My New Chisels, part II

[Tom LaRussa]

Okay, here is a quick update in (mostly) picture form.

First, I hacksaw off a 9" piece of 1" x 1/4" O-1 Steel.

[Tom LaRussa]

Next, I squared up the end and used my fancy bench grinder (39.95 at Harbor Freight) to rough out the tang.

[Tom LaRussa]

This is where I get really high tech and introduce to the world the "Tom-Mek" grinding and sharpening system.

[Tom LaRussa]

More shots of the amazing Tom-Mek.

Note that it pivots on its high tech hinge, plus the bed extends to bring the work closer to the high tech work surface. In addition, the entire dealy-bobber moves laterally via some high tech aluminum extrusions (and a little which lithium grease).

Note also the incredibly high tech angle jigamathingie.

[Tom LaRussa]

Any sharpening and grinding system -- even one as sophisticated as the Tom-Mek -- needs some means to hang onto the work.

That's where the super high-tech Tom-Mek jointer blade & chisel blank holder comes in.

[Roy Wall]

That's a nice Jig!!!

Are you going to put those in the oven to temper the steel........I"ve heard of people doing that.....?????

Thanks for the photos.....it tells a great story!

[Tom LaRussa]

Here are the results thus far:

The widest blade (1") is awaiting only a bit of detail work prior to heat treating.

The narrowest blade (1/2") is about half way through the rough-in process.

The mid-sized blade (3/4") is an experiment in which I attempted to do much more of the rough-in with the bench grinder rather than the incredibly high-tech Tom-Mek system. The results thus far are not particularly promising, so I'll be sticking with the stupendiforous Tom-Mek from now on, even though each chisel burns up an entire 4" x 36" zirconium-aluminum belt.

[Tom LaRussa]

That's a nice Jig!!!

Are you going to put those in the oven to temper the steel........I"ve heard of people doing that.....?????
Yep. Harden in oil from ~1500 and then temper for an hour at about 300. Should give a Rockwell (C scale) hardness right around 62, maybe a tad more.

[Jim Becker]

Thanks, Tom...excellent pictorial. I now understand a lot more about what you are doing. Great job!

[Leif Hanson]

Very Nice, Tom! And very resourceful. too. I'll have to try that someday...:D

There's another reason I need to get myself a belt sander like the one you use in the "amazing Tom-Mek" machine.

Can't wait to see the finished product!

[Chris Thompson]

Tom,

Since you're hardening the chisels after the grinding, am I right in assuming that the risk of overheating the steel during shaping/grinding/tom-meking (I invented a word!) is lower? There's not a risk of "Losing the temper" when you're going to temper it later?

[Tyler Howell]

Way cool Tom! Keep us posted!

[Dave Anderson NH]

I'm impressed with your inventiveness and ability to adapt the belt sander to do the blade shaping. I do something similar to rough shape the marking knife blades after the basic machining is done. I look forward to your continuing posts of your progress.

[Louis Bois]

Geez...and I'm still trying to find time to work on my bench!

Nice job so far Tom. You're really getting into this big time...I see a book in your future..."YOU'RE THROWING WHAT OUT?!?"...subtitle..."There's a jig in there somewhere".!!!:rolleyes:

Keep us posted and inspired...and let me know when you need my mailing address for Christmas presents!!:D