handle. Keep in mind the tools do have ferules but that being said you should do what you are comfortable with.

wyone said:
personally I would not cut them off until you tried them. You could make a temp handle to try them.
I prefer long handles as it gives me more control and stability
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Mitch that is good advise although it could waste some of the steel, not a biggy but...just saying.:smile:

Jay, BTW here is a pic of the steel before the handle.
Also the pic shows I also used some "Brass Black"(works on steel too) to blacken any of the newly milled areas.
IMG_0117.jpg
 
wob50 said:
You have a part/number for the inserts I see two one a 100 radius and one 150 hope its not the 150 there out of stock ,also any ideas on square tube for a tool I have seen them but do they last ,cause bar stock just has that solid feel to it. I know I mite have just answered my own question , but I had to asked.Thanks for your info.
Click to expand...

The biggest problems using sq tubing that I see would be there is no way to recess the position for the cutter allowing it to randomly position itself while in use, not a good thing, I would think. There would be much less metal to thread for the screw that holds the cuter. There are strong stresses right there when cutting. No one wants the carbide cutter to come flying back in his face because the screw striped out. Also, it would make it more difficult to place into a handle, maybe even allowing vibrations to build causing many other problems. For no more metal than would be used, I would stick with solid stock. Just my $0.02 worth, no expert. Definition of 'expert'- broken down, X, an unknown in math or a has been; Spurt- nothing more than a drip under pressure. Ergo 'expert'-unknown has been drip under pressure. Come to thimk of is, guess I are one.

Best, and good luck.
Charles
 
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Yes bar stock it is. I seen one on u-tube with square tube and a nut to hold the insert on with a small notch on top on the tube,those insert can put more than a eye out. So I am going to get some square bar stock a go from there.
 
Hello quick question how far does the steel stock go into the handle, it is 1/2 cold
roll these will be used mostly for pens. Thanks Robert
 
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