beekeeper Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 I'm new to posting on this site. I looked for a place in the Gallery to post these. If it is wrong to put them here, please delete and accept my apology. These are some pics or scratch awls I made they are real handy in lure making and in the tackle box. beekeeper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted July 4, 2009 Report Share Posted July 4, 2009 @ beekeeper Not the wrong place , actually , ..........if you'd give some added explanations about how they're made;) ! These look quite professionally made , handy and safe:yes: , ..........frankly.... nice tools ! greetz:yay: , diemai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekeeper Posted July 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 diemai Thanks for the compliment. This site got me started into woodworking. I'm a loooong way from professional, but it is fun. Wife tried to buy an ice pic a few years ago and could not find any worth buying. Made a couple on the lathe and realized they were too good (as in too sharp) so I added the sheathes. The pics shown are pocket size ones. The one on the left is threaded together. The others are friction fitted. The threaded one is nicer, but much harder to make. The threaded connecting piece is made by cutting a copper pipe fitting in halve, and gluing it into the handle and sheath ends. The pic runs through this and is glued into the handle. Keeping everything straight and true is hard. The handle end on these are black walnut. The two left ones have cherry sheathes. Both ends are finished with epoxy, just like a hard bait. Each end is turned and bored on the lathe. The pic is cut from drill stock, chucked in the lathe and sharpened with Dremel tool. These are fun too make and have many uses. I have made all sizes. beekeeper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diemai Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 @ beekeeper Sorry , forgot it in my first post , ...........welcome to TU ! Thanks for your describtions on the working process , to me it sounds particulary interesting , how you sharpened the steel stock on your lathe with a Dremel , .......guess that you've held rotating sanding drums against the turning stock to shape it's point ? Actually I haven't yet tried to shape metal(or even steel) this way ,...........only thing I did is turning spinner bodies out of round brass stock on my lathe , but I used sawblades , files and sandpaper for it . greetz , diemai Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassrecord Posted July 5, 2009 Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 Welcome aboard!!!! To help keep my home made awls from turning in the handle, I flatten both sides of the end before sticking it into epoxy to dry. Squeeze epoxy up into the pre-drilled awl hole. Oh yeah, to drive the awl blade up into the handle, I grab hold of the awl right where I want it to reach into the handle with vise-grips, tap on the vise-grips to get it started, then tap on the awl handle until it seats. Good luck! John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beekeeper Posted July 5, 2009 Author Report Share Posted July 5, 2009 @ beekeeperSorry , forgot it in my first post , ...........welcome to TU ! Thanks for your describtions on the working process , to me it sounds particulary interesting , how you sharpened the steel stock on your lathe with a Dremel , .......guess that you've held rotating sanding drums against the turning stock to shape it's point ? Thanks for the welcome. I used a rock drum in the Dremel held against the turning rod. The sanding drums will probably work. I used the chuck from my drill press in the lathe to hold and turn the rod. Seemed to work better, for me, than when used in the drill press. bassrecordRe: Scratch Awls Welcome aboard!!!! To help keep my home made awls from turning in the handle, I flatten both sides of the end before sticking it into epoxy to dry. Squeeze epoxy up into the pre-drilled awl hole. Oh yeah, to drive the awl blade up into the handle, I grab hold of the awl right where I want it to reach into the handle with vise-grips, tap on the vise-grips to get it started, then tap on the awl handle until it seats. Good luck! John I haven't had a problem with the awl turning in the handle, but probably none have seen much heavy duty use. Like your tip for preventing it. How do you flatten the awl? Have you had any problem with the awl staying straight after it is driven in? Made some heavy duty ones, that I thought would or could be used with a mallet or hammer. I cut off a carriage bolt and recessed it into the handle to be a striker plate. The end of the awl is touching the end of the bolt inside the handle. This keeps the wood from the hammer and prevents the awl from tearing through the wood. Could you post pictures of your awls. beekeeper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hazmail Posted July 6, 2009 Report Share Posted July 6, 2009 Love your work John, very nice little units, although with all that red paint in the background, it looks like a scene from 'Psycho'.pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
