Bowl turning tools, hooks,.......?

[veto]

I know of Nic Westerman and Ben Orford for bowl turning tools but being in the U.S. and wanting to keep it local as possible does anyone know of a smith who is making these tools in the U.S.?? Perhaps Jarred StoneDahl? Thanks for any help. Terry

[AlexanderTheLate]

Del Stubbs (pinewood forge)

[jrccaim]

OK, I know there are people in the US who make all kinds of tools. Maybe I am being heretical. I make my own. It is not hard to do compared to some other things one has to make. If you wish to buy, well, fine. Go Google, and thou shalt find. Lots of stuff on google on making hook tools. Really hard part is sharpening the things, but you have that problem whether you buy or make. Best-made tool will go dull after a while. Just remember, before you bend the hook, get the thing as sharp as you can! Yes, I know. This is semi-blacksmith stuff. But look at some of Robin Wood's early posts. He made all his own hooks. I made mine following his direction (thanks Robin!). Do not want to denigrate anyone, but Bodger ethic. Do it yourself.

[bulldawg_65]

Del unfortunately does not make pole lathe tools. Jarrod Stone Dahl does, but I don't know if he makes them commercially. You will have to ask him. Most pole lathe turners in the US do make their own hooks.

[turn4better]

Jarrod Stone Dahl does indeed make hook tools. He made all the tools we used in Robin Wood's class at North House Folk School in Minnesota in June. Except mine. I brought my tools along, but I made them in a class that Jarrod led at the same school the year before. He sold several of the tools to the students in Robin's class at the end of the session, so I assume he sells others.

[veto]

JRCCAIM, Perhaps you can suggest some different set ups for a forge, like where could one do this and get away with it? What portable(emphasis on portable)nik naks could be scrounged to make a bowl to heat charcoal or coal to a level suitable for forging? Do you endorse oil or water quenching or is it dependent on the material being quenched? What about the grinding to achieve a nice bevel, how may that be attained in this scenario? You see JRCCAIM, you are not being heretical but perhaps a bit short sighted! America is not nearly as wide open as it once was, not saying there is not someone out there to counter that thought but we have become a land of rules that rule out individualism especially when it comes to self sufficiency. The Drew Langsners, Roy Underhills, Don Webers, Del Stubbs, Jim Westers, etc., etc. are lucky to have established themselves either in areas of low concern or prior to the fuss. And Jarrod, well he has a bit of heaven there in the north of Wisconsin. I'm not meaning to sound impertinent as you may have all these ideas tucked away in your cranium, if so please share them. Thank you. Terry V.

[Steve Martin]

Terry, Sorry you are having such a hard time. I can take you to 3 forges within 5 miles of my home and one of those is in a rather closely developed subdivision within town limits. I also have a forge, anvil, etc. From reading JRCCAIM's comments over several years, my read is that he tries to encourage folks to work with what they have in the environment within which they live by using his own experience as "how-to" examples. John Wilson, in his book on making wooden planes, tells how to make a perfectly acceptable forge using two empty vegetable/soup cans and some MAPP gas canisters. You can't make a sword with that set up but you can make very good carving knives, hook knives, and plane blades, as I have been able to do.
Members of the turning club to which I belong often complain because they can't turn a certain hollow style vessel because they don't own a lathe that costs at least six figures, such as a Powermatic, but we have other members who turn gallery level hollow vessels on mini-lathes. If you want to make a carving knife, figure out how to do it within the constraints that you have to live with. You'll be even prouder when it works, and even if it doesn't, try again until it does. I would not voluntarily live where JRRCAIM lives because he has constraints, cold for one, that I do not want to have, but I know other folks who do not want the constraints I am willing to live with, summer heat and humidity for example.
I know folks who live within 50 miles of my house who are pretty successful supplementing their income by panning for gold even though I choose not to try that. I demonstrate traditional wood working using a pole lathe, shaving horse, hatchets, adzes, hook knives, etc. The gold panners think I'm nuts, I pretty much share that opinion about them.
Good luck to you and yours!

[neilyeag]

Finally got my forge going and fashioned 3 hook tools. One straight inside bevel, one straight outside bevel, and a crook with the inside bevel. Hope to see if I can do some damage on some wood this weekend.

Neil

[gavin]

[quote="neilyeag"]



That looks like a very hot fire. If your metal is white-hot you'll upset the grain structure. Better no hotter than yellow. If your hooks fail, try forging them at cooler temperatures. The damage will have been done to these, so I'd either get fresh metal, or forge the end that is presently in your wooden handles.

[neilyeag]

Thanks Gavin, I think probably the color of the picture. I don't think I was getting the metal over an orange heat. I sharpened everything up and had a go at some last weekend. The tools held up, no issues with crack or break so far. I am going to try to refine the sharpening a bit and see what further results I get.

Neil

[Sarah]

I'm forging my own hook tools, but having trouble finding the right bevel angle. Does anyone have any suggestions about how steep the bevel should be? Thanks!