John Keeton
02-09-2017, 1:20 PM
As a follow-up to the thread started by Bob Bouis and so I don't hijack his thread, I thought it might be helpful to show another possibility for cheap HSS from China. As I mentioned in Bob's thread, I ordered 4 pieces of 6mm x 10mm x 200mm (approx. 1/4" x 3/8" x 8") HSS with the intention of making a small multi-use tool with interchangeable "blades." It took about 16-18 days for the pieces to arrive at a total cost of about $17. I planed a piece of maple to just a smidge more than the 6mm thickness of the steel and wide enough for a handle. I then cut a slot in the maple wide enough to accept the 10mm width of the steel and 3" deep/long. Walnut is plentiful in my shop, so I took a scrap and cut a couple of pieces to laminate the handle. On one of those, I drilled a 1/4" hole and inset a 1/4" x 20 square nut over the hole and just under flush with the surface and very lightly epoxied it in. I tested the fit of a set screw in the hole/nut and then glued up the lamination WITH THE NUT ON THE INSIDE and turned the handle.
Now I have a small handle with a 1/4" x 20 set screw that I can interchange blades in. With four pieces and each end ground to a specific use, I can have 8 different profiles. Presently, I have a skew, a tip to undercut a bead similar to a captive ring tool, a negative rake round nose scraper and a dovetail recess tool. The piece in the handle has not been ground for use and neither has one of the other three pieces shown.
From grinding this metal, I am pleased with the apparent hardness, but the reality is that these are light and infrequent use tools, so the edge should last quite well. I imagine it will be years before I significantly wear down the HSS beyond use, if ever in my remaining lifetime - which seems to be getting shorter at an alarming rate!!;)
Now I have a small handle with a 1/4" x 20 set screw that I can interchange blades in. With four pieces and each end ground to a specific use, I can have 8 different profiles. Presently, I have a skew, a tip to undercut a bead similar to a captive ring tool, a negative rake round nose scraper and a dovetail recess tool. The piece in the handle has not been ground for use and neither has one of the other three pieces shown.
From grinding this metal, I am pleased with the apparent hardness, but the reality is that these are light and infrequent use tools, so the edge should last quite well. I imagine it will be years before I significantly wear down the HSS beyond use, if ever in my remaining lifetime - which seems to be getting shorter at an alarming rate!!;)