Monday 15 July 2013

Doug Gordon's Tools

Have to say a big thanks to Doug Gordon for sending me some photos of tools he's made for his use, some quite ordinary by that I mean what you might buy straight off the shelf, yet adapted and handles made to suit his needs.

I like Doug's Table Saw buttons extension .
The only better idea I could come up with is a remote switch, I have for a few years used a remote switch set up for my Nova lathe and the 1hp dusty the switch was one I bought from Aldi. You have to be careful where the remote is, I have left it in my apron pocket bent over and switched things on not good.
The location of many machine On and Off switches leave me cringing and that is long before being a wheelchair user, some located behind the work area so you have to lean past or under or move to the other end.

Hi Ray,
Here are some photos of various tools and aids I have made for my w/shop, is easier for me to list the number
of each photo, then explain what its function is.
Will send you some additional photos of the w/shop machinery in the next few days.
 
These are the split collars I told you about which I had in the English Woodturning mag, have a range from  35mm I.D. to 127mm I.D, with increments of about 5mm.  I have a card above the lahe headstock listing each I.D., with the required dia the bowl foot has to be turned down too, the split collar is actually sprung onto the foot. Most important that the sawn slot is located at a point 90 degrees to the run of the wood grain, otherwise you will simply split the collar when you spring it on. No good trying to make thes from ply, as you have no spring in the cross laminations
This is a texturing tool I made from the main drive gear wheel off a Dewalt battery drill that died, each end of the gear was turned out, and a small bearing pressed in. When mounted on the holder, the teeth were ground to a point using the side of my aluminium oxide tool grinder, this tool works a treat. Most certainly was not going to pay $180-00 for a Robert Sorby kit to do this job.  Will show the effect it creates.
This tool I made for end grain hollowing on lidded boxes, think it is Robert Sorby that make this tool as well,  but hellish expensive in this country.Shank is 20mm 304 grade stainless steel, with a 12mm x 75mm long tang into handle. A flat face was milled half the 20mm dia, it is this flat face that sits on the tool rest, with the cutting tip made from 1/4'' dia Swedish engineers tool steel. This cutter too has a flat face ground on it to its full length, this flat face sits against the flat face on the tool shank. Cutter is held in place by short section of the 20mm stainless rod, which had a half round groove ground out to sit over the cutter, this held in place by a 4mm button heal cap screw drilled and tapped into shank. Cutting tip has a different profile ground on each end, with the tip being able to be set to any angle, simply by  loosening the cap scew. Made a simple tool holder to hold the cutter whilst sharpening it, very differcult to hold onto something this small without it, will show you this as well
 
 
Vee tool made from a section of buzzer/lointer blade, use it too cut two small vee cuts on the bottom of my footed bowls. Other tool I made is for squaring up the hacksaw cuts on brass ferrules on tool handles. Is a section of an old carbide tipped tablesaw blade, this was brazed into a slot cut into the end of a piece of 12 x12mm square mild steel. Cutting tubing nice and square by hand hacksawing is not east, this tool gets
over this problem.
Being unable to open my fingers very well on my right hand, I came up with these aids to hold the timber down  as you push it over the buzzer/jointer, Bad practice to have the flat of your right hand pushing down on the end of the timber, with a short grained section often breaking away as it passes over the cutter. The one with the saw handle end is for pushing a narrower board through on its edge.
Cranked scraper made from 304 stainless steel, this was heated and pulled around a former. The end has a rebate cut out, then a section of H.S.S buzzer blade brazed on. This tool is an absolute dream for cleaning up ridges on the many undercut pieces I make, shank dia is 10mm
Center tool is another scaper I made for undercutting, is 3/16'' tool steel fitted into 10mm 306 stainless steel shank. This is held in place by a small grub screw, the sharpening of this cutter is done with the same small cutter holder that I use for sharpening the end grain tool.
This scraper I made from a short section off a Landrover leaf sping, onto which I brazed a piece of Swedish power hacksaw blade. As you can see, it is ground with slight radius  to the center, is used in a shear action, with tip rolled over to about 45 degrees.I use it mainly for the final shear cut on he bullnose edge of circular cutting boards, after the initial shaping is done with 10mm bowl gauge
These 3 shear scrapers with all made from H.S.S. planer blades, which I have holes pieced with a plasma cutter to take a 4mm button head cap screw. Shanks are all 304 stainless steel, they all work a treat. Jacobs chuck has a nice wee handle so that you can get a better grip.
Miniature turning tools that were in the American Fine Woodworking mag, made from good quality Allan Keys with pieces of H.S.S tip brazed on to the ends. Allan keys are heated and pulled around a former, shew chisel is from a buzzer blade, parting tool from a power hacksaw blade. A point worth mentioning here, all the brased joints between shank and cutter tip are cut to about 45 degrees to give you a greater surface area for the joints, this applies to all the tools I make with brazed on tips
Three phase switch on my tablesaw, added these spring loaded extensions so that I did not have to reach under so far.  Ideally switch location should have been on the left hand side of the saw to suit my left arm, did look at this option, but too much messing about.
      Ray there a few more photos I could send you, but perhaps this is quite sufficient. Not not entirely sure as too whether your readers will see any worth in this, but all have been nice to make, and all of them most certainly do the job intended.
      Cheers
                 Doug.






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