# Advice if you please.



## deserter (15 Jan 2013)

Hi all,

For quite some time I've wanted to have a go at making a few tools, but not sure where to start with the metal work side so I figured as we have this section now I'd ask and see if anyone is able to advise me. 

I only have very basic metal working tools (hacksaw, files, angle grinder, bench grinder) but loads of ambition, so with that here's the idea of what I'd like to be able to have a go at;

Scratch awl. 
Birdcage awl. 
Paring chisels. 
Marking knife. 
Maybe even mortice chisels. 

I know the shapes of the tools obviously and I can turn the handles for them, ferrules I'm thinking I could make from either plumbing supplies or chrome tube (aka wardrobe rail) unless anyone has any better ideas, not sure what type of steel I'd need for the blades etc. and if it would be safe and effective to shape them on either a bench grinder or by hand file. I presume I'd need to find someone to harden them for me after they were shaped, as I'm pretty sure that against all you tube advise there's more to it than heating till straw coloured, dipping it in oil to cool and banging it in the oven for an hour or so. 

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer. 
Chris. 


~Nil carborundum illegitemi~


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## speeder1987 (15 Jan 2013)

Can't help with much else, but for the ferrules either craft-supplies.co.uk do packs of 5 in several different sizes which are a reasonable price or styles and bates do singles in a bigger range of sizes but are pricier!!

Cheers
John

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2


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## speeder1987 (15 Jan 2013)

Also I was looking at this recently for chisels bit you can buy 01 steel bar reasonably cheap but I can't remember the supplier off the top of my head. It was something like Sheffield steels.co.uk.....

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk 2


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## DTR (15 Jan 2013)

deserter":28s7xkvl said:


> Hi all,
> 
> For quite some time I've wanted to have a go at making a few tools, but not sure where to start with the metal work side so I figured as we have this section now I'd ask and see if anyone is able to advise me.
> 
> I only have very basic metal working tools (hacksaw, files, angle grinder, bench grinder) but loads of ambition



The curious thing I find about metalwork is how few tools you really need. I can't comment on the hardening / tempering side of things, but on my apprentiship we did a lot just using a hacksaw, a selection of files and a pillar drill. For what you want to make, the only things I would add are a cold chisel and a weighty hammer.


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## marcros (15 Jan 2013)

an HSS jigsaw blade is a good starting point for a marking knife. grind the teeth off, grind a bevel, hone, put a handle on and away you go.


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## Sheffield Tony (15 Jan 2013)

Google is your friend to find O1 stock, silver steel, and brass tube for ferrules. 

A marking knife sounds like an easy start, a piece of O1 with a couple of wooden slips would make a traditional one.
You can harden smaller stuff - I've done up to 6x10mm - with a plumbing blow torch. And certainly you can improvise some tools - I made a pair of crook knives over christmas, using a steel pin from the rear linkage of a tractor as an anvil to form the curve around !

Mortice chisels, with the forged bolster bit to stop the tang splitting the handle when struck, look harder to achieve (There are some good pictures of the forging process in the Ashley Iles catalogue, IIRC)


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## marcros (15 Jan 2013)

http://www.plhillsales.com/ is somebody that i tend to use for bits and bobs, particularly brass.

when you get to the final stages, i can recommend http://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/ for the various bits required to make it shiny (or satin).


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## Racers (15 Jan 2013)

Hi, Chris

Well you will need O1 steel a MAPP torch or barbeque and hairdryer to harden it depending on the size of blade.
Filing is the best way to shape O1, if you grind it you can locally harden it and be in all sorts of trouble.
There are other ways to form a bolster like this one on my homemade fishtail chisel





It won't be strong enough for a mortice chisel but fine for a pairing chisel.
The other way is to make the bolster from 3mm mild steel heat it to red hot and hammer it down the tang.
Here is a chisel I made with a mild steel bolster.













Pete


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## CHJ (15 Jan 2013)

For simple things like scribers you can get away with a masonry nail as source of material.

There's some basic colour guides for heat treating tool steels, Silver Steel etc. *on one of my pages*. (reference section)


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## deserter (15 Jan 2013)

That's all awesome advice. I wasn't sure what was and wasn't possible, I feel a lot more certain now that I can achieve something, what is anyone's guess but definitely something. 


~Nil carborundum illegitemi~


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## Harbo (15 Jan 2013)

Cromwells sell O1 steel amongst other materials.

These are some knives I've made.
Ferrules from Ashley Ilse (bought at Yandles), brass rod and O1 steel.






Rod


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## Dangermouse (15 Jan 2013)

Dont forget you can get blades to fit your bandsaw for cutting metal.

http://tuffsaws.co.uk/index.php?main_pa ... &cPath=2_3

Tuffsaws are good suppliers, reasonable prices and good service.


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## maltrout512 (15 Jan 2013)

Screwdrivers, possibly. Made these a while back and are great. Well I think so.


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## gasman (15 Jan 2013)

Hey Pete your fishtail chisel looks like mine - 'COS YOU MADE IT - ha it is amazing and cuts beautifully
Cheers
Mark


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## rxh (15 Jan 2013)

Here are a back bent gouge and a spoon chisel that I made from silver steel. There is no need for bolsters because they are not intended to be struck. The handles are of yew and pear respectively. The ferrules are ordinary copper plumbing tube.


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## Racers (15 Jan 2013)

gasman":1p47mcy8 said:


> Hey Pete your fishtail chisel looks like mine - 'COS YOU MADE IT - ha it is amazing and cuts beautifully
> Cheers
> Mark



Hi, Mark

I am glad you like it, there is a third one in the wild but we are in exlusive club.
I need to re-make the handle on mine, yours is a much better shape.

Pete


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## clogs (5 Jun 2022)

deserter....
having worked all over the world and in places with no easy access to fancy steels....
so we had to use whats around.....
for bigger jobs like chisels and metal bench shears we used broken truck springs....
and if u dont go nuts with the grinding/cutting heat it needs no further treatment....
but diff to drill unless u have expensive prop equipment and dont thin about tapping holes...
I have a bench metal shear with one of these blades...it still sharp and gets used often after many years of service.....
for thinner stuff like marking knives I've used a machine hacksaw blade...again with no heat treatment needed if u take care....
like mentioned before, pointy stuff I use masonary nails but pref HILTI gun nails...
I'm sure of the quality....u dont need em snapping....
these can also be used for ultra fine work on a metal lathe....


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## Sideways (5 Jun 2022)

O1 steel as already recommended is sold as "flat ground stock" and "gauge plate" in many sizes and thicknesses.
It's hardenable and cheapish.
You'll need your hacksaw, files and a ideally a grinder to work it. Plus plenty of emery paper 
A rothenberger / berneze (or clone) gas torch with disposable mapp gas cylinders is the most accessible way to get serious heat for heat treating small tools.
Cheap diamond bench stones for sharpening the edge.
If you progress to slightly bigger projects, an angle grinder with narrow cutting discs and flap discs is a time saver. Don't forget to use at least a cheap polycarb full face shield with that. Discs can shatter and they throw sparks that you really don't want in your eyes, so double up shield and specs.
Soft firebricks are great for an improvised 1 brick forge if you find somewhere to sell you small quantities cheap enough.
A narrow belt sander might also save some time filing if you spot one cheap on gumtree or facebook MP.


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## Trainee neophyte (5 Jun 2022)

If If you want to go mad, a diy forge can be made out of scrap bits and bobs for no money at all - you need some air (hairdryer, vaccum cleaner that blows, fan etc), a metal pipe and some sand. You can dig a hole in the lawn if you want to be really rough about it, or a box on trestles as in this video:


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## MikeK (5 Jun 2022)

I wonder if the OP was able to get answers to the questions in the past nine years.


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## Inspector (5 Jun 2022)

Probably since he/she/it hasn’t been here since the end of 2015. 

Pete


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