Hello all,

Well, I finally got around to tooling up to do some metal spinning-
after a long delay and some hemming and hawing.

So far, the tools are turning out really nice- the tool post is
machined from 1.75" x 1" aluminum bar stock 11" long, with a pin hole
1" deep every inch, and 1/2" diameter removable pins made from
polished 1018 cold-rolled steel. I intentionally left about 1/64"
slop in the holes, so that the pins would still fit, even if there was
a little galling or rusting over time- no need for a machined fit on
something that is just a pivot point.

That was the easy part, because I could do it at work and conscript a
top-notch welder to attach it to the post for me- and it turned out
really pretty and shiny. I know the aluminum is weaker than steel,
but that's what there was to work with, and it's a lot beefier than
the commerically available ones at any rate.

The interesting bit came when looking for the turning tools- Sorby
sells a set for about $180- which is about $175 more than I had
available to spend on them. So, I did a little checking around
online, and decided to engage in a little Haephestian fun. Got the
duck-bill forged using a 3' length of 1/2" hot rolled steel, a propane
torch, and a ball-peen hammer. Heated the 1" at the end of the bar to
cherry red, hammered a few times, then put it back in the torch flame.
Took about 10 re-heatings to get it formed.

Turns out, it's a bit easier than anticipated- after about an hour of
goofing around, I had the hang of it, and got it to the right shape.
Cleaned it up, ground out the hammer marks with the belt sander, and
rounded the tip of the "bill". Heated the forged part to cherry red
with the torch again, and quenched it in a 3 gallon pail of water.
Quenching is kind of an interesting thing, if you haven't tried it- I
expected a hiss and gout of steam, but you can actually feel the steel
kind of shiver and re-arrange itself- even through leather gloves.

The spinning tools have to be really smooth, so I clamped the hardened
tool in my bench vise, and went after the tip with the back sides of
my sharpening stones, feeling it frequently with my fingertips to find
the rough spots. After it was smooth, I stuck a bolt through a felt
wheel, and mounted it in my drill chuck on the lathe. Polished it
with a little rouge, and it was done. Total time making the tool was
about 2 hours for the forging, grinding, hardening and polishing.

Turned out really nicely, actually- the hot rolled stock is still a
little rough on the "handle" of it, but the tip is a hard, smooth
surface that's shaped like a duck's bill (hence the name!) and is
shiny as a mirror. I plan on forging a sheep's nose on the other end
of the bar tomorrow, and give spinning a go.

Total cost so far- $4.21!

Figured I'd share it with you guys, as it's within the purvue of a
wood lathe, and it's an easier-than-expected way to make turning
tools. After I showed the wife, she agreed that I should set up a
little forge for future goofing around, and get an actual anvil (I
used the 1" square part of a little bench vise for what I did so far.)
I'd been putting it off for quite a while, as it seemed like something
that was too involved, but it's not too tough in reality.

Seeing how easy it actually was, and since it was kind of fun, I
figure I'll forge some more regular woodturning tools, as flat
hot-rolled steel can be got in short lengths from the hardware store
for a pretty reasonable price. I doubt I want to tackle forging a
full flute for something like a gouge, but I can see a flute that is a
couple inches long on the end of a bar being well within the range of
possibility.

Can't be any worse than mucking around with the chainsaw, anyhow!