| Project by Indiana_Parrothead | posted 37 days ago | 368 views | 0 times favorited | 8 comments |  |
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This is a very simple project that any turner can do in about half an hour. I got tiered of using the punny little Stanley scratch awl that I had. The point was bent and it was just not substantual enough. I made this one using some everyday materials that I had around the shop.
The wood is Ziricote, the point materal is just 1/4” cold rolled steel and the ferrul is a 3/4” copper water line fitting. I turned the wood down to the size and shape that I wanted and then glued the ferrul on. I then drilled the hole for the point and sanded the handle and ferrul together to 800 grit. The point was ground down on a slow speed grinder to the shape and then further refined on the Tormek. Then I chucked up the point in my lathe an sanded/polished the point to 800 grit. Then just used CA glue to glue the point in. It is finished with 4 coats of spray lacquer.
Very simple and fun to make. I am sure it will be better than the little Stanley that I had and come in very handy.
Mike
-- We are the people our parents warned us about.
8 comments so far
StevenAntonucci
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179 posts in 833 days
posted 37 days ago
Did you also harden the point? I di my tools with a MAPP torch and mineral oil. If you turn, you should make one in 1/8” too, with a bent point. They are great for picking bugs out of wood when you run agross them!
-- Steven
Indiana_Parrothead
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88 posts in 50 days
posted 37 days ago
I didn’t harden the point. It actually seemed pretty good. If I find in the future that I need to I can do it then. But thinks for the good point (pun intended) lol…
-- We are the people our parents warned us about.
Dusty56
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3462 posts in 583 days
posted 37 days ago
Nice job : )
-- You know you're getting old when you know the difference between you're (you are) and your (belonging to you) AND how to use them in a sentence .
loupitou06
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69 posts in 221 days
posted 37 days ago
Hi Mike,
I did not harden the point of my first awl and I had to regrind it and harden it because after several month, the point was bent. The quenching is really all you need : turn it (cherry) red hot with a torch and then dip it really quickly into water or oil, swirl your tool in water for a good 5 minutes. It should be harder than your file now.
I did not feel the need for tempering my awl as I do for my turning chisel since I don’t mind it being brittle (it’s not a cutting edge per say).
Hope this helps
-- 100 fois sur le metier remettez votre ouvrage
a1Jim
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16790 posts in 472 days
posted 37 days ago
Looks good
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon
huff
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1616 posts in 180 days
posted 37 days ago
That looked like a fun and useful project. Turned out looking really good.
-- John @ Myrtle Beach
Splinterman
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4826 posts in 256 days
posted 36 days ago
Nice job.
-- I will just keep doing it till I get it right.
CreekWoodworker
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169 posts in 193 days
posted 35 days ago
Mike,
Nice scratch awl, it should come in handy.
-- Mike the CreekWoodworker