On Jun 29, 11:09 pm, Prometheus wrote:
Hello all-

We're having a little break from the heat this weekend in my neck of
the woods, so I'm contemplating firing up the forge and making myself
a few more turning tools.
The psuedo-Oland type tool I've got in mind (with a toolbit inserted
into the end of a bar rather than through the side) should be easy
enough, but the hook tool raises a question or two in my mind.


I have made a bunch with different materials. All of mine are made to
be inserted into the end of a very heavy wall tube (gun barrel stock,
I think) and held in place with a set screw.

I find it is easiest to get the edge and shape you want by first
hammering the steel flat (triangular cross section, really, cool
slowly, then sharpen so you essentially have a knife. (like it's
described on Darrel's site). Making the cross section a pretty wide
triangle at the bottom gives it a lot more beef for heavy cuts. Thin
cross sections are more likely to have high pitched squeals when
turning, which not only require earplugs, but are hard on the tool
(vibration----high cycle fatigue).

Then heat it up again and bend the knife into a hook. If you are not
careful to do this when it's very hot, you can crack the edge while
bending, and then you might as well toss it out and start over, as a
crack is almost impossible to fix, and the only way to cure is a full
penetration weld or grind it off completely.

Once it's bent, you can then heat, quench and temper and your edge
should only need a little more honing to make it sharp again (or if
you ground it well before bending, you might be able to use it as is
for a bit).

I have tried a few materials:
Nails work OK, but being round cross section you need to grind a flat
on one side for a set screw to hold it well. I don't prefer them, as I
mostly have galvanized nails, and have found other materials I like
more.

Old drills are nice and hard, but untwisting them takes a while , and
they're made from very hard alloy, so are harder to forge without
cracking. As another poster said, "if you're not ready, you're too
late"

I have made all the tools I still use from old allen wrenches, which
works nicely for a couple reasons: no untwisting, reasonably hard
material (but not always), easy to come by, the 90 bend allows you to
make offset tools for bent tool work up inside wide, small mouthed
vessels. I also prefer hooks with a bend for hogging out lots of
material in the bottoms of large bowls. Translating 'catches' into a
torque instead of a whole tool handle 'flip' is a lot safer,
especially when you have 30 or 40 inch dia hunk of wood spinning mere
feet from your head.

I've tried both left and right handed hooks. I mostly prefer hooks
that have a left jog, then a right hook, but since I turn in both
directions outboard, the right jog and left hook can be useful too.

Certain hooks are nice for bottom nub turning. You can see pictures
and a movie he
http://www.treecycler.org/hooks.htm