Planer blades

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Rolland

Member
Joined
Dec 27, 2010
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146
Location
Camp Verde, AZ
Does anyone make there own tools from planer blades? I have read some references to them on different threads here but nothing about making them. The reason I ask is I have six or seven blades I found in a box of "stuff" I had put up sometime ago. I used to forge skinning knives out of them years back. The blades are from a sawmill and average 17 inches long and 3/4 to 1 inch wide. They are rejects as they are too narrow to reset in the head.
I would think that they would hold an edge pretty well against some of the blanks as the steel is of the highest quality to be used in the application they were in.
 
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Rolland -- sounds like high carbon steel and it is good stuff for knives and plane blades.

Until about 3 decades or so ago, high carbon steel was what was used for turning tools, and some like hook tools are still made for high carbon steel.

If you remember -- high carbon steel loses it's hardness with heat at about 350 degrees and gets softer faster as the heat increases.

High Speed steel (HSS) is tougher and holds heat treatment to about 1100 degrees so it keeps an edge longer, and is not as sensitive to getting hot while grinding.

You can make lathe tools from High Carbon steel - and it works well for specialty tools that you are willing to use in special uses (like a hook tool) or you will get a lot of sharpening time.

now if you had High Speed Steel planer blades, there are skew and scraper opportunities for those blades - and you can use them for that as high carbon steel, but you will have to be sharpening more ofteh.
 
Maybe fashion handles like a knife, and use as a parting tool? I saw a video on YouTube for making a parting tool this way, using a blade from an electric edger.

I took an old kitchen utility knife and removed the tapered cutting edge by grinding it flat, and then reshaped the tip. It made a really great 1/16" wide parting tool for making decorative grooves.
 
I think most of the references you are seeing talking about using planer blades for turning tools may be the carbide inserts that have been gaining in popularity for planers and jointers for the past decade or so. There are several tool makers making the tool holder carbide insert similar to them. And I've seen a couple people make their own too.

Now, I've also seen people make turning tools out of everything from old screwdrivers, to regular chisels, and other things to fit specific applications that they may need and no one makes a tool for that particular situation. Your blades would likely be good for something like that, the only question is are they worth the effort given the application you need. Unless money is a big issue, there's no sense in making a tool that would do the same thing as a 1 inch Skew. Just go buy the Skew. But if you have a purpose that needs a particular pattern (I've seen alot of custom scrappers) then yeah, go for it.
 
They will make a good parting tool but are too thin to be used for other turning tools like scrapers . If they are high carbon steel I would be very careful using them as a skew or scraper , HC steel is on the brittle side and could shatter if you are not careful . My favorite parting tool is made from a hacksaw blade with the teeth ground off , it has a very thin kerf and is perfect for parting off without loosing the grain match .
 
I have no plans to make anything out of them just wondered if anyone used them. They are 3/16 thick so I don't think they would work for a parting blade but then who knows. :confused:
 
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