Round tew on the big Yew

Here it is Dave. Very useful indeed. Give my regards to the Phoenix group.

Looks to me that the toothed edge might be useful for creating fine grain as well as using it for bark stripping.

It will have to become a work in progress trying to remember all about tempering

Hadn't thought of using the toothed side. The flat side is bevelled for bark stripping. I used to do some forgeing work and would say that after the blade is heated and bent, re heat to a Cherry red and then cool suddenly in water.

Hi Will

I just saw your last pictures........I am impressed

Kind regards Yvonne

Will, a working end of the real lace.

Superb carving work Will, you've aged the tree by a hundred years or so in the space of a few days. I'm looking forward to the styling work you'll carry out next year. Really looks like its going to be a top tree.

Please tell me that's apple juice in the glass and not Whisky Even Andy Pearson doesn't pour a dram that size and he was pouring LARGE ones at Burrs last year.

Cheers for now.

Paul

will baddeley wrote:Hadn't thought of using the toothed side. The flat side is bevelled for bark stripping. I used to do some forgeing work and would say that after the blade is heated and bent, re heat to a Cherry red and then cool suddenly in water.

If you are looking to temper the blade, then don't stop with heat to cherry red and quenching that will cause the steel to be strong but very brittle.

I would do this, heat to cherry red and let it air cool slowly, that will anneal the metal and make it workable, important if you are using an old hacksaw blade or some other tool steel. Shape the metal with files or grinders. When satisfied with the shape heat to cherry red and quench in oil (if oil steel) or water if wanted. If you don't know the composition of the tool steel recommend using oil. Vegetable oil or old motor oil works. Let it cool, then reheat the metal until it gets a blue to straw color and then quench in oil again. The last step will temper the blade and make it both strong and less brittle.

Thankyou Yvonne, Pascal and Paul. No it was Scotch with a dash of water.
Thanks Rob for the tempering tips.

Rob Kempinski wrote:

will baddeley wrote:Hadn't thought of using the toothed side. The flat side is bevelled for bark stripping. I used to do some forgeing work and would say that after the blade is heated and bent, re heat to a Cherry red and then cool suddenly in water.

If you are looking to temper the blade, then don't stop with heat to cherry red and quenching that will cause the steel to be strong but very brittle.

I would do this, heat to cherry red and let it air cool slowly, that will anneal the metal and make it workable, important if you are using an old hacksaw blade or some other tool steel. Shape the metal with files or grinders. When satisfied with the shape heat to cherry red and quench in oil (if oil steel) or water if wanted. If you don't know the composition of the tool steel recommend using oil. Vegetable oil or old motor oil works. Let it cool, then reheat the metal until it gets a blue to straw color and then quench in oil again. The last step will temper the blade and make it both strong and less brittle.

Hi Rob and Will

Hm! I quess it is slightly of topic, but I'd like to chime in on this. I agree with most of what you say Rob, exept from the annealing advice and some. Maybe you'll both find this agreable: I would let the steel cool down at a slower rate than air can do - to make the steel crystals as large as possible... I would stick the cherry red steel in a box of ashes or in between two slices of rockwool. The slower cooling rate will soften the steel to a point where you can actually scrabe the steel in shape, i.e save wear of expensive tools/abrasives. For this type of steel (this steel is not common spring steel, but a high alloy carbon tool steel with added silicas and tungsten etc., which is very difficult to (hand)quench and especially to retemper properly (maintain the original proporties of the steel composition): the best way to achieve a good (hand)quench and tempering with this steel is to heat to under cherry red and anneal in ashes three times and each time raise heating temps (this will also secure stress relief from grinding tools/internal fractures from old use). Third reheat goes to cherry red and as such imediately quench in oil for 1 second, lift, then dip again for two seconds, from there let it air cool till temps reaches about 250 celsius, then bake/temper the steel for apr. two hours in your kitcen oven at 250 celsius, shut down the oven at let the steel cool down with the oven. However, in my opinion the best way to make razor sharp cutting tools from used sawblades is to not heat the steel at all: instead shape the edge to full sharpnes by hand polishing on wet abrasive paper grids 120, 180, 300, 600, 800, 1500, 2000: in this way the steel proporties is unchanged and will hold an unearthly hard and sharp edge (still able to carve metal).

I felt like chiming in on this, because I believe such a carving tool made by hand has great appeal to me, if not many other forumites.

Ps! Beautysome handyfull, that carving of yours, Will ;-)

best regards from Loke Emil

Loke - good idea to grind the tool with sand paper as the amount of metal to be removed is probably not that much but considering the hardness of the steel it will still take some time to do it that way. I used to sharpen my wood working hand tools with various grades of sand paper. It works so well one of my friends called the process "Scary Sharp."

Exactly Rob...However scary sharp sounds familiar in an earthly way...I might add, that to obtain an unearthly sharp edge I polish out bevels and edge (on knife blades) perpendicular to the edge, according to traditional japanese sword polishing. You are quite right, though...it does take a lot of work, but the end result is very satisfying. And the winters are getting longer these years Hm! A winter time carving tool work shop with the local bonsai club, why not!

/Loke Emil