Crazy (and lucky) or Common?

Made a 1/16th, minus a little, inch wide parting tool from a used seven
or eight inch long bayonet saw blade. Ground off the teeth and, with
japanese water stones, tapered the sides a hair or two, got the top face
and the slanted edge that tapers to form the nose nice and flat to
create a cutting edge on the end. Even tapered the sides a little and
polished the faces. Wrapped a folded up paper towel around the “handle”
end and tried it out.

“This works pretty nicely. I’m going to have to make a handle for this
thing - maybe tomorrow.”

Now I’ve used this tool a bit over the last several months, each time
thinking “ I’m going to have to make a handle for this thing - maybe
tomorrow.” Last nite I was making a simple cylindrical, cup - maybe
three inches round and four inches or so long out of a green cherry plum
branch.

Was going to get the hollowing started with a forstner bit but the
drawer they’re in was stuck. The drawer with the brad point bits still
worked so I used the biggest one I have, a half inch, to drill a hole in
the cup to the desired depth and reached for the 1/8th inch diamond
parting tool to hog out some wood.

I’m using a JET mini/midi and the head stock doesn’t turn for outboard
work. That means I cant drop the handle enough to make shearing cuts so
it’s a slow and laborious scraping task that isn’t much fun.

“Hmmmm - I wonder how my shop made narrow parting tool would work? (I
really should make a handle for this thing - maybe tomorrow)”

Worked great in quarter inch depth passes to the maximum depth of about
3 1/2”. That’s about as much overhang from the toolrest as I was
comfortable with, given the narrowness of the “tool” (I really should
make a handle for this thing - maybe tomorrow.)

Given that this thing is only 1/16th inch thick and a bit over 1/2”
wide, was I crazy (and just lucky) to use this tool this way or is this
a common use of a narrow parting tool?

charlie b

charlie b wrote:

Wrapped a folded up paper towel around the "handle"
end and tried it out.


You got lucky!

"charlie b" wrote in message
...
Crazy (and lucky) or Common?


Given that this thing is only 1/16th inch thick and a bit over 1/2"
wide, was I crazy (and just lucky) to use this tool this way or is this
a common use of a narrow parting tool?


I'd favor luck, though I have one of those narrow Sorby parting tools with
the two fangs that I use for cutting grooves. Going deeper than an eighth
would probably snap it due to pressure on the sides. Have seen folks
recommend a piece of hacksaw blade for a parting tool, though.

Have you tried a pointy gouge and side cutting? Clears well with just a
modest drop of the handle.
http://photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...t=725a28f2.jpg
http://photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...t=5fa71f2e.jpg

If you don't use a steady, you'll want to take a touch thinner cut, of
course.

"George" wrote: (clip) Have seen folks recommend a piece of hacksaw blade
for a parting tool, though. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My home made thin parting tool is made from an old kitchen knife with a
riveted wooden handle. That way I didn't have to tell myself about making
the handle "tomorrow." Another nice thing about a knife blade is that the
back of the blade (which becomes the top, when used for parting) is the
thickest part. This means that the friction with the sides of the cut is
minimized.

George wrote:

I'd favor luck, though I have one of those narrow Sorby parting tools with
the two fangs that I use for cutting grooves. Going deeper than an eighth
would probably snap it due to pressure on the sides. Have seen folks
recommend a piece of hacksaw blade for a parting tool, though.

I've got one of those Sorby parting tools with the "fangs" - but it's
small and short handled - pen turning size. Because of its hardness
it's no doubt brittle and likely to snap as you said.

The bayonet saw (Sawzalll type) is designed to flex - allowing you
to saw through nails in the bottom plate in a wall by flexing the
blade - without snapping it. I'm afraid a hacksaw blade would be
too flexy and follow grain.

I've posted a pic - actually three views in one image,
of my shop made parting tool over in alt.binaries.
pictures.woodworking. Subject line is
Turning - Parting Tool -Shop Made

Have you tried a pointy gouge and side cutting? Clears well with just a
modest drop of the handle.

I picked up a 1/2" diam, long fingernail ground gouge at
the last wwing show but am a little intimidated by the
length of the cutting edge - so much edge can me a nasty
catch - especially inside something that's only 2-3 inches
in diameter.

http://photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...t=725a28f2.jpg

Looked at this photo and it clearly shows that whatever
the tool is being used, it makes nice wide shavings
and clears them out fairly well. UNFORTUNATELY
the tool itself isn't visible at all in the photo.

http://photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...t=5fa71f2e.jpg

Couldn't view this photo at all. Would you please
either post it to alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking
or e-mail it to me?

If you don't use a steady, you'll want to take a touch thinner cut, of
course.

I am using a steady rest but since it's on the
JET mini/midi I can lower the tool hand much
at all without the handle hitting the bed.

Anyway - thanks for letting me know that
a) using this tool to hollow with is not
a common practice
b) it's probably not a good idea

charlie b

"charlie b" wrote in message
...
Looked at this photo and it clearly shows that whatever
the tool is being used, it makes nice wide shavings
and clears them out fairly well. UNFORTUNATELY
the tool itself isn't visible at all in the photo.

http://photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...t=5fa71f2e.jpg

Couldn't view this photo at all. Would you please
either post it to alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking
or e-mail it to me?

Don't receive binaries on ABPW, so can't tell if one makes it there. Seldom
did even after checking Usenet replayer or DJ's site. The link was alive,
so probably a glitch on your end kept you from seeing it. No matter. Tool
is going to scare you if you're bothered by a long fingernail type.
http://photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...t=a63b77ab.jpg

George:'

You're right - that pointed "fingernail to the armpit" gouge
looks a bit intimidating. To use it, do you pierce at the
center or rotation and then use the left edge as you work
yuor way out from the center?

How wide's that puppy?

Since you can't view binary news groups I put it
up on my site temporarily

http://home.comcast.net/~charliebcz/...tationist.html

charlie b

"charlie b" wrote in message
...
George:'

You're right - that pointed "fingernail to the armpit" gouge
looks a bit intimidating. To use it, do you pierce at the
center or rotation and then use the left edge as you work
yuor way out from the center?

How wide's that puppy?

7/16 "detail" gouge. You can forego the drilling and work center down and
out, then roll the opposite and work from edge up and in. Removes a
prodigious amount quickly.

That looks like a "Stott" parting tool. Should do well as a parter, but
watch into the face of a turning, as you can start to bind quickly.

On Thu, 26 Jan 2006 01:20:58 +0000, Leo Lichtman wrote:


"George" wrote: (clip) Have seen folks recommend a piece of hacksaw blade
for a parting tool, though. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
My home made thin parting tool is made from an old kitchen knife with a
riveted wooden handle. That way I didn't have to tell myself about making
the handle "tomorrow." Another nice thing about a knife blade is that the
back of the blade (which becomes the top, when used for parting) is the
thickest part. This means that the friction with the sides of the cut is
minimized.


Leo,

I did the same thing with a knife that was being thrown away by our local
OUTBACK steakhouse. Works well except for the fact that I have nicked up
my toolrest a bit. It is the rest that came with my Nova 3k.

I wish I knew why they made them so soft. I have thought about filing a
groove in the top and inserting a long piece of drill rod along the length
to make it a bit harder and smoother.

Any thoughts?

Thorndike

"Thorndike" wrote in message
news
On Thu, 26 Jan 2006 01:20:58 +0000, Leo Lichtman wrote:
SNIP..........
Leo,

I did the same thing with a knife that was being thrown away by our local
OUTBACK steakhouse. Works well except for the fact that I have nicked up
my toolrest a bit. It is the rest that came with my Nova 3k.

I wish I knew why they made them so soft. I have thought about filing a
groove in the top and inserting a long piece of drill rod along the length
to make it a bit harder and smoother.

Any thoughts?

Thorndike
========================

I did that on mine; 1/4 in. M2 epoxied onto the cast iron. Works like a
champ.

Ken Moon
Webberville, TX.

well, that's an interesting grind - do you really like the end pointy
like that?





On Thu, 26 Jan 2006 06:33:42 -0500, "George" George@least wrote:


"charlie b" wrote in message
...
Looked at this photo and it clearly shows that whatever
the tool is being used, it makes nice wide shavings
and clears them out fairly well. UNFORTUNATELY
the tool itself isn't visible at all in the photo.

http://photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...t=5fa71f2e.jpg

Couldn't view this photo at all. Would you please
either post it to alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking
or e-mail it to me?

Don't receive binaries on ABPW, so can't tell if one makes it there. Seldom
did even after checking Usenet replayer or DJ's site. The link was alive,
so probably a glitch on your end kept you from seeing it. No matter. Tool
is going to scare you if you're bothered by a long fingernail type.
http://photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...t=a63b77ab.jpg

Bill

www.wbnoble.com

to contact me, do not reply to this message,
instead correct this address and use it

will iam_ b_ No ble at msn daught com

On Wed, 25 Jan 2006 23:21:22 -0800, charlie b
wrote:

George wrote:

I'd favor luck, though I have one of those narrow Sorby parting tools with
the two fangs that I use for cutting grooves. Going deeper than an eighth
would probably snap it due to pressure on the sides. Have seen folks
recommend a piece of hacksaw blade for a parting tool, though.

I've got one of those Sorby parting tools with the "fangs" - but it's
small and short handled - pen turning size. Because of its hardness
it's no doubt brittle and likely to snap as you said.

The bayonet saw (Sawzalll type) is designed to flex - allowing you
to saw through nails in the bottom plate in a wall by flexing the
blade - without snapping it. I'm afraid a hacksaw blade would be
too flexy and follow grain.

I've posted a pic - actually three views in one image,
of my shop made parting tool over in alt.binaries.
pictures.woodworking. Subject line is
Turning - Parting Tool -Shop Made

Have you tried a pointy gouge and side cutting? Clears well with just a
modest drop of the handle.

I picked up a 1/2" diam, long fingernail ground gouge at
the last wwing show but am a little intimidated by the
length of the cutting edge - so much edge can me a nasty
catch - especially inside something that's only 2-3 inches
in diameter.

http://photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...t=725a28f2.jpg

Looked at this photo and it clearly shows that whatever
the tool is being used, it makes nice wide shavings
and clears them out fairly well. UNFORTUNATELY
the tool itself isn't visible at all in the photo.

http://photobucket.com/albums/d160/G...t=5fa71f2e.jpg

Couldn't view this photo at all. Would you please
either post it to alt.binaries.pictures.woodworking
or e-mail it to me?

If you don't use a steady, you'll want to take a touch thinner cut, of
course.

I am using a steady rest but since it's on the
JET mini/midi I can lower the tool hand much
at all without the handle hitting the bed.

Anyway - thanks for letting me know that
a) using this tool to hollow with is not
a common practice
b) it's probably not a good idea

charlie b
Charlie: Have you used the long point of a skew chisel to hollow out
small turnings like the one you showed? I find they work very nicely
and very fast. Held flat on the tool rest, you just point it at a
side, deciding how much you want to remove and push it right on down.

Leif

On Thu, 26 Jan 2006 07:54:59 -0800, charlie b
wrote:

George:'

You're right - that pointed "fingernail to the armpit" gouge
looks a bit intimidating. To use it, do you pierce at the
center or rotation and then use the left edge as you work
yuor way out from the center?

How wide's that puppy?

Since you can't view binary news groups I put it
up on my site temporarily

http://home.comcast.net/~charliebcz/...tationist.html

charlie b

====Charlie: Have just viewed your "parting" tool! Please repeat
after me: "Yit-gadal v'yit-kadash sh'mey raba, b'alma di v'ra hirutey,
.. . . etc!*G*

Leif

"William B Noble (don't reply to this address)" wrote
in message ...
well, that's an interesting grind - do you really like the end pointy
like that?

Yep. Though the work is done at the side, the sharpness of the point allows
plunging without skating across the face of a turning as a blunter version
might. When it sticks into a rotating chunk of endgrain it doesn't slide.

Let's see if I can answer the quest ions that have been asked:

1. I use this thing "bevel" down when parting
As I noted, I did a slit tapering of the sides
to cut down on side friction in deeper cuts.
By getting the top nice and flat and polished,
the top's side edges are sharp enough to cut
wood. The working end cuts like a high angle
chisel or plane iron

2. With my Nova2 chuck and the stock jaws,
the "tenon" on a piece must be fairly short,
a bit over 1/2". So after I've hollowed
a piece, I can expose maybe 3/16th of the
tenon. By making three 1/8th inch cuts
per pass, I avoid side binding
AND
because the blade is a little flexible,
I can cut a slight concavity to the bottom
of the "cup" I'm done turning

3. Because of the shape, I can go into end grain
in smaller diameter cylinders than would
be possible with the Stotts type parting tool.

4. Because the long flat top and bottom surfaces
are flat, straight and polished, as are the
tapered sides, I can use the resulting
edges as a side scraper on the inside
surface of the "cup" I'm turning. LIght
"cuts" along the long contact edge yields
a farily smooth surface - no grooves.

Because this thing can be flexed a little, I'm
going to make another one with the "point"
rounded so it won't cut and use the sides
to scraper curved inside surfaces. With
this first one, the "point" cuts a groove
in the bottom of the "cup" as I scarpe
down the sides.

This bayonet saw blade tool has some
interesting possibilities. Ring cutter
next?

charlie b
(budding tool maker and dare devil)