Tool Forum

[WesternSaw]

Carl

Whew wee! Those are some fine looking hand planes Carl !!! Collectors for sure.

On another note I came across this video on YouTube the other day and thought I would post it here for anyone that has a Zyliss Vise.The fellas doing the demonstration is one very good speaker while showing off the vise.
Lawrence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XYeXcXTBNk

 

[kspakland]

Weird old hammer

Anybody know what it was used for? I got it in a junk box one day when I was cleaning up a property for a neighbor. Can't find any markings on it.

 

[Bubbles Up]

Anybody know what it was used for? I got it in a junk box one day when I was cleaning up a property for a neighbor. Can't find any markings on it.

That is an old lathe axe or also used as a cedar shinglers hammer.

 

[DSS]

Anybody know what it was used for? I got it in a junk box one day when I was cleaning up a property for a neighbor. Can't find any markings on it.

probably not that old Kevin...you can still buy them at Lee valley tools, probably other places as well.

They advertise them as a box tool for opening crates and such.

 

[kspakland]

I figured it was old since it has a wood handle. I never see anything made with real wood these days.

 

[blackoak]

probably not that old Kevin...you can still buy them at Lee valley tools, probably other places as well.

They advertise them as a box tool for opening crates and such.

Yep, that's what's called a crate tool. Some of the old Bridgeport crate tools are collectible.

 

[kspakland]

I can't find any markings on it at all, even used a magnifying glass.

At least if I am attacked by a random crate, I will be prepared to defend myself .....

 

[Brmorgan]

Ya I've only ever heard those called a shingling hammer/axe/tool depending on who you talk to out here. I could see them being useful for crate work too though. I presume the axe portion is for splitting cedar shakes down smaller, but I'm not sure.

 

[DSS]

I can't find any markings on it at all, even used a magnifying glass.

At least if I am attacked by a random crate, I will be prepared to defend myself .....

LOLOL.......some of those crates are tricky, sneak up on ya outta nowhere.

 

[WesternSaw]

Pipe vise and Flaring tool

Okay you fellas are probably sick of hearing about this garage sale by now ,but here I go again.It's only on now and then because the lady needs help in running it.So if I drive by and it's on i check it out for stuff that I need.Picked up a couple of Ridgid pipe clamps the ones that have the chain that you bring over the pipe and tighten.Also a Snap On double flaring tool and a Bluepoint double flaring tool which my neighbour would like.got them for a good deal.Pics to come soon.
Lawrence

 

[Brmorgan]

Draw Knife

I picked up some really nice mystery wood today at the local wood waste dump, so, inspired by Bob's post a while back, I decided to spend a couple hours this afternoon welding up a draw knife so I had an excuse to turn some handles out of the new wood. I came up with this:

I just used a scrap 6" piece of planer knife that I got from the mill. I pretty much have a lifetime's supply of planer/chipper knife and saw steel to work with. The handles are 5/16" Grade 8 bolts that have been cut down, and are set at 30° to the knife. I left the threads on the ends to help the epoxy hold in the wood.

I used 6013 rods, 5/32" diameter, just little wee guys. They can be difficult to control because they're so flexible, but they don't require much heat at all and I didn't want to bugger the tempering of the blade. I left the welds on the backside because they turned out pretty well, but I ground them down nice and smooth for appearances' sake on the topside.

Just a closeup of the wood handle. I wish the photo would show the depth in the grain. This stuff's just beautiful. It's not terribly hard though, but a few coats of Polyurethane will help that. So far I just rubbed some paraffin wax on it while it was on the lathe. I find that does a pretty good basic job on most things. I hold the backside of some emery cloth strip against it and burnish it, so it heats the wax up and melts it right into the pores of the wood. After a couple applications it'll hold a nice shine and feel finished, but not feel waxy or anything.


I have a question for my fellow toolmakers. Have you ever noticed that you tend to naturally make things to fit your own hands (or body etc.) without even taking the time to measure? For instance with these handles, I never made a pattern or anything, I just turned one out freehand, and then turned the other to match it. And they fit my grip perfectly - my thumb ends up ahead of the ridge, mostly on the brass ferrule. I dunno, maybe it's just me, but it seems to happen again and again.

 

[Brmorgan]

Yates 137 Knife Grinder

On a slightly related note, I'm hoping to talk to my boss tomorrow about striking a deal for this bad boy:

It's a Yates 137 planer knife grinder. It doesn't appear to me that it's of much value to them right now! I don't think they need it for parts either, since our planer is a Stetson-Ross and this thing won't work with its heads. The grinders we use are nothing like this - for one they're all automatic feed, this one appears to be all manual; though it could probably be made semi-automatic at least with minimal effort. The slide table still works smooth as butter, and the table height adjustment seems to work, but the thing's far too damn heavy for me to be able to pick it up to free it. I'm going to see if the loader driver can pick it up with a chain and haul it over close to the mill tomorrow. I would SO love to have this thing. I'm also collecting parts to build a small wood chipper, so it would really come in handy for that. It's a dual-arbor unit, though there's not much of a tool rest or table on that side. I could figure something out for it though. I had the harebrained idea of trying to build some kind of milling chuck head attachment since the slide table would be so well suited for that. Not sure if it's a feasible thing to try though.

It would be quite a restoration project, but well worth it if I can get it for next to nothing. Hopefully the boss is in a good mood when I get a chance to ask about it!

 

[7oaks]

Zyliss Vise

On another note I came across this video on YouTube the other day and thought I would post it here for anyone that has a Zyliss Vise.The fellas doing the demonstration is one very good speaker while showing off the vise.
Lawrence
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3XYeXcXTBNk

Lawrence...

Meant to thank you the other day for posting this video. These are really ingenious vises. I'll bet there others out there who have thought of even more ways to use them. Great instructional video...Again thanks...

 

[7oaks]

I picked up some really nice mystery wood today at the local wood waste dump, so, inspired by Bob's post a while back, I decided to spend a couple hours this afternoon welding up a draw knife so I had an excuse to turn some handles out of the new wood. I came up with this:

I just used a scrap 6" piece of planer knife that I got from the mill. I pretty much have a lifetime's supply of planer/chipper knife and saw steel to work with. The handles are 5/16" Grade 8 bolts that have been cut down, and are set at 30° to the knife. I left the threads on the ends to help the epoxy hold in the wood.

I used 6013 rods, 5/32" diameter, just little wee guys. They can be difficult to control because they're so flexible, but they don't require much heat at all and I didn't want to bugger the tempering of the blade. I left the welds on the backside because they turned out pretty well, but I ground them down nice and smooth for appearances' sake on the topside.

Just a closeup of the wood handle. I wish the photo would show the depth in the grain. This stuff's just beautiful. It's not terribly hard though, but a few coats of Polyurethane will help that. So far I just rubbed some paraffin wax on it while it was on the lathe. I find that does a pretty good basic job on most things. I hold the backside of some emery cloth strip against it and burnish it, so it heats the wax up and melts it right into the pores of the wood. After a couple applications it'll hold a nice shine and feel finished, but not feel waxy or anything.


I have a question for my fellow toolmakers. Have you ever noticed that you tend to naturally make things to fit your own hands (or body etc.) without even taking the time to measure? For instance with these handles, I never made a pattern or anything, I just turned one out freehand, and then turned the other to match it. And they fit my grip perfectly - my thumb ends up ahead of the ridge, mostly on the brass ferrule. I dunno, maybe it's just me, but it seems to happen again and again.

NEAT!

 

[BobL]

Great work Brad, It's interesting to see a blonde wood version of my knife design.

I have a question for my fellow toolmakers. Have you ever noticed that you tend to naturally make things to fit your own hands (or body etc.) without even taking the time to measure? For instance with these handles, I never made a pattern or anything, I just turned one out freehand, and then turned the other to match it. And they fit my grip perfectly - my thumb ends up ahead of the ridge, mostly on the brass ferrule. I dunno, maybe it's just me, but it seems to happen again and again.

This is how I do all my handles. I usually rough out the handle and then turn or carve the handle closer to shape that fits my hand. Then I constantly feel and take more off the handle as required till it feels right. If I go too far I may make another.

Here is a selection of handles I have made.

The first two were made by gripping a piece of wood as I would for the handle and then inserting a thin marking knife between my fingers and marking the wood. Then using a dremel tool to carve the finger notches.

Bow saw handle (Western Australian River Red Gum)

Coffee tamper handle (Sandalwood)

Mallet Handle (Allocasurina Fraseriana)

Table saw push block handle (Raspberry Jam wood)

Chisel plane handle ( I don't know what it is exactly - its from a desert in Western Australia)

 

[Zombiechopper]

What is a good model of vac tester to get? I've looked at the mityvac website and tehy have a million models.

 

[WesternSaw]

Brad Morgan

Good job on the drawknife you made Brad.Your handles turned out great as well.Once I get my wood lathe up and running I will be asking questions of you.Brad buy any chance would you know the Rockwell hardness of those planer blades when they are new?
Lawrence

 

[pioneerguy600]

Vac Tester; A Lisle 75200 has been my main pump for 25 years with no problems with it to date. There is a pump repair kit for them if they ever need rebuilding, have not needed it on mine yet.
Pioneerguy600

 

[Zombiechopper]

Vac Tester; A Lisle 75200 has been my main pump for 25 years with no problems with it to date. There is a pump repair kit for them if they ever need rebuilding, have not needed it on mine yet.
Pioneerguy600

Should I just get a hand pump and worry about getting my own fittings and hoses? I'm assuming just pipe thread on the pump?

 

[pioneerguy600]

Should I just get a hand pump and worry about getting my own fittings and hoses? I'm assuming just pipe thread on the pump?

The pump just has a nipple on it for tight fitting vacuum lines to fit over, there will be a bunch of fittings and adaptors come with the pump and a spare length of clear vinyl hose. I picked up an additional set of adaptors at our Princess Auto stores and built my own occluders for blocking off the ports. There a a few threads on here where we all posted various blockers and adapters we had made to allow hookup of the pumps to the powerhead. Try a little search if you would like to see some and let us know how you do.
Pioneerguy600