Tantung steel

[Reed Gray]

Well, as most of you know, I love scrapers. I am trying to resurrect the 'Big Ugly' tool. This has been a standard for the Oregon Myrtle wood coastal turners for long enough that no one knows who first came up with the idea of using this steel for the cutting edge. The traditional tool is 3/4 inch or so bar stock, about 30 inches long, and a 3 x 7/8 x 1/8 inch piece of tantung silver soldered onto each end. One end was more square, and the other more rounded/finger nail shaped. You wear a heavy leather glove to protect the handle end. You sharpen in the morning, turn till lunch, and after lunch sharpen again and turn till beer thirty. The material is almost as hard as carbide, but can be sharpened by most grinding wheels, and no problem at all with the CBN wheels. I was looking at all the other cutters, and thinking that they would do great with hollow form tools as well. The thin stock (1/8 inch) does need support under it as tantung is a bit on the brittle side. Any way have a look. I have some flat stock on order, and I asked them if they sold in small quantities, and they said yes. A 6 x 1 by 1/8 inch piece was $50. Comparable or maybe even cheaper than carbide, and as I said, it can be sharpened. This tool was never 'manufactured' it was a DIY type.

http://cutting-tools.vrwesson.com/index.php?type=tantung

robo hippy

[mike ash]

Thanks for the info Reed. Next time I come down, how about you and I work on posting photos!!! I'd love to see one of what you are talking about...... I want one of these Big Ugly Tools.

Mike

[David DeCristoforo]

I'm thinking that tantung might be a bit too brittle for a turning tool. But a tantung tipped tool... that should be fantastic. I always preferred tantung over carbide for shaper cutters because tantung can be sharpened to a razor edge just like "conventional" steel. It would be great for turning tool tips.

[Reed Gray]

Mike,

I will be getting a couple made for show and tell in San Jose. Just about any time will work for coming down.

David,

I don't know about straight tantung for hollow form cutters, but I would think that 1/4 square stock would hold up as long as it wasn't extended out too far past the cutter holder.

robo hippy

[Wally Dickerman]

I'll vouch for tantung steel. I've seen the Oregon coast turners using the tool you describe. I started buying the tantung tear-drop scrapers that Dennis Stewart put since I bought his tool in 1987. They were expensive but lasted a long time because I didn't have to sharpen very often. I haven't been able to find any lately.

Don't ever think that you can drill a hole in tantung steel. Not with regular drills.

[curtis rosche]

i read up on tantung awhile ago when i made my own tool. i liked everything about it but the price, and the silver solder. i went with a high percentage cobalt cutter. it sharpens very very well. much sharper than my other tools it seems. it loves cutting everything cleanly and doesnt catch on much. and its stays sharp for quite a few turning sessions. i got 6 cobalt cutters, 15% or 25% cobalt if i remember. 3/8x3/8x4 inches. $10 on ebay. they had 90 degree edges all the way around, and it was so sharp even with the 90 degrees that i cut my hand on it.

[curtis rosche]

i would be interested in seeing a side by side comparison of tantung, cobalt of a few different percentages and a few other metals

[Alan Trout]

They use to sell a Tantung scraper for a arm brace type hollowing rig. Craft Supply and Packard both carried them. I got to use one once and it was a wonderful scraper. I can't find those scrapers now but sure wish I had one because it held a edge for a long time.

Alan

[Reed Gray]

Hey Mike,
You can ask Bob Tuck about them. He used to be a Myrtle turner.
robo hippy

[Dale Bright]

Reed, aren't the cutter tips on the McNaugton coring and hollowing tools Tantung?

Dale

[Reed Gray]

I do know the McNaughton cutter tips are a hard steel, and a very thin veneer. I do not know what the material is. The cutter tips on the Woodcut bowl saver are stellite, another hard metal, but not as hard as the tantung.

robo hippy

[robert baccus]

This is sorta like the tung oil reply. tantung steel is not really an alloy of steel but a pure element like tungston is.

[Charles Drake]

Unfortunately, this is not correct.

[J.D.Redwine]

TANTUNG® is a Cast Alloy Cutting Material Composed Of Chromium, Tungsten, Columbium, and Carbon in a Cobalt Matrix.
It Retains Its Cutting Hardness at Red Hot Temperatures and has Excellent Resistance to Corrosion.

[Jerry Rhoads]

Reed, Maybe you better send that "Big Ugly" to me.
It would make very quick work of our Cherry, Maple and Hackberry. Maybe even on our Honey Locust.
I promise to take it to "Show & Tell" at a couple of woodturning clubs here in Central Illinois. Ha, Ha, Ha,

[Reed Gray]

I have considered making them to sell, but doubt that it would be a successful business venture. The history of the tool is that it is home made, and manufacturing it would make it high priced. Maybe not up to Glaser prices, but still steep. It does make an excellent scraper. It performs almost as well as the carbide, and you can sharpen it.

robo hippy

[John Aspinall]

"Tantung is a cast alloy cutting tool material composed principally of chromium, tungsten, columbium, and carbon in a cobalt matrix."
http://www.asteg.com/07metalcut/TantungCuttingTools.htm

"Columbium"'s usual name on the periodic table is Niobium. (Element 41.)