egnald
Member
Greetings from Nebraska!
This was a new tool building week for me. I just finished up building six new High Caliber carbide turning tools. They are just short of 24-inches long (handle is about 16 inches long and the tool extends out about 7-inches). They all use the standard Mid-Sized EWT sized cutters. The tools are built on 3/8-inch square steel bars and 3/8-inch steel hex rods. The tips were ground, filed, and sanded to shape and then I drilled, countersunk, and tapped a 4-40 thread for the screws that hold the cutters on. I turned the handles from Hickory and finished them with OB's Shine Juice and a coat of microcrystalline wax. The ferrule is a 3/4-inch PEX Pipe Connector (I really like formed radiuses on these as I think they make a more professional looking tool). I glued on some labels and topped them each with a 1-inch clear glass cabochon for easy identification.
The steel rods were finished with a coat of Super Blue Liquid Gun Blue and each handle was loaded with fifteen Oregon Trails 158 grain 357 Magnum lead bullets to add weight - i.e. High Caliber tools.
Introducing the family (left to right from the cutter end as shown in the Thumbnails):
1) A tool with a 20-degree down angle on the end to make a 20-degree negative rake using a standard square with radius carbide cutter.
2) A tool with a 20-degree down angle on the end to make a 20-degree negative rake using a standard round carbide cutter.
3) A flat (standard) tool for holding a sharp pointed diamond shaped carbide cutter.
4) A flat (standard) tool for holding a square carbide cutter.
5) A tool made on a hex rod to provide a 30-degree shear scraper when held flat using a round carbide cutter.
6) A tool made on a hex rod to provide a 30-degree shear scraper when held flat using a square with radius carbide cutter.
This weekend I will have to build some pens with acrylic, maybe Inlace, so I can give the negative rake tools a workout.
It was a fun project. The materials cost just under $9 for each tool not counting the carbide cutter itself.
Not a bad set of tools for under $50 bucks!
Regards,
Dave



This was a new tool building week for me. I just finished up building six new High Caliber carbide turning tools. They are just short of 24-inches long (handle is about 16 inches long and the tool extends out about 7-inches). They all use the standard Mid-Sized EWT sized cutters. The tools are built on 3/8-inch square steel bars and 3/8-inch steel hex rods. The tips were ground, filed, and sanded to shape and then I drilled, countersunk, and tapped a 4-40 thread for the screws that hold the cutters on. I turned the handles from Hickory and finished them with OB's Shine Juice and a coat of microcrystalline wax. The ferrule is a 3/4-inch PEX Pipe Connector (I really like formed radiuses on these as I think they make a more professional looking tool). I glued on some labels and topped them each with a 1-inch clear glass cabochon for easy identification.
The steel rods were finished with a coat of Super Blue Liquid Gun Blue and each handle was loaded with fifteen Oregon Trails 158 grain 357 Magnum lead bullets to add weight - i.e. High Caliber tools.

Introducing the family (left to right from the cutter end as shown in the Thumbnails):
1) A tool with a 20-degree down angle on the end to make a 20-degree negative rake using a standard square with radius carbide cutter.
2) A tool with a 20-degree down angle on the end to make a 20-degree negative rake using a standard round carbide cutter.
3) A flat (standard) tool for holding a sharp pointed diamond shaped carbide cutter.
4) A flat (standard) tool for holding a square carbide cutter.
5) A tool made on a hex rod to provide a 30-degree shear scraper when held flat using a round carbide cutter.
6) A tool made on a hex rod to provide a 30-degree shear scraper when held flat using a square with radius carbide cutter.
This weekend I will have to build some pens with acrylic, maybe Inlace, so I can give the negative rake tools a workout.
It was a fun project. The materials cost just under $9 for each tool not counting the carbide cutter itself.
Not a bad set of tools for under $50 bucks!
Regards,
Dave


