My favorite tool

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Paul in OKC

Paul in OKC

Member
Joined
Jul 26, 2004
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3,114
Location
Oklahoma City, OK, USA.
A few posts about tools have been around lately. This is my mostest favorite tool. Home made. Thought I really had something until one time at Woodcraft I saw a tool by some guy named Sorby(:smile:) Oh well, I still like it. So do the kids I turn with at church on Wednesdays. Not the best pic, but it is a 1/2 by 1/4 real HSS rounded off on the end, with a knurled aluminum handle. I think the fact that it is flat makes it easy for the kids to control.
 

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Paul,

I admire you, Johnny CNC and others who can do that. I grew up on a farm where we often had to make our own tools.

Now I am having problems making my own scrapers. I decided to take a couple of unused chisels, grind and adapt to accept radius inserts - making radius scrapers out of them. I ground them down to accept the inserts. I 'punched' a barely perceptible dent to start the drilling. I ruined several HSS bits and got nowhere. I had to use carbide concrete bits to drill through those two chisels, and they were cheap (but HSS) chisels. Next, I could NOT get my tap sets to even 'catch' to start cutting. I have an old Snap On set and have rarely used it in 30 years. The tap had never been used but a few tries and it was dull (edges rounded over) without even 'catching' to get started.

I am not used to this kind of hard metal. Am I missing something?
 
leehljp said:
Paul,

I admire you, Johnny CNC and others who can do that. I grew up on a farm where we often had to make our own tools.

Now I am having problems making my own scrapers. I decided to take a couple of unused chisels, grind and adapt to accept radius inserts - making radius scrapers out of them. I ground them down to accept the inserts. I 'punched' a barely perceptible dent to start the drilling. I ruined several HSS bits and got nowhere. I had to use carbide concrete bits to drill through those two chisels, and they were cheap (but HSS) chisels. Next, I could NOT get my tap sets to even 'catch' to start cutting. I have an old Snap On set and have rarely used it in 30 years. The tap had never been used but a few tries and it was dull (edges rounded over) without even 'catching' to get started.

I am not used to this kind of hard metal. Am I missing something?
Click to expand...

You should have heated them until they went non-magnetic. then you should have been able to drill them easily and tap them easily as well. Of course you would have to re-harden and then temper them again.
 
Yep, hard stuff. Snap on taps are not made for that either, as they are mostly carbon steel and for rethreading and fixing holes. You can try just using a screw with a nut, if it didn't stick out too far.
 
Lee, I'm not sure if you could find it over there, but S-7 tool steel makes great scrapers and stuff, in it's un-hardend state is only about 20 or so rockwell, about the same or a little softer than stainless but it's very workable. it will harden to 68 and then anneal back to a great edge holding of 56-58 C scale, the nice part it's available in 1/4 in thickness bars of varying width, the part I like is it is very impact resistant and will hold a good edge, If I Ever get well, I want to make some scrapers like I saw some bowl turners using, up in Nashville, I started making some bowl gouges, and I'll harden them when I get them grouund so they cut, I made them out of O1 drill rod so it'll be ab easy job to at least get the cutting areas hard,
 
bitshird said:
Lee, I'm not sure if you could find it over there, but S-7 tool steel makes great scrapers and stuff, in it's un-hardend state is only about 20 or so rockwell, about the same or a little softer than stainless but it's very workable. it will harden to 68 and then anneal back to a great edge holding of 56-58 C scale, the nice part it's available in 1/4 in thickness bars of varying width, the part I like is it is very impact resistant and will hold a good edge, If I Ever get well, I want to make some scrapers like I saw some bowl turners using, up in Nashville, I started making some bowl gouges, and I'll harden them when I get them grouund so they cut, I made them out of O1 drill rod so it'll be ab easy job to at least get the cutting areas hard,
Click to expand...

I think I am going to let you and Paul each send me one of yours for testing on foreign wood! Pauls design is super and yours are too.

Paul, as soon as you are ready for it, I will send you my address. Same to you Ken. I will do a write up on each and post it here! :biggrin:

Apologies for stealing the tread. I really do like that tool of choice you made!
 
For those who have not yet figure it out, high speed steel does not behave the same as high carbon steel for heat treating or tempering. I think some are thinking Lee was working with high carbon steel instead of HSS -- different ducks to handle and heat treat.

I have some old high carbont lathe tools and they work very nicely for light finishing cuts, but lose the edge much much faster than HSS tools.

Lee - you may have to find someone who does EDM to get the hole through HSS --
 
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