Price drop on over 1300 Rockler items
Articles Forums Gallery Marketplace Videos

WoodCentral Forums

Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge

REAL MILK PAINT

Made my first hand tool!

Posts

Made my first hand tool!

#1

Made my first hand tool!

Scott in Douglassville, PA

>Hey, everyone -

Windsor chair class is winding down (kinda - long story in itself), and I'm pondering tool purchases. I've seen Greg B�tit's postings here and abroad about the chairmaker's devil, a concave scraper for smoothing spindles. Hmm, thinks I, That might be a useful tool. See one come up on eBay. Set my snipe, which never gets placed, 'cause some guy runs it up to almost retail. I order the Langsner book that details the construction of this tool, figuring I may someday get around to making one.

Well, the book arrives last Saturday, I get to turning some cherry on Sunday. Piddle with it a little here and there for the last couple days, and today I have a (frustratingly close to) completed chairmaker's devil:


The body's some scrap cherry I had lying around, and the clamping block holding the scraper is mesquite. The scraper is just cut from a card scraper and shaped with a Dremel. Finished with several coats of Minwax Tung Oil Finish and needing a bunch of coats of wax in the next few days. The scraper still needs some tweaking, and the back of the clamping block needs an escapement for shavings to eject. But it's functional, and I made it myself!

This whole toolmaking thing could be addictive in itself, I tell ya. And there's that article in the new Popular Woodworking describing travisher making. All bad, all bad...

Thanks for looking, and thanks to Greg B�tit and Scott Burr for enduring a bunch of inane questions on this'n.

Scott

Re: Made my first hand tool!

#2

Re: Made my first hand tool!

Dennis

>I like it, now you can bend some brass around a section of pipe for the wear plate and maybe try a 45deg edge aka like Hock.

And down the slope you go, hehe it sure is a fun ride.

Well done.

Dennis, who has a long list of tools to make someday when he really needs them.

remove nospam for email

Re: Made my first hand tool!

#3

Your Welcome!

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>Hey, what are fiends for err�I mean friends. It looks great too. Get a chance to try it out yet?

Re: Made my first hand tool!

#4

Jack Guzman from Maine

looking good

Jack Guzman from Maine

>Good job Scott. Yes,making tools is addictive. You'll soon be saving all kinds of little gadjets that may come in handy for tool making.Have fun.---Jack

Re: Made my first hand tool!

#5

Looks Great!

Paul in NJ

>

Re: Made my first hand tool!

#6

Thanks, everyone!

Scott in Douglassville, PA

>Now if I could only turn a stinkin' burr on the thing... [grumble grumble] ;)

Thanks for your comments,

Scott, waxing compulsively in Douglassville, PA

Re: Made my first hand tool!

#7

Getting it to work

Bob Hackett

>I`d try using it honed and without a burr first.You may be surprised by how well it works.

MB

Re: Made my first hand tool!

#8

Got it to work!

Scott in Douglassville, PA

>I spent about 30 minutes last night with a burnisher and got nowhere. After reading what you said about honing, Bob, and after rereading what Greg and Scott Burr've been telling me, I looked at the scraper again. I'd nicely rounded the edge, and was getting (obviously) no shavings. Also, I'd not cut the escapement yet, and I think any shavings I did manage were loading the small area quickly. Cut the escapement earlier, and just hit the scraper edge with a fine stone on the Dremel at low speed to re-establish a perpendicular edge. Oh my Gawd - what an incredible little tool! Have to fire up the camcorder - the little shavings pushing up and out the throat are just too cool!

Thanks again for all the help, guys. I'm pondering a travisher now - rest assured I'll be full of questions on that'n, too. ;)

Scott, needing to plan a spokeshave rack immediately!

Re: Made my first hand tool!

#9

Make the rack EXPANDABLE!

Greg B�tit, Vergennes, VT

>

Re: Made my first hand tool!

#10

Hey!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA

>I took a shower (yes with soap) this morning. Ain't no stinkin' Burrs here;^).

What's the problem homey?

Try a small round sectioned screwdriver as a burnisher. Good luck.

Re: Made my first hand tool!

#11

Re: Got it to work!

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Congratulations, a great looking tool.

Where do you plan to buy a travisher blade?

Pam

Re: Made my first hand tool!

#12

Re: Got it to work!

Scott in Douglassville, PA

>Thanks, Pam.

Since I don't know of any blacksmiths (that I know of), I'll probably buy one from Drew Langsner. Not sure which sweep yet - need to plan a bit and get some measurements. Will probably try to make one of the Lee Valley spokeshave kits first as a skill builder, though...

Re: Made my first hand tool!

#13

Re: Got it to work!

Pam Niedermayer - Austin, TX

>Thanks, Scott. I bought an old, broken handled one to get the blade, could have saved $12 bucks or so.

Pam

👍 This page answered my questions

Your vote helps other woodworkers quickly find the answers and techniques that actually work in the shop.