making a parting tool?

[Tony Kent]

Greetings and salutations Creekers,
Just a question on making a parting tool. I have a piece of 1/2" x 1/8" X 4" HSS tool bit that I got at HF....if I made a parting tool out of it how much should be in the handle for safety? Another thought I had was putting one inch maybe one and a half inches in the handle with a screw going through the handle and the tool bit to ....1 hold it safely and 2 give me a bit more to work with at the business end. What ya'll think? Or even easier , but spend money and buy a thin parting tool and forget this making tools idea? LOL I know six of one half dozen of another.
Thanks in advance.
Tony

[Chris Stolicky]

I had a piece of HSS steel from HF that was 1/16" x 1/2" x 4" that came in the small HSS five piece pack of cutters. I made a thin parting tool with it with about 1-1/4" of tang in the handle.

I can tell you that if you get the right angle it does cut nicely, but it was WAY too thin to do much with.

I know someone who made an identical sized tool and ended up breaking the blade.

If yours is 1/8" thick, it will be more stable.

[Tony Kent]

Oh Oh it is the 1/16th..I bought the same thing you did....hmmm Breaking sounds no fun. I was going to try the bowl out of a board with it, cutting the rounds at an angle on the lathe since I don't have all my machines here yet. I think I will just buy a thin parting tool. I'll have a bit more mass then the 1/16 and yet still be less than the 1/4" parting tool I have.
Thanks for the reply,
Tony

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Tony,

I can tell you from having a gouge break....it isn't fun. It will cause your eyes to dilate and remain in that condition for some time!

[Allen Neighbors]

My friend, Bill Crommett sent me a piece of a meat cutters band saw blade. I made a really nice parting tool from it. It is 1/16" thick x 1" wide. I use it for parting small pieces, and it works a treat!
I made another parting tool from an Old Hickory butcher's knife. I ground the sharp part of the blade down to about 1" wide, and sharpened the end. It is 1/8" thick, and I use it for nearly all other parting. I sharpened it so the cutting tip is about 2/3 of the way down toward the bottom edge, which gives me the best balance.
I also have a hacksaw blade (18tpi) with a tape handle on the end that allows me a pull stroke. I reverse turn the lathe when I use it.
Those are the only parting tools I have.

[Mike Peace]

I keep a folding pruning saw nearby for the final parting cut of some objects that I don't want to go flying as I part them. Lathe off of course.

[Curt Fuller]

My favorite parting tool is made from an old butcher knife. If you can find one in a second hand store or yard sale that's good old fashioned carbon steel, they make a great parting tool. Already has a handle too. That little piece of flat HSS that comes in the box of cutters from Harbor Freight is good steel but just a little too short to get much into a handle and still have a tool that will part something very deep.

[Salem Ganzhorn]

I have made one out of an old jointer blade. It is 1/8th thick. I am very pleased with it :)
http://ncwoodworker.net/forums/f32/old-jointer-knife-parting-tool-completed-33933/

[Ron Lynch]

Made my thin parting tool from a power hacksaw blade. About 1/16" x 2" x 12", ground the teeth off and the profile in. Works great for parting, but like Chris Stolicky mentioned that's about all you can do with it.