How do you make your own tools?

A good place to start would be Darrell's site at:

wherein you will find a plethora of toolmaking tips and lessons. From my own limited experience, you will probably do better buying a few quality tools on your own. If you are making bowls, a good start will be one or two quality gouges from one of the many sites on the web. Scrapers can be made pretty much to fit your own needs and particular situations. You may get by with making your own parting tool but they are not all that expensive. I wouldn't worry all that much about the steel used as long as it is high carbon at a minimum. It does not hold an edge as well as M2 or the new fangled powder steels but tends to hold a finer edge for that last one or two passes over the workpiece. Another option would be look to tool steels such as can be found at ENCO lists some drill rod that can be cut to length, inserted into the end of a rod of cold steel and then ground to shape. "Heck, Tom. Sun can't shine on the same dog's ass every day."

-- Crow T. Robot, MST3K, Episode #609

A cheap source of steel is shock absorber rods. It is very hard stuff. You have to cut it with a right angle grinder. I found some from 3/8 to 5/8 diameter and made several tools. For a bowl gouge I ground a flat on one side then ground a groove down the center of the flat. To make the flute I used a carbide burr of the appropriate size in a drill. It is hard work but I used them for a long time. However, I now just buy one. I still use a couple of bedan tools I made.

Learn blacksmithing. Many woodworkers have gotten into blacksmithing for just this reason. Warning: It, too can become habit forming.

But if you want to make tools just to save money, don't. Just buy them. Maybe cheaper turning tools are better to start with since you Will have to learn how to sharpen them since they'll probably dull more rapidly. Or get the A2 or W1 that Enco and MSC sell as another poster suggested. But, be warned that those steel come to you annealed and will have to be hardened properly and (for the W1)tempered properly to be of much use to you.

Pete Stanaitis

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No> Hi all,

Hi Wayne Yes you can make some of your own tools, I have made some, but if you want HSS gouges you will have to buy them really. Yes Darrell Feltmate's site aroundthewoods.com is a site you should visit for all kinds of reasons and not just tool making, I recommend that site highly. But I have a link here to a place that I have gotten 3 sets of tools from, 2 for myself and one for my son, these are HSS tools and pretty good quality to, and at the cost of one name-brand gouge, just have a look.

Have fun and take care Leo Van Der Loo > > I have been wanting to make a few of my own lathe tools for a while. > The prices of what I see seem to be very high. At least I thought so > before I started looking for raw materials. I priced 18" pieces of 1/4 > x 1 1/2 M2 and M4 tool steel for $110+ and $170+. DANG!!! >

and another easy one is a round skew. get yourself a rod, fix it into a handle and grind it at an angle. here's a link, courtesy of Robert Rosand:

Hello Wayne,

You're opening up a big can of worms here!

First thing to note is that plain carbon steel is *not* what you are looking for. If you want a cutting tool that will hold an edge, you need at least a medium, and preferably a high carbon steel.

Next thing to consider is how you intend to make the tools. If you plan on forging them, you'll need a forge and an anvil, which can be plenty of fun, but you can get by with a good angle grinder and some flap sander wheels. If you intend to forge fluted gouges, you'll need a swage block, which is basically a big hunk of cast steel that has several bowl shaped depressions on the face, and a number of semi-circular grooves on the edges. The grooves are the important part- you hammer the hot metal down into them.

As far as materials go, here's a short list of what you're looking for. Steel suppliers will know what you're asking after, and will often sell "drops" that are cut off the ends of longer bars at a reduced price. I've found that 3' bars are nice to work with if forging, as they are long enough to hold onto while working without burning yourself. Tongs just aren't as easy to use as a guy could hope, and it's always best to be able to hold the steel directly.

1045 (medium carbon steel- hardenable and tough, but not as sharp as 1095) 1095 (High carbon steel, also known as W1 tool steel) 401c Stainless (This *must* be type c- the other 401s will not harden.) O1 tool steel (oil quench) A1 tool steel (air quench) M2 tool steel (HSS- Can't be heat treated at home) Old files are case-hardened 1045 Old springs are 1095. 1045 and 1095 are quenched in water or brine (salt water) 401c is quenched in oil (IIRC) and then put into deep freeze for a couple of days O1 is quenched in oil A1 is quenched in air- it will work just sitting out, but benefits from a steady stream of fast-moving air M2 should be pre-hardened, and then ground to shape- or taken to a professional heat treater. Tool bits for metal working are pre-hardened M2,

Your aim is to get your basic shape however you can, whether that is heating the metal up and hammering it, or grinding away everything you don't want. When you are happy with the rough shape, normalize it a couple of times by heating it up and allowing it to cool without hammering it. This reduces the internal stresses, and helps prevent the steel from cracking or warping when quenched. Then heat the metal until it becomes non-magnetic (which is just how it sounds- pull the metal out of the forge or oven and hold a magnet to it- if it sticks, it's still too cold) You want to catch it as quickly as possible after it reaches that temperature, and quench it in water or oil. A quick and dirty test to see if you got it right is to try to file the material- basically what this will tell you is whether or not the steel is harder than a file- if you can't file it, it's hardened, if you can, it isn't (or isn't hardened as much as it could be.)

At this point, your tool will be super-hard, and very brittle. It's not very useful as is, so you need to temper it. You can do that with an oven, but it's kind of hit-or-miss. What I've found works pretty well is to clean the black layer off the steel, and then apply heat with a handheld propane torch until colors begin to appear. You'll be able to see the colors change wherever the metal is shiny, and you want a "dull straw" color near the cutting edge. Further back, you might want to temper even further, to allow for more toughness- With a lathe chisel, it's a reasonable practice to heat the far end, and let the color run up the tool until the tip turns to dull straw (the back side will likely be blue or purple at that point, but that's what you're going for). Once the color reaches the right level, requench the steel, and you're ready to sharpen, polish, and cut with your new tool.

When sharpening and polishing, make sure to cool the edge frequently so that you don't draw the temper, or you will have to reharden all over again.

And, even though you didn't ask it yet, if you're making a single edged knife, try to temper the spine as much as possible, and keep the edge as hard as you can.

As noted, tool bits are pre-hardened M2 (High speed steel) The nice thing about them is that you don't need any fire at all, and they're pretty cheap.

The tool bits tend to be too short for wood turning, so you'll need to make a shaft to mount them into. The nice thing is that if you get the same size tool bit every time, you'll only need one shaft. As an example, if you were to decide to always use 5/16" tool bits like the one in this link

you could just go to your local hardware store and get yourself a piece of 3/4" mild steel bar and drill a 5/16" hole in one end. Then, drill a tap hole through the side, tap it for a set screw, and use the set screw to hold the bit in place (it helps to grind a little flat spot on the tool bit where the set screw will bear on it.) If you need some pictures of this, do a Google search for "Oland tool." After that, you're good to go. M2 bits make really nice cutting tools, with minimal effort- but they're not quite as impressive to show off as a hammered gouge.

It sounds complicated, but none of it is as hard as it may appear. Perhaps the most difficult part is just tracking down a place that sells the steel at a reasonable price. If you're lucky, there's a good place near you that you can buy from off the rack, but if you have to mail order, Cincinnati Tool Steel seems to have fair prices.

Not necessarily- but you have to be willing to modify what you mean when you talk about a "gouge." We're all used to seeing full-flute gouges, which is probably out of reach for a guy goofing off out in the shed or garage- but if you're willing to have a short gouge on a round shaft, it's entirely possible to grind the flute with a little persistance. I've done that for a few lathe tools, and they work the same as any other gouge.

It'd be possible to get annealed M2 and machine or forge it (I assume- I haven't done it) and then take it to a place that does professional heat treating. The main problem with the stuff is that the heat treatment is rediculous from a hobbyist perspective, and would require a really fancy oven. IIRC, it needs to be raised to a very precise temperature, and then cooled a certain number of degrees per hour over a period of a couple of days.

I've got 3 of these and they just LOWERED the price on 'em..

They work well for me and hold an edge well.. and they're inexpensive enough to have 2 or 3 sharpened and ready when you start a bowl..YMWV

mac

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I have the BB set of Bowl gouges, ground into a shallow, short grind, just for finish work. But I also use BB and the red-handle HF chisels to play with different grinds. So much better to use up a $20 chisel on learning what grind to use then a $100 chisel

I guess I should have given more information regarding the types of tools I would like to make. I wasn't really thinking about tools that use round stock like gouges, etc. although the Oland tool is one that I will proly do. I don't have the capability for milling so things like long grooves down a piece of round bar is not an option. I do have things like a GMAW welder (that is what they call it in school nowadays, but it's a MIG welder), OA welder/torch, grinders, and an old SouthBend

9" metal lathe so I can do a few things. My son has a small propane fired forge that I could use, but it is not quite in a position where I can get to it easily. I would have to clean his garage to get to it and that AIN'T happnin!!!

But still, I was thinking more along the lines of scrapers, captive ring tools, beading tools, maybe a Bedan tool, etc. Things I could make that, for the most part, only require a little cutting and grinding on my part. Since the prices of everything is going up so fast and so much, I was thinking that I could maybe save a few dollars. My income situation right now is an outgo situation so every dollar counts. But after seeing the prices of tool steel . . .SOB! Time for Plan D or E.

I think I will go to the metal recyclers in town and look for some high carbon steel. Maybe from some shock absorbers as someone mentioned, or maybe hydraulic rams, etc. Then if I find a tool design that I like, maybe I can get something like some M4 tool steel and make a really good one.

Thanks for all the suggestions and advice.

Wayne

Wayne I make as many of my tools as I can, it is the only way to keep the cost down, I have numerous articles on my web site

look in the Hints and Tips Section RVS

WOW! Lots of good stuff there. Thanks.

Wayne

Btw, you have an extra "." in the URL.

I've been using their bowl set for a couple of years but when they lowered the price I ordered three 5/8" bowl gouges and a 1" roughing gouge.. Besides liking to have a lineup of sharp tools so I don't make as many trips to the grinder or have to change setups on the true grind as often, I have folks come over to learn turning.. I used to start them out on the HF chisels but found that that learn better with a heavier chisel... The BB have a lot more steel in them than the thinner, lighter HF ones.. YMWV

mac

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Laymar website works better as:

Old Chief Lynn

Has anyone used a spare allen opener as a captive ring tool? Seems like you could just grind its end properly after shoving it up some HS or even carbon steel rod. and end up making a simple handle from wood.

Don't use the hollow keys and it works fine.

You probably could.. but then you might end up doing a stylish piercing job on your face while you're at it..

I enjoy making some tools, but the $35 captive ring tool I bought has done a LOT of rings and never bit me..

Also, it's double sided, which could be a fun project if you're a machinist.. YMMV Here's an even cheaper one... check out the user's comment, too.. lol

mac

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The beautiful thing about capitve ring tools is that they don't need to stay sharp for very long to get the job done- though it's nice if they do. I used a piece of hammered-flat and ground to shape galvanized emt tubing for the first captive rings I ever turned, and it worked fine. Not good for the long haul, but it worked ok. In a pinch, a guy could make one that was reasonably decent from just about anything- including that allen wrench you mentioned.