Make Your Own Dovetail Tool and Wood Scraper for Woodturning
If you are a tool freak like I am then you probably can’t wait to get your next tool. However, that can get quite expensive and if you have the budget that allows you to buy whatever wooodturning tools you want ….I’m jealous! I would love to try some expensive woodturning tools but I just don’t have the money so I sometimes will try to make my own woodturning tools.
Purchased Some Hurricane Bowl Gouges
Every now and then I can pick up some new tools, for instance I purchased a 3 pack of Hurricane bowl gouges a couple of weeks ago and I was going to do a review on them. I purchased these woodturning bowl gouges because they were cheap …yet the reviews were good for the most part. I wanted to practice sharpening bowl gouges and compare the cutting and shaping ability to a Sorby wood bowl gouge.
Use Cheap Woodturning Tools to
Practice Your Sharpening Skills
As mentioned, I actually purchased these woodturning bowl gouges because I wanted to practice on sharpening bowl gouges. In particular, I wanted to practice sharpening and using the 5/8″ bowl gouge. I reserve the time to do a complete review but for a news flash, I have found that the Hurricane 1/2 inch bowl gouge is my favorite. And yes, they have allowed me to learn how to sharpen my gouges using the oneway wolverine sharpening jig with Vari-grind attachment. Each time I get the feel of it and do a better job. However, you must get the Vari-grind Jig with the wolverine grinding system ….this ensures proper angles and shapes for your gouges. I’m using 1 inch white oxide sharpening wheels on an 8″ grinder, I got the 8 inch grinder at Harbor Freight …less than $40 and the white oxide wheels on Amazon. My next step would be to get the CBN wheels ….but they are between $100 and $200 each ….so, I don’t see those on my grinder soon 🙂
New Woodturning Tools I Made From 8mmx8mmx200mm HSS Lathe Steel
I really started this article because I wanted to show you guys a couple of new tools that I made from 8mm x 8mm x 200mm blanks of HSS steel I got on Amazon, you can also find them on ebay. They cost less than 5 dollars each.
A while back, I made one tool, a square edge scraper, by putting the edge on one side and gluing the other end in the handle with some 5 minute epoxy. I used the same 8x8x200 HSS Steel Blank but I glued it into the handle
The tool I want to show you today was made with an cutting profile on each end, I made the handle so the tool can be inserted in the handle and locked in with a couple of allen screws but can have a dual purpose by flipping the steel bar around and using the other end.
So, as I learn how to turn wood I have also learned that many woodturners make their own woodturning tools. I’ve watched woodturners make tools from lawn mower blades, old files, screw drivers, drill bits, old allen wrenches, cold bar steel with carbide inserts and HSS cutting bits …..and just about any piece of metal you can think of. Some work great, some not so great …but I have enjoyed making some very effective turning tools. These are tools I turn to …(no pun intended) almost every time I turn a piece of wood. Al Furtado will take an old and ineffective harbor freight woodturning tool and make it into a full time and favorite gouge, he does this with a variety of tools he has and even though he has some expensive woodturning tools I see him going back to his Hurricane or PSI gouges and turning tools along with those that he has made himself.
I think I learned this from Mike Peace. He used some HSS Square Cutting Tool Bits to make a couple of customized woodturning tools. I found these bits on Amazon….. CNC Lathe HSS Square Cutting Tool Bits Bar, 4 Piece, 8mm x 8mm x 200mm https://amzn.to/2M5DIZV
PICTURE
All you have to do is, turn a handle, drill a hole down the center of the handle, glue a copper or brass ferrule to the end of the handle that receives the cutting tool. You can buy bowl gouges without a handle that have a 2″ or more section of steel that fits into the handle, so you can make your custom handle. But in this article we are thinking of making your own woodturning tool, steel and handle.
I have used the 8mm x 8mm x 200mm https://amzn.to/2M5DIZV bars to make a variety of different tools designed for specific tasks or just general scraping. These will cost you between $4 and 5$ each, this package comes with 4 bars allowing you to make 8 tools if you plan on putting a woodturning edge on each end.
This steel is easy to sharpen and holds an edge for a long time. I started out making a scraper with a square edge just to see how it does. You could compare this scraper to a carbide insert scraper on a square bar. Only with this scraper all you need to do is hit it with a diamond card to sharpen or take it to the grinding and lightly touch the wheel. Its really amazing how this steel cuts and how long it lasts.
I use the 8mm scrape as a parting tool when needed, it removes a lot of material fast and leaves a nice smooth finish, hold it on an angle and drag it across your piece for a shear cut and the finish will be like glass.
Today I made a handle that would accept the 8mm x 8mm x 200mm https://amzn.to/2M5DIZV bar …first I drilled a hole to handle the 8mm square bar, then the tool handle was shaped, the ferrule was glued at the end. I put sanded the handle, added a couple of burnt rings with a piece of wire and applied Capn Eddies finish XXXXXXXX .
Next I took the 8mm x 8mm x 200mm https://amzn.to/2M5DIZV bar and ground a shape that would help me to form dovetail recesses on my bowls. I used the grinder to get the shape close to what I wanted and then I took a dremel tool with a carbide disk and refined the dovetail shape into sharp precise angles. I tried the tool before putting the handle on it so that I knew I had the cutting angles correct.
I flipped the bar over and started working on grinding a round nose scraper with wings. First I ground down the top of the bar slightly and then I roughed in the front of the bar …about 30° or so. I then mounted the bar in my Vari-Grind jig for my Wolverine Oneway Grinding System https://amzn.to/2oMFKVh It was really easy to get a bowl gouge or spindle gouge shape to the 8 x 8mm bar.
At this point I had the handle made and the HSS Square Cutting Tool Bits Bar shaped on both ends. I wanted to be able to use both ends of the tool, truth is I really wanted a dedicated dovetail tool for recesses for my bowls or other wood that I would mount on the lathe. It seemed a waste to glue or epoxy the tool into the handle when I could have another useful tool on the other end. The big question will be, if I make it so I can switch the ends will it be too much of a pain in the butt to keep changing and should I just make dedicated tools.
I guess I will find out.
I drilled 2 holes in the copper ferrule and down through the ash wood into the space where the tool blank will site. I then tapped the holes for a 1/4″ x 20 3/8″ allen hex head screw. The copper ferrule will allow you to get a couple of threads in it, but you also want the wood to be threaded. So after you do the tapping you will want to take some CA glue and apply it to the wood in each hole. You can then screw the allen screw down into the hole (after the glue is dried) or you can retap it. You’ll want to apply some CA one more time and after it is dried you can retap or screw the allen screw down into the hole.
I use Starbond CA glue. It comes in various viscosities …thin through thick. Depending how you buy it, it will come with some very small applicators you can put on the end for precise placement of the glue …these worked awesome for me and then I used the accelerator which causes the glue to set up immediately. I highly recommend Starbond, it’s the choice of many woodturners for repairing, filling voids and for finishes on smaller woodturnings like pens …you can find it here XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
PICTURE
Now it’s just a matter of putting in the allen screws and inserting the cutting bar with the profile edges.
I probably made my handle a little too long for the dovetail application, but it works great for the spindle gouge profile. I’m just amazed at how sharp and how cleanly this tool cuts. I forms a perfect dovetail recess for my Nova Chuck and after playing around a little with the “spindle gouge” profile I found it to do hollowing very well, in fact it is very aggressive. If you are turning a bowl this profile on this bar does pull cuts very well ….I’m not sure how the bottom of the bar should be formed …it was draggin a little, I suppose I could round it a big more than I have but I guess I will have to play with it a while.
So, basically I made a tool with 2 cutting edges for around 5 bucks. I took a dead ash branch and turned it into a handle, drilled a hole, cut a piece of old 3/4″ copper water pipe for a ferrule and shaped an 8mm x 8mm x 200mm HSS Steel bar with a cutting edge of different profile on each end. I attached the bar with 2 allen screws which were drilled and tapped into the copper ferrule and wood ….a little CA glue to harden the wood and I’m good to go with a new DIY woodturning tool.