Making your own tools.

[scorpio_oz]

Hi,

I've got a couple of HSS blanks to make up my own miniature tools.

I'm going to turn up a set of handles for them.

After searching the forums, I can't seem to come up with an answer to this question.

How much of a steel blank is inserted into the handle? eg, what might normally be a tang on some unhandled tools.

The steel I have is 8 inches long. Is say 20% or 25% an acceptable amount that is safe to put into the handle, or is that too much?

Does it change with the size of the tool. e.g. I was thinking of making a 3/8 bedan, the blank is also 8 inches in length, but being a large blank, will get a larger handle, so does it need more inside the handle?

Probably seems a trivial thing for those that have already made their own, but I'm surprised I can't seem to find an answer.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

Regards

-Gavin

[rsser]

With a snug fit and ferrule, and maybe some epoxy, 2" should do the job Gavin.

[scorpio_oz]

On square stock, do I grind the shoulders down where they are to go into the handle, to make the square stock a more of a octogon shape, and drill a smaller hole? or do I leave it square and drill a larger hole and use more epoxy?

Thanks

-Gavin

[rsser]

I measure the diagonal and subtract a mm from that for the hole diameter.

If it's too snug then I grind a wee bit off opposite points.

Seat it by inserting and then repeatedly dropping the handle end onto a bit of carpet on the concrete floor.

Drilling can be more or less accurate depending on the wood and the lathe and sometimes there's slop so Araldite is called for. I'm a fan of brad point drill bits for going into end grain.

You have read I expect that it's best to drill the hole first, in the square blank.

Have fun.

[new_guy90]

if you can get to a metal lathe you can just drill a bit of mild steel the same diameter of your round HSS blanks and then hold it in with set screws should save some steel you could also do this for broken D bits

not sure if it would be very good for miniature tool but the idea is there

[bobsreturn2003]

with small tools 1inch should be ok i always grind the end to a hex just to make it fit better , usually dont araldite as i get a snugg fit and tight ferrule ,. beats the high cost of name tools , quoted $75.00 FOR A PARTING TOOL 12X3 MM , a little expensive . love mc jing . cheers Bob :2tsup:

[rsser]

For mini tools and smaller gouges you can dispense with the ferrule if you want.

I get my HSS blanks from Garry Pye; have had mixed results with McJing.

For shaping bevels or cutting edges, a 1mm thick metal cutting wheel on a small angle grinder is quicker than a bench grinder. You cut the shape and refine on the grinder.

[Sturdee]

For shaping bevels or cutting edges, a 1mm thick metal cutting wheel on a small angle grinder is quicker than a bench grinder. You cut the shape and refine on the grinder.

Thanks for the tip, I'll try to get one of those blades as I want to alter my old cheap set of tools into scrapers.


Peter.

[scorpio_oz]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

I've got my HSS blanks from Gary Pye.

Another thing I've been pondering, now that I have sized up the blanks.

At 8 inches in length, and 3/16 square stock. If I do put 2 inches into the handle, this leaves me with 6inches of steel length.

On a micro tool, I'm sizing that up and thinking that it might be a little long.

Most of the micro tools that I've seen people handle, they have the hand just below the ferrule section with a finger generally resting on the tool for better fine control.

Here is a thought I've had. Firstly how easy is it to cut HSS?

My thought, if for the smaller tools, I might cut the eight inch blank in half, giving me two blanks of 4 inches. Putting one inch into the handle it would give me a tool steel length of 3 inches.

This seems a little more suitable dimensionly for micro tools I am thinking.

What do others think? Or is HSS too hard to cut well?

Thanks

-Gavin

[Paul39]

HSS cuts with an abrasive cut off wheel or expensive carbide tools.

I would rather have a too long tool than a too short one. The smallest things I make are twig / weed pots 5 in. long and 1 in. diameter. I don't have a problem with 12 to 16 in. tools.

I have noticed on one of my curved front scrapers that even with the normal length of steel the ferrule bumps the corner of the platform on the grinder.

The more hanging in front of the tool rest, the more you should have behind for leverage.

I make ferrules from scrap copper pipe, electrical metallic tubing, or tubing used for chain link fences. I like a ferrule on all my tools. If you have a bad catch it is less likely to break the steel out of the handle and fling it somewhere.

On the really small tools 1 in. or more in the handle to about 4 in. in with 12 - 16 inches of tool sticking out of 2/3 of a turned down baseball bat. Always with a ferrule.

[rsser]

Yes, be a bit short for my liking too.

You can get a 1mm thick cut-off wheel that I mentioned earlier, sometimes called an Inox wheel, for 4 and 5" angle grinders from Bunnies. Cuts easy peasy.

[NCPaladin]

For smaller tools try this. I know the handle is ugly but it works, next time it will be shorter (and prettier). I still have to take the square blank to a shop to have one end turned round.
Easy to swap out tool bits with a $12 keyless chuck.You can make 1/4 inch, 3/8, 1/2 or any other size speciality bits that will fit in the chuck. The shaft of the chuck is normally 3/8 here so just get a bolt (any length you want) to match, screw it into the chuck, cut off the head and mount into the handle.
Mike

[Texian]

Here are a couple from the "Crude But Effective" school of design. From the pointy end; 1/8" metal cutting tool bit, 1/8" pipe nipple x 6" long, piecce of 1/2" pipe, wood handle. One is ground to a sharp point much like the long point of a skew, and the other rounded like a round nose scraper. Granted that most people seem to like "pretty" tools, but these get frequent use, work very well, and cost only a few dollars to make.

[Paul39]

Texian,

How could you possibly make anything good without using Henry Taylor tools, ground to the Ellsworth grind on a Tormek grinder, and honed with a diamond hone? :D:D:D:D:D:D

I have one "good" tool, a 1/2" Crown bowl gouge. It is nice but not all that much better than the two big long, more or less bedan grinds on a 5/8" square file and a 1/2 /x 3/8" hunk of scrap steel, each mounted in 18" hunks of turned down bed post from a bed picked up off the street.

You have two nice tools, the buyer or recipient of the turning doesn't care what tool it was made with.

[Texian]

Paul,
Thanks for your support! I do have a few (4) "good" tools now, but my front line boring bar/hollowing tool is still one made at home many years ago, with the usual metal cutting tool bit. Gavin mentioned a bedan, and sorta have one of those, the usual tool bit in a long piece of 1/2" pipe. Easy to change bits to sharpen, or different bits for different jobs. And parting tools, one made many years ago from a long, thin carving knife my wife hated (it's a lot shorter now), and a new one 1/16" thick from a piece of metal-cutting bandsaw blade. It's ok to have the best, and it's ok to make your own too. If the resulting work looks good and brings in a few $$, then mission accomplished.

[rsser]

Texian,

How could you possibly make anything good without using Henry Taylor tools, ground to the Ellsworth grind on a Tormek grinder, and honed with a diamond hone? :D:D:D:D:D:D.

Quite right.

I could think about an Ellsworth grind on a bit of cheap square section HSS, mounted in a schmick anodised aluminium handle filled with lead shot.

The rsser signature scraper.

Time to start work on the marketing strategy :wink:

[Old-Biker-UK]

For small turning, bobbins & the like, I made up a couple of small gouges (1/8" & 3/16") by drilling down the end of some silver steel, filing away the surplus then hardening & tempering.
For small tools like this I harden & temper in one go by getting the end cherry red then quenching in a jar of old cooking oil, stinks out the workshop but works OK.
http://myweb.tiscali.co.uk/remark/pages/Temp/images/smallgouges.jpg

Mark

[Texian]

Those are cool Mark.

[rsser]

Nifty.

On the issue of ferrules, I have 3 bowl gouges up to 3/8" (flute width) that are 'naked'. No probs at all but then again no catches with them either. And of course you can get a snug fit with a rod that you can't get with a tang.

Thinking about the physics, assuming you are doing all the recommended things, the forces are either twisting or driving down the shaft into the handle.

And maybe if you get a dig (as opposed to a catch) it would be better having the handle give way than bend the rod, break the tool rest or lever the blank out. But I'm not offering to test this!

With bigger gouges that have to overhang some distance then I fit a ferrule.

[NeilS]

Nice pair of handles there Old-Biker-UK.

Only tool I've tempered myself are hook tools made from concrete nails and they are hit and miss efforts. Some are too hard and snap, others are too soft and need frequent resharpening and sometimes, just sometimes, they are just right....:rolleyes:

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[artme]

Nice pair of handles there Old-Biker-UK.

Only tool I've tempered myself are hook tools made from concrete nails and they are hit and miss efforts. Some are too hard and snap, others are too soft and need frequent resharpening and sometimes, just sometimes, they are just right....:rolleyes:

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Didn't happen to note brands did we Neil???

[NeilS]

Didn't happen to note brands did we Neil???

Sorry Artme, can't help there, however, I don't think it was any variation in the quality of the concrete nails that was the problem but more to do with the quality of the blacksmith.

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