Home Made Bedan

[jchappo]

Today I made a Bedan/Parting tool/Beading Tool
.
A piece of 1/2"x1/2"x8" HSS from McJing for $16, 1 brass ferrule $2 and a piece of wood from the scrap box.

Bevel ground to 55 degrees. Arrised on the linisher and sort of polished (this stuff is HARD).

Threw on a dry Jacaranda log to try it out.

All cuts were made with the bedan - straight through the bark bevel up.

As a parting tool, it removes a lot of material very quickly. Leaves a rough surface.
Used as a square skew for planing, it is capable of a very fine finish.
Very controllable for compound curves, again leaving a fine finish - a bit of tearout on the endgrain, but could be cleaned up.
Can even be used as a beading tool,

Tried it out on the base of a bowl for dressing the flat area around the spigot.
This works wonderfully with the bevel down.

All-in-all, a very versatile tool which will get a lot of use. :)

[Skew ChiDAMN!!]

Good stuff! :2tsup:

I've a similar tool I made from a length of 5mm sq. HSS stock. And yes, it's a very versatile tool. I find that as oft as not it makes plunge cuts quicker when used as a scraper!

A 1/2" version would look good sitting next to it... :wink:

[hughie]

food for thought, I ve got a bit of spare 1/2" lying around some where. :2tsup:

[wheelinround]

Nice work John did you weld a Tang or just leave as is in the handle ???

[jchappo]

Left the shaft square and bored out to 13mm then hammered it in (from the handle end of course)

Made a little skew from 6x6mm last week. Rosewood handle.

Oops! last picture is a bit fuzzy

[wheelinround]

Neat :2tsup:

and of course when hammering in you had it on a steel plate :D

[jchappo]

Yeah, thats probably why the edge looks flat in pic 2 :D

[Tornatus]

Well done, John - glad to see another convert to the Bedan Fans.

My first was a Hamlet 10mm, and I found it so versatile that I got a bit carried away and bought some 16mm stock from McJings to make a big brother (or grand frere, should I say). The larger one is very handy, particularly if I want to move a lot of wood very quickly, but it's not as nimble as the 10mm, mostly because it is square, and not tapered on the sides as is a true bedan. The tapered sides, as I'm sure you realise, are what make the corners of the cutting edge so effective, especially in beading.

When I figure out how to taper the sides (or track down some tapered stock), I will be making a 6mm version for pen and other small mandrel work.

[Ed Reiss]

Nice construct :2tsup::2tsup:

[NeilS]

Mine is a bit agricultural and not strictly a bedan profile, but it does the job. Tip is about 16mm x 12mm.

Only prob is I get into the habit of using the corners of the bedan and then slip into doing the same with the skew, which isn't good form.

Neil