Making own tools.

[Anchor Sarslow]

OK, My endeavors are progressing. I now want to make some of my own lathe tools. Handles, scrapers etc. Scrapers primariliy.

If you were to suggest buying some raw tool steel, what kind would you get. A2, O1 or something else?

I am thinking of geting A2 in 1/8" thickness and 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 and 1" widths. I dount see myself making any gouges right now. I wil just buy those. But I think I want to make some common bowl and skews for myself.

OK so I am asking, what steel to use. I am finding a couple different HSS types, A2 and o1 as the likely types to use. does this sound right? I think that is what I am getting out of my Machinery's handbook.

[Kevin McPeek]

1/8 seems too thin, specially for the wider scrapers. I'd start with 1/4 and for the 1" wide maybe go to 3/8 if you are making a bowl scraper.
Most of the tools are advertised as M2 and M4 HSS until you get up into the more exotic metals ASP, CPM type stuff. I think I have seen some A2 tools advertised as well.

[Bill Wyko]

I have a 1/8th scraper it's a POC. It's one of the tools they give you with a Shopsmith.

[Rich Souchek]

Turning tools would preferable made from HSS steel, which is a completely different type of steel than O1, D2, or the A2 you mentioned. the mentioned ones are tool steel, with high percentage of carbon and other elelments to develop the properties. They can be heat treated by a blacksmith or knifemaker with a furnace.
The better turning tools are HSS (high speed steel) that has different materails added. The biggest adjantages to us is they resist wear better than tool steels and do not soften till 1200 deg. F. or so. (Common O1 tool steel is tempered from about 350 to 500 deg. F., which is a lower temoerature then we often get while resharpening the tools.)
The tool steel and HSS that is sold though mechanic tool stores is almost always soft. It would have to be shaped, ground, then heat treated to obtain hardness, then tempered to reduce brittleness. Heat treating HSS is a pain and hard to find someone to do it.
That all said, I keep thinking about a good 3/8" or 1/2" thick scaper in O1, hardened and then tempered to retain a high hardness. Yes, I would have to be carefull when using or sharpening it not to overheat the tool. But with that thickness, it would take a lot of heat input to get that hot.
Actually, what might get better would be to get a blacksmith to make several scappers out of leaf spring material. Thick, cheap, expendable.
Rich S.

[Richard Madison]

Depends upon how classy the home made tools have to be. Mine look like junk, but they make nice shavings, are easy to sharpen, comfortable to use, and are dirt cheap to make. The sharp ends feature ordinary metal cutting tool bits in various sizes, typically square x about 3" long, available for about 3 bucks a copy from numerous places. Said tool bits are secured variously in sections of ordinary steel pipe and square CRS bar stock via drilled and tapped holes w/ Allen set screws. The pipe and square stock may be further secured in a section of larger pipe, and in a couple of examples the whole assembly actually terminates in a wood handle.

Made the first one about 25 years ago, and several since as needed to try new things. Used to feel a little embarrassed about my crude and ugly tools. But in recent years have seen more and more fancy and expensive tools on the market based upon exactly the same design principles as my stuff.

And, yeah, I do have a Sorby bowl gouge and some other stuff I didn't make.

[Allen Neighbors]

There is some good information and pictures on Darrell Feltmate's Website about making your own tools. Check it out. http://www.aroundthewoods.com

[Anchor Sarslow]

Thanks Allen, That site will come in very handy.

I have made 1 turning tool, I made a short 3 inch flat scraper out of a round nose scraper I broke right away.. Good old Pittsburg stuff you know.. I should just buy a bunch of those sets and make some scrapers out of em.. .. Maybe.. NO. I wanna make my own.

[Richard Madison]

Good site Allen. Some of mine are similar to Darrell's Oland tools.

[Brett Baldwin]

The leaf spring idea is one Jim King has used to great effect. Try searching for some of his work.

[Jerry Allen]

Anchor,
Those HF Pittsburg chisels are pretty crappy. They are not HSS, at least the ones I've seen for $10/set. They are poorly ground, and finished, an too thin. If one broke, that should tell you something. Reserve them to practice and test your sharpening skills or maybe for some specialty tool you design that doesn't take a lot of stress.
The other ones HF sells used to be about $29 and I think are about $40 now. Much better and thicker HSS. Although they are not for the most part sharpened correctly, the steel is pretty good and I have made some scrapers and beading tools reworking the diamond tip, round nose and skews. The 1/4 detail guage is crappy the way it's designed but thats a nice piece of steel to play with. I have a couple Sorbys, Sheffield, and a few Penn State gouges, but I still use the HF Windsor roughing gouges which get sharpened the most.
I made a 3/8 beading tool the other day from the diamond point tool by grinding the point off square, adding a bevel to the front and sides, and using a Dremel type tool with a grinding wheel and alum oxide drum to do the cove. It works great and holds and edge.