Pyramid/3 point tool???

Hello Roy,

The point tool is very easy to use in making beads. I'll see if I can explain it. Mark off where you want the bead and its width. Plunge the point tool into the line on the right side of the bead, then sort of roll the tool to the left and lift the handle so that the cutting edge slices off wood in a curve from the bottom to the top center of the bead. Do the same thing on the other side, plunge in and rotate to the right as you lift the handle. A little practice makes it work very well.

Incidentally, the point tool only works well on the harder woods. Bill Jones normally works in ivory and boxwood or African blackwood. For those woods, the point tool is a wonderful tool. For western big leaf maple, it will tear grain, etc.

Fred Holder

Roy Fred has a pretty good description of rolling a bead with this tool. It cuts from the bottom of the bead to the top in violation of all the rules of turning, except the rule that if it works, it is the right way. While it is also true that there will be tear out on the softer woods, this is going to be true for most of the tools we have if not all of them.

===================== Roy, I don't know of a site that shows the technique, but have I have a couple of these (3/8 and 1/2 Inch). The way I do beads is to plunge in like your V cut, then roll right or left as required. There may be a vibration with your

1/4 inch rod if the wood is not pretty hard. I have my tools mounted with about 4 inches of tool available. One tip you might try is to grind one of the 3 sides longer than the other 2. This gives you a couple of extra cutting angles to try in difficult cuts. Overall I really like these tools since they can do skew type cuts with better control (at least for me), as well as beading work.

Ken Moon Webberville, TX.