Friday 5 November 2010

Simple hand made tools.


With Lysistrata I am making my own tools. They are simple and not so expensive so i am not worried about altering them to create new shapes.
I start with drilling a hole into one end of a handy length of dowel to fit a length of brass rod. The brass rod should be snug and fixed with evo stick or a similar strong adhesive. The blank is then held in a bench vice to keep it secure and save my hands from damage.


Using a model makers hand held drill with an abrasive fitting I start to create the tool face. Once the main shape has been prepared I then use needle files to get to the final shape.


Emery Paper is then used to get rid of any burrs and refine the face.


Then I Emery Paper the face to get any marks from the saw or files out. This can take a few minutes but is worth the effort.


The last stage is to polish off with a strop with jewelers rouge to make sure that every thing is clean and top.

I am careful to clean up and always wear safety glasses.

1 comment:

Stephanie Gibbs said...

After your last post, I was going to leave a comment along the lines of "please share your tool making technique!" and so am thrilled to have seen this explanation!