Holtzapffel Chisel

[jimi43]

Some of you may remember I started out on the Holtzapffel journey with a beautiful old London Pattern screwdriver...

Well this week I carried on down that road with the acquisition of this...

First...a tiny little turning chisel and secondly some Cocobolo which had been stored for 25 years (should be nearly dry now!)

Now this little chisel is something special....

a) it is "new old stock" having been stored in a tool shop for Lord knows how long....

b) the name on it is the wonderful HOLTZAPFFEL....which regular readers of my BLOG will realise is a newly found interest of mine...the London makers of those beautiful old lathes!

I love these rare tools and this one is a virgin...having never had a handle...so this beautiful Cocobolo is going to be that first handle...and my first attempt at turning this fascinating "rosewood".

A bit of research on the Holtzapffel website indicates this would possibly be the handle design....

...I think #364 being the profile....

So using this as a plan...tomorrow or maybe this week at least...I am off to try out my skills on the lathe with this rather hard wood!

Just to practice and the more observant amongst you will already have noticed...I have been practicing on some lovely box wood stock...my second most favourite wood to date...

A bit more work on this octagonal handle....turning back a little more and thinning out the curves but I just love this wood...just got to find some old chisel to fit into it now!!! (oh and ALF...YOU started this!!! :wink: )

I also got some sonokeling, laurel and larger box....should be some fun there!

More later....

Jim

P.S.

I was going to post in the whiz around forum but I think this is broader than just turning wood...I want to continue this journey and see where it leads....not as far as a lathe I hope!!! That slope is WAY too slippery!

 

[mtt.tr]

What the link to your blog

and interesting chisel

 

[jimi43]

What the link to your blog

and interesting chisel

Just inserted it in my signature for you sir!

It is interesting indeed!

Needs a nice new handle!

Jim

 

[bugbear]

A bit of research on the Holtzapffel website

There is one? Wow.

BugBear

 

[AndyT]

I think Jimi must mean the online versions of the marvellous multi-volume "Turning and Mechanical manipulation" by Holtzapffel father and son. The scope was much wider than the title suggests - volume 2 for example has lots on planes, saws and files.

You can find it on Google Books and elsewhere - Internet Archive possibly, or the Edenfalls library - I don't have access to bookmarks from here at the moment.

 

[jimi43]

A bit of research on the Holtzapffel website

There is one? Wow.

BugBear

Actually you are partially right...during my research of the Holtzapffel Site I trundled around Google and espied that picture on the More Woodturning Site....and I think now it may not be a Holtzapffel pattern!

I did find this picture from the Science museum which shows a different handle shape altogether :

LINK TO CLEARER BUT COPYRIGHTED PICTURE

I prefer the second shape....and it will lend itself to the Cocobolo I think....

Off to fiddle this afternoon!

Jim

 

[Modernist]

I have 4 volumes of the Holtzapfel bibles if anyone requires references checking.

 

[jimi43]

I have 4 volumes of the Holtzapfel bibles if anyone requires references checking.

Any chance of a scan of a chisel handle?

Many thanks in advance.

Jim

 

[Modernist]

I have 4 volumes of the Holtzapfel bibles if anyone requires references checking.

Any chance of a scan of a chisel handle?

Many thanks in advance.

Jim

I'll have a look

 

[Modernist]

Sorry the only ones I can see are already in this thread

 

[jimi43]

Sorry the only ones I can see are already in this thread

That's perfect info...at least I am on the right track

Are they the drawing shape or the beautiful colour pics shape?

Jim

 

[Modernist]

The drawing is from the book

 

[jimi43]

The drawing is from the book

Darn it!

Guess which one I am half way through turning!?



Oh well...I have plenty Cocobolo...and this stuff is um...challenging to say the least but beeeeeautiful to finish...it is like silk...and the grain is astounding....

I think I will make something else with this handle and get back to the drawing design for this little chisel...

Do you know much about Holtzapffel lathes?

I think that they must me a **** of a lot smaller than they look in pictures as this chisel is tiny....

Jim

 

[AndyT]

The drawing is from the book

Indeed it is - vol2 - as visible to read on-line here:

http://www.archive.org/stream/turningmechanica02holtuoft#page/512/mode/2up

or download from the links already mentioned.

If you want to see a Holtzapffel lathe close up, I know for sure that the Museum of London has one, which I've seen on display in their basement gallery. However, they are in the midst of revising their displays and their on-line resources at the present. This page:

http://www.museumoflondon.org.uk/English/Collections/OnlineResources/
will soon let you search across their display collections - or you could phone and ask. (Their selection of Roman tools is quite good too.)

 

[jimi43]

Andy...some great links there mate!

I really love the Holtzapffel book on flipper...I can see I shall be reading that for a while!

I am starting to form the handle as per the book...it is a little chunky yet and I need to get the ferrule part down and the far end knob smaller and more acute but it's getting there...

A bit of UV and this will go nearly black but with that amazing grain as a background...

I love this stuff!

It is so tactile and really smoothes easily with abrasives and 3M MicroMesh...

Now...what did I do with my UV lamp!

More tomorrow when I refine the shape.....

Jim

 

[mtt.tr]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rare-HOLTZAPF...ltDomain_0&hash=item5640015a1c#ht_1874wt_1137

From the bay might be off interest for the handle

 

[jimi43]

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Rare-HOLTZAPF...ltDomain_0&hash=item5640015a1c#ht_1874wt_1137

From the bay might be off interest for the handle

Ever feel that you should wait until other research is in!

That is like the other handle...the one I just changed....um....

Ok...looks like two handles are in the offing...and we'll have to see what looks the best...

Thanks for the link mtt.tr...I somehow missed that one!

Jim

 

[mtt.tr]

They also have rulers on the bay £95 so far bargain

 

[jimi43]

They also have rulers on the bay £95 so far bargain

These things go for a bomb don't they!?

I might even dig into my prize Rio stock later! 8)

Jim

 

[bugbear]

If you want to see a Holtzapffel lathe close up, I know for sure that the Museum of London has one, which I've seen on display in their basement gallery.

If anyone is interested in ornamental lathes in general, this is a "key" site:

http://www.turners.org/default.htm

There's a rather fine ornamental lathe by Hines (of Norwich) in the Bridewell museum (in Norwich...)

Oh yeah - in general the lathes are quite small, since the workpieces are quite often in ivory!

BugBear