PDA

View Full Version : Making my own 1/16 parting tool?



pyarra
22nd September 2011, 11:41 AM
Hi all,

I'm looking at adding a 1/16 parting tool to the arsenal. The only parting tool I have currently is a 1/4 and I find it a bit bulky for some work. I could just buy a 1/16, but from the pictures I've seen, it looks like an old knife could be pretty easily re-ground to the right shape. I've picked up a couple from the op shop to try this out on, and was about to get started... then I stopped and had a think... that maybe I should ask around first:

Is this unwise?

I would be especially interested to hear from anyone who has tried this. If your nickname is Stumpy or Two-Fingers Pete, please pipe up.

For the record: the two knives I've picked up are stainless, I suspect these won't hold an edge as well as HSS or high-carbon would, but probably they'll be good enough for a proof of concept.

What say ye?

Cheers.

Ed Reiss
22nd September 2011, 11:56 AM
Welcome pyarra.

Check out this link:

Article: Speeds and feeds for turning stainless steels (http://www.bssa.org.uk/topics.php?article=193)

WOODbTURNER
22nd September 2011, 11:57 AM
Try and get hold of used mechanical hss hacksaw blades that steel fabricators use. These are about 25mm wide and thin and are easily shaped with a grinder. I think this has been on a previous post.

powderpost
22nd September 2011, 12:08 PM
Welcome to the board, The thick machine hacksaw blade is definitely the way to go.
Jim

issatree
22nd September 2011, 12:42 PM
Hi pyarra,
As Jim & others have said, the 25mm./ 1in. Hacksaw blade is the go.
Gently grind the teeth off & run all the edges off on the corners, so as they don't catch on the Tool Rest.
I covered my Handle with 3 Layers of thick Heat Shrink.
My Blade would be about 1 1/2mm. thick & is HSS.
You need a fairly long Bevel, I found.
Once Sharpened, I gently take the corners off that Bevel, without touching the Sharpened End.
I also Bevel the Cutting Edge, like the shape of a Skew.
When Parting off, the pointed Edge goes to the Item End, & you get a clean cut end.

Grommett
22nd September 2011, 12:43 PM
Welcome to the forum. Yep made mine from an old HSS hacksaw blade. Ask around, seems everyone in our woodclub has a bit.

pyarra
23rd September 2011, 05:46 PM
Thanks all for the advice. I'll see if I can get hold of an old hacksaw blade to try this with, as you have pretty much all suggested.

I'll probably grind one of the knives as a test - seems a shame to have metal sitting there unused :-)

And thanks for the welcome.

tea lady
23rd September 2011, 09:15 PM
Thanks all for the advice. I'll see if I can get hold of an old hacksaw blade to try this with, as you have pretty much all suggested.

I'll probably grind one of the knives as a test - seems a shame to have metal sitting there unused :-)

And thanks for the welcome.I'm sure it has been suggested elsewhere on here too that a reground knife works as well. Its not like it has to last all day. Its just for one little part of the job. :shrug:

Howdee pyarra! :cool::D

tea lady
23rd September 2011, 09:22 PM
Here's a discussion on another thread a while ago. :cool: (There ain't nothing already talked about on here. A bit like playing "is there an app for that" on an iphone.:doh: )

http://www.woodworkforums.com/f8/1-16-parting-tool-95537/

Skew ChiDAMN!!
24th September 2011, 06:28 AM
A rehabilitated hack knife (http://www.toolbank.com/p/C3239/FAIKHACK) works well, too.

The same thickness as a thick hacky blade, but has a very shallow, trapezoidal taper which improves clearance when used as a parting tool.

Plus, it's already handled! :2tsup:

pyarra
24th September 2011, 08:57 AM
Tea Lady: gidday, and thanks for the link to the previous discussion, I hadn't seen that one. I'll let you know if I can get a couple of hacksaw blades, I reckon Dave will be able to oblige.

Skew: yep, "already handled" is one of my motivations for using an old kitchen knife - colour me lazy. Though I reckon I could whip up a semi-decent handle if pressed. This was one I made of blackwood a little while back: https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/AudreySKnife#5583454270950276082

tea lady
24th September 2011, 12:19 PM
Tea Lady: gidday, and thanks for the link to the previous discussion, I hadn't seen that one. I'll let you know if I can get a couple of hacksaw blades, I reckon Dave will be able to oblige.

Skew: yep, "already handled" is one of my motivations for using an old kitchen knife - colour me lazy. Though I reckon I could whip up a semi-decent handle if pressed. This was one I made of blackwood a little while back: https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/AudreySKnife#5583454270950276082Now you are just showing off.! :p:U

Ah! Show away! How about some pics of your other restored tools. In "hand tools unpowered" of course! :cool:

pyarra
24th September 2011, 02:01 PM
I'm not really all that happy with the knife handle - it seems a bit "blocky" to me, but it was an exact copy of the previous handle - that's what the mother-in-law wanted. And it's varnished, which I think detracts from the look, but if it's going to survive being washed in the sink, wax/shellac probably wasn't going to do the job.

Some actual wood-work, if you're curious:

Small bowls, made of cypress:
https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/SomeLittleBowls#
Why cypress? I had some offcuts lying around, so I decided to see how they turn up. Better than I expected.

Some magic wands:
https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/Wands#
These were made when Harry Potter madness swept the house - I figured these, with blunt ends, were safer than the sticks out of the garden that the kids were whipping around shouting "Oculus Removo!"

Some wool tools:
https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/WoolTools
Made from the massive messmate that used to stand ominously close to the house. It was a bitch to turn, but came out looking okay IMHO

I tend to make a few chisel handles. This one is an early attempt, they look a bit more purty lately:
https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/TwoDollarChisel#
I love buying old chisels from garage sales and markets, clean, re-handle and sharpen them, and hey presto, somehow I've ended up with a full rack of pretty much every size I could ever need, for about $60 all told, plus a bunch I've given away.

Funny enough, I ordered a set of 4 Narex bevel-edged chisels from Lee Valley, but by the time they arrived (it took MONTHS) I'd managed to acquire and restore enough chisels that I no longer needed them :roll:

AM, you were asking about some other tools I've acquired and put back to work... I'll get some piccies and post in the darkside forum. Eventually.

pyarra
24th September 2011, 02:06 PM
Some wool tools:
https://picasaweb.google.com/106530426219267526445/WoolTools
Made from the massive messmate that used to stand ominously close to the house. It was a bitch to turn, but came out looking okay IMHO


I tell a lie, the crochet hook is made of Tas. Blackwood that used to stand on the other side of the block, but handily fell over of its own accord.

tea lady
24th September 2011, 03:18 PM
Nice hook! Was thinking of making them.. What the hell's a "nostepinne"? :hmm:

pyarra
24th September 2011, 03:59 PM
Nice hook! Was thinking of making them.. What the hell's a "nostepinne"? :hmm:

Making a hook was a PITA. I won't do it again.

What's a nostepinne, you ask? Surely every good home has one??!! It's for winding a skein of wool into balls: Fiber Fool » How to Use a Nostepinne (http://blog.designedlykristi.com/?p=335)

Yes, it's a fancy stick.

pyarra
24th September 2011, 04:22 PM
Well, it's done. I used one of the stainless steel knives, because... well, I wanted to see if it worked, and I wanted to try it now now NOW!

Anyway, good news, it works okay. It's not going to win any prizes in a beauty contest:

182477

But it does the trick:

182476

As suspected, edge retention isn't stellar, so I will get some HSS hacksaw blade and make a proper one. Eventually.

I found that the tool produced a good finish with a stabbing, or scraping cut. You can see in the second picture that there are three cuts with extremely rough edges - they're the cuts where I tried rubbing the bevel and easing the tool into the cut. Is this typical of using this kind of tool, or just an oddity of my Chef's Special?

munruben
26th September 2011, 09:43 AM
Well done, tried and proved.:):2tsup:

Paul39
27th September 2011, 11:08 AM
My post from May 2009:

I use a junk store used high carbon steel knife, blade about 7 inches / 18 cm long with about 5 - 6 inch / 12- 14 cm handle. It is made wedge shaped. I ground off a bit of the sharp part on the bottom so as not to gouge the tool rest. I grind the front back about 75 degrees. It cuts on the top and as it narrows toward the bottom it does not jam. With the tool rest right up to what I'm parting off, I don't have a problem with control.

If I have a deep cut, I'll start with the parting tool, then switch to a hack saw with whatever blade happens to be in it. Coping saws are not stiff enough and the blade gets jerked out.

If something is between centers I'll cut a bit more than half way through with the parting tool and saw, then turn off the lathe and cut with the saw, rotate a bit by hand, cut more, etc. until I'm through,

Not good to cut all the way through between centers as you will have two chunks of timber and a sharp metal object flying off the lathe.

I have since made one from a long stainless steel ham slicer. I ground off about 3 / 16 inch of the sharp blade, then ground the end slanting back about 80 degrees. I give it a swipe on the grinder before parting and maybe another part way through. It makes a clean cut and for a moderate depth does not jam. If it gets grabby on a deep part, back out, give it a swipe on the grinder, and go back in the thickness of the blade on the waste side.

I get the knives for 50 cents or a dollar at junk stores - Goodwill, Salvation Army, flea market, yard sale.