# Some turning tools that I made



## Mitch12 (Mar 29, 2008)

Hi Guys
Want to thank everyone who replied to my birdhouses thread

Today I would like to post a couple pictures of some turning tools I made recently. Sorry about the poor quality of the pictures but if anyone wants to know about a certain tool just ask what it is. My camera died so It will be a while before I send good pictures. Why make your own tools I am asked? Well in one case, the little termite tool I bought was in my opinion the best hollowing tool I bought. So I have 3 ring cutters and I made the rest of the tool and now have 3 little termite tools in different sizes.Don't have to sharpen till these 3 are dull. Right now I am working on a flat skew and it looks promising. I am beginning to rely on a skew more and more. I am not saying all these tools will make me throw my bought tools away they work so well. I will say everything on this table works fine and a guy with no money for tools could still turn with these. The flutes on these aren't pretty but they work fine, Made them freehand for now. I might say I am encouraged by these tools enough to buy a milling machine to make gouges. Mitch


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## BernieW (Sep 12, 2006)

Great looking tools Mitch. I just wish I had time to make tools. If I made tools I would never be turning. Well done.


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## Electron (May 22, 2008)

Fine looking tools Mitch but I also like your bench, like mine, it shows the result of many years of hard work.


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## Mitch12 (Mar 29, 2008)

Bernie
Thank you Bernie, your a true gentleman in evey sense of the word and I couldn't mean it more. Post something and your always right there with a positive reply. I understand what your saying about making tools. Your still working and you don't have the time I do to do this I been retired 14 years so I have the time. I like sharpening and making tools much as turning. When you retire it will be different for you and your ready to fill all the hours in a day when retired. You will love it. Thanks again. Mitch


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## Mitch12 (Mar 29, 2008)

electron
Thanks buddy, this bench used to be my assembly bench when I made furniture. Mitch


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## Bob N (Oct 12, 2004)

Mitch,

2nd picture, 4th tool from the right, is that a chatter tool? 

Nice job on making your own and very rewarding. That bench has as much character as Harry himself


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

Tell us more! What steel are you using? What is the source?
I see one of the tools seems to be a sharpened pipe - is that a common plumbing pipe or did you get something made out of tool steel? My effort at making a roughing gouge out of a 3/4" pipe was not very succesful: In fact I could turn the pipe with a piece of wood rather than the other way round. You could see the edge literally melting in front of your eyes. I did not try hardening it as all the literature I found on the subject suggested that it would be a waste of time. Do you harden your own blades?


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## Mitch12 (Mar 29, 2008)

Bob
2nd picture fourth tool from the right, no sir, not a chatter tool. It is a favorite tool of mine. It is an Oland tool. All it is is a piece of 3/4" galvanized pipe with a couple holes cut in the front and drilled, then a tap used to thread the hole. The whole cutting business is that long 1/4" metal cutting tool sticking out of the pipe. The cutter is stuck in the pipe and the set screw is tightened down hard to hold the cutter. I use 2 different size metal cutters in my Oland tools 1/4" and 1/2". These baby's will do some serious hollowing and very satisfactory face work quickly. Guy who made this tool originally is dead but his wife is in her 90's, I believe and she still turns huge bowls using this tool with the 1/4" cutter that you can buy for $1.50. at Enco. Sharpen them same way as a scraper. I have a picture of a chatter tool Bob, if you want to see it I can post it for you to see. I use that often too as you can see if you checked my birdhouses. Thanks for the reply Bob. Mitch


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## Mitch12 (Mar 29, 2008)

crquack
For the gouges I use HSS that I get from Enco. It comes in a
3'length and you need not heat harden or anneal and it will give satisfactory results. Sometimes HSS is so hard it is brittle and breaks so you need to heat too a certain temperature or to the point it will not be attracted to a magnet. Stop heating at this point and let the tool air dry slowly. This will make the tool steel a little less hard by doing something to the carbon. Now your steel is not as hard but you can use it without fear it will break. This way is easier than trying to save a few bucks and having to heat quench an anneal ad nauseum. Now for most of the pictures I posted here that have a tool connected to the end. The cutting tools are bought from the professionals. Examples are 2 Oneway little termite cutters,One teardrop Sorbys scraper cutter. Having said that, the type of steel I use for the body of the tools like the termite tools I pictured is just a common steel rod I buy from Home Depot. It just holds the cutting tool and doesn't need to be hard at all and costs around 7 dollars a yard and it is 5/8". The pipe is just that, a piece of galvanized pipe from the depot that holds a 1/4" metal cutter in the pipe and held by a set screw I drill and tap. Very basic stuff here but I get good results. The scrapers I make are from old mill bastard files. I made an inboard, outboard an half round sraper from these files. Also I used a square tapered file, real long and thin and sharpened it to the same specs as a Bedan turning tool. This tool and the half round scraper exceeded my expectations a hundred fold. I love them and reach for them often. If you ever want to use old files for tool making because they are so hard you need to be aware that there is some danger doing this if the files might be cracked at all. I had these files for many years and am confident they are safe as possible. Just keep this in mind. The 2 tools with the gold tops are Pro Forme tools made by Woodcut. Two of the best hollowing tools on the market, all I did for them was turn a handle for them instead of paying for theirs.Those cost me over a hundred dollars without a handle. So if you want to make tools that work right like gouges you must get HSS to have any luck, for just holding the body in a handle Home Depot has a bunch of pretty cheap rods. Hope this helps you a bit but you need to realize I am no pro at this and you need to decide for yourself. Mitch


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## chippypah (Dec 24, 2007)

Hi Mitch,
Great looking tools mate, and the right tools for the job. So many people get tempted with the latest new tools out there, but do not really need them. You have shown that with a lot of thought, you can make the perfect tool for the job.
Well done
Cheers
Pete


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## Mitch12 (Mar 29, 2008)

chippypah
Thanks Pete. I don't pretend to be equipped to be making all tools but I really do enjoy making the ones I can make. I am seriously thinking about buying a milling machine from Grizzly in order to make gouges of different kinds. I never ran a milling machine but don't worry that I can't teach myself to operate one. I ran different machinery most of my working life. My problem is knowing what tooling to use for cutting flutes, which is what I want to do. Wish I could meet someone that knows these machines here on these forums. I will see how things go but right now I am thankful for knowing people like yourself who respond favorably to things one is trying to do.Will be looking for you next week. Mitch


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## Glenmore (Sep 10, 2004)

Nice job Mitch now I guess I'll have to do some bird houses and do some turning on some handles to keep up with you and the other pro Bernie. Nice job buddy.


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## Mitch12 (Mar 29, 2008)

Glenmore
Thanks again Glenmore. Do that, try some birdhouses, they are easy but they make you think for several reasons. I always have a couple handles turned in case I need them. I turn some stock 13/4" square , mark the ends center. Then when I just have a little bit of time I turn a handle. I can turn one in twenty minutes. good practice for the skew for me. Try some of both and if you need some help or advice, don't be bashful to ask. You can do it on your own. I just made two mini houses a few minutes ago and had to quit, after three in the morning. Thanks again. Mitch


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## Bogydave (Nov 14, 2008)

Looks like a set surgeon"s tools. Nice work.
I heard that old planer blades make good tools. 
True? or are hey too brittle.


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## Mitch12 (Mar 29, 2008)

Bogydave
Thanks Dave and yes you can make cutting tools from old planer knives. They are probably a little too hard so the steel will be brittle and can break. The good news is you can work around that though. You have to know first of all it can be dangerous when you make tools from old steel and make sure you are careful when using, like always wear your faceshield. To make a plane blade less brittle put the heat to it, if you have an old magnet touch the metal to the magnet quickly a few times untill the magnet no longer attracts the steel like magnets do all the time. When you reach this point your done. Let the steel air cool completely, don't quench as in just don't quench in oil or water.This lessens the carbon in the steel and makes it less brittle so it won't break but it is at the optimum hardness for making a cutting tool.Simple. If you try it and it works for you let us know on the forum. One more thing you got to know, I am not no pro at this so don't guarantee anything. Mitch


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## crquack (Oct 10, 2008)

> I am seriously thinking about buying a milling machine from Grizzly in order to make gouges of different kinds. I never ran a milling machine but don't worry that I can't teach myself to operate one. I ran different machinery most of my working life. My problem is knowing what tooling to use for cutting flutes, which is what I want to do. Wish I could meet someone that knows these machines here on these forums.


This is a case of one-eyed leading the blind, but I just bought a mini-mill this week. I have spent last three days getting it set up and testing it. I have done a lot of homework before I spent the money but cannot claim experience.

I suspect that cutting the flutes would be a two stage procedure - first mill a flat on the round stock and then follow with a ball-tipped end mill to get the desired flute. The choice of the end-mill will be critical as you will be milling tool steel - maybe carbide?

Join rec.crafts.metalworking - much of my knowledge comes from the very helpful group of people there.

BTW which of the Grizzly mills are you considering?


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## Mitch12 (Mar 29, 2008)

crquack
Thanks a bunch for writing and telling me that you got your mill. Don't think you said if it is a Grizzly or not. My shop is so full of machines it is almost more important how big and heavy it is than how much it costs. Almost. I am not sure which I want to get. What I want is to find someone that is experienced enough to tell me which of the Grizzly models will do flutes for me in HSS using 3/8" and 1/2" rod steel. Also what cutters or mills I will need to do this. That is all I want the machine to do for me right now. The mini mill is one I was looking at first then I decided I wanted to buy I am not sure if the mini mill has enough horsepower.If yours is a Grizzly mini is it the G8689 model. If you would rather not say that's ok though. I only ask because If you bought the mini, you must know if it can do flutes, if indeed that is what your going to do. I got a e-mail from a guy yesterday that said he has 2 mills and uses them a lot in his one man shop where he makes a living. Seems like he knows his stuff. Tells me all the things I will have to buy if I do get the mill. I wrote to him today and explained what I want to do and want the smallest machine that can get the work done that I want to do. He never answered me yet if he is going to. Hope you can get yours set up and running with no problems. Can we keep in touch to see how we are both progressing. I'm going to give you my e-mail id and if you don't mind how about we e-mail each other rather than use this forum. If you agree you send me your e-mail [email protected] Thanks again for writing. Mitch


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