Home Made Tool

[Peter Blair]

Greetings everyone.

Usually at Christmas time I get a little more 'shop" time and like take some of that time and make myself a special tool.

What I am wondering this year, is what 'home made' tool do you USE, that you just can't do without?

I would suggest that each response is limited to just one tool. I know how hard this will be for some of you and you know who you are!!!

I have a lot of 'stuff' I have made over the years, but MOST aren't my "GO TOO Tool.

I'd love to add one more that I would actually use, so any suggestions are appreciated.

Here are a few pictures of the one I use the most.
IMG_1357.jpg
It's a fine detail tool very loosely based on one that C Drozda uses and sells
IMG_1355.jpgIMG_1356.jpg
The business end as you can see it was tempered and I have not yet ground all the 'color" off.
Thanks for looking!

[Curt Fuller]

I don't have a photo but my go to tool this time of year when I'm doing a lot of small spindle work on ornaments is use a small homemade skew. It's just basically a 1/4" dia 6" long piece if 1/4" HSS drill rod in a homemade handle and ground to a skew. But I love it for fine detail work.

[Peter Blair]

Thanks for the idea Curt. I used 1/4" round drill rod to make the tool above and have some left over so I'll probably try to make a small skew like you did. Do you actually use it as a skew or more like a scraper or ????. What angle did you grind the skew to?

[Harry Robinette]

005.jpg This is probably my most used homemade tool Peter, like you said I'm one of the guys who has allot of them.

[Bob Bergstrom]

i use old planner blade and convert them into skews and parting tools. The steel is quite good and will hold a edge for longer than standard high speed turning tools.

[Curt Fuller]

Thanks for the idea Curt. I used 1/4" round drill rod to make the tool above and have some left over so I'll probably try to make a small skew like you did. Do you actually use it as a skew or more like a scraper or ????. What angle did you grind the skew to?

Peter. I'm not one to measure or fuss with things like angles. I don't use sharpening jigs but hand grind and sharpen all my tools to what looks like it will work well for me. And sometimes I modify them for a specific task. But yes, I use this one as a skew. It works well on small spindles because the "catches" are smaller and less damaging. And the fact that a piece of drill rod is just a couple bucks means you can do a lot of experimenting without ruining a $50 tool.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Good looking tool Peter. I am like Curt and use a 1/4" skew on most small stuff. Great on small finials, etc.

[Peter Fabricius]

My home made "Go-to tool" is a parting tool made from a Sawsall blade and set in a Bocote wood handle. I use it all the time.
Currently working on a point tool using a high grade steel from a Engine valve guide reeming steel rod. (the rod has carbide blades on the tip for precisely reeming the valve guides). I will bury the carbide inside the handle.
Currently making a little triangular wood block to hold the tool for precisely grinding a triangle shape. I hope to achieve the pointed version like Cindy uses.
Your tool shown above looks very precise. Well done.
Peter F.

[Rick Vincent]

I like 3/16 oland tool

[Terry Quiram]

I use these carbide tipped hollowing tools and handle.002.JPG005.JPGhandle.jpg

[Thom Sturgill]

Peter, mine is about the same as yours. I bought a 3' section of 1/4" and 3/8" annealed 'O' steel and took it to a club function - we cut it up into lengths and several people took point tools home. We ground one and heat treated it and tested with a magnet until it lost magnetism and quenched it. We then had it put in an oven to temper - preheat the oven to 450, IIRC and then after an hour let it cool down slowly in the oven. Takes and holds a good edge.

[Michael Mills]

It’s more of a tool for tools…
About a foot long to be able to tuck it under your forearm. Easy to chuck up your three pointers, small skews, allen wrench hollowing tools, …….without having a ton of handles.
This is the ¼” chuck but I have a ½” also.
I use these folks for the “high speed ground round” or “ground square” under “tool bits”
ie In the round HSS 1/2X8 is $6.95 and 1/4X6 is $2.10
http://tool.wttool.com/search?w=tool+bits

[mark ravensdale]

My favourite homemade tool has to be my 3/8 (10mm) round ended scraper made out of round bar, my dad used to work for a steel mill that supplied a lot of "special steels" to the nuke power industry and this scraper is made from a piece he was allowed to take home, and this stuff is tuff, I made it around 5 or 6 years ago and use it very often and in those 5 or 6 years I have only sharpened it a handful of times, my dad says it had a lot of cobalt in it as well as other things, it's a great tool and always kept within arms reach.

[Peter Blair]

Hey Mark. I bet you can find it in the dark!!!!

[Kyle Iwamoto]

My input to tool "design" in my box lid lip finisher. I simply sharpened the left side on my 1/2" flat scraper. Using the tool, I can get a 90 degree lid lip in 1 attempt. I only use it for that 1 application. I modified one of my old Craftsman chisels.