# What is this tool used for?



## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

I recently inherited this tool. It was made by AMT and appears to me to be a spoon carving tool of some sort. But, I couldn't figure out how it could possibly be used.










The edges are blunt and the recess in the center seems to be where business is conducted. The cutout is shown in the photos below. There is a bevel on the outside (convex side) of the cutout and the inside (concave side) is smooth with the cylindrical face. The outer edges and end are all completely blunt. So seemingly it would be used to shave the outside of round pieces? I couldn't find any similar examples online so I thought I'd turn to the collective LJ brain trust ;-)

Thanks for any help! Additional photos below.


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## swirt (Apr 6, 2010)

I think it is a chamfer. Run it in either direction along the corner edge of a board and it will chamfer the edge.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Looks like a tool for rounding edges.


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## waho6o9 (May 6, 2011)

Going with the chamfer as well.


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## doubleG469 (Mar 8, 2017)

Chamfer


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## Mosquito (Feb 15, 2012)

I agree with Fridge, for rounding corners. The Stanley #28 and #29 cornering tools have the same type of cutting mechanism


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## bondogaposis (Dec 18, 2011)

Chamfer tool.


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## Brit (Aug 14, 2010)

I'm with Fridge on this one. He's bang on the money.


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## BurlyBob (Mar 13, 2012)

I'm with Fridge as well.


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## TheFridge (May 1, 2014)

Hey Brit. I don't bang for money. Just for pleasure.

So how many are still with me


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## DBDesigns (May 29, 2018)

FYI, this is a pretty cool antique since it is not one of the more common Stanley models. It loos like it would be much more comfortable in your hand than the Stanley churchkey roundover tool.
Keep it sharp and enjoy an interesting part of your ancestor's legacy.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

Ding ding ding. We have a winner! It's obviously a round-over tool now that Fridge et al point it out. Funny how once I initially thought "carving" my brain couldn't leave that track 

For all who said chamfer tool, close but that would have a flat face and most likely an angle guide of some sort.

Thanks for the pic of the Stanley tools Mos'. That eliminates any doubt ;-)


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

Now I'm gonna go carve a spoon with round corners…


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## DBDesigns (May 29, 2018)

FYI, this is a pretty cool antique since it is not one of the more common Stanley models. It looks like it would be much more comfortable in your hand than the Stanley church key round-over tool.
Keep it sharp and enjoy an interesting part of your ancestor's legacy.


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## donwilwol (May 16, 2011)

I think fridge is correct on the tool, but disagree about banging for money. You've got to love your job or it's just hard work!!


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## Magnum (Feb 5, 2010)

> I agree with Fridge, for rounding corners. The Stanley #28 and #29 cornering tools have the same type of cutting mechanism
> 
> 
> 
> ...


YEP! Them's the ones! I have the same ones.

Rick


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## AlaskaGuy (Jan 29, 2012)

It's for rounding the edges of Alder, may be used on other species of wood too.


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## Augur (Feb 20, 2019)

AMT radius plane. Model 75540.


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## EarlS (Dec 21, 2011)

pfffft - you're all wrong. Kenny found an antique beer bottle opener. ;+)


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

It's funny. It's been nearly a year and a half since I posted this thread and it just got bumped yesterday. And I just used this tool for the first time about a week ago to break the sharp corner on a piece of wood I was using


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## OleGrump (Jun 16, 2017)

Yep, Ken, it is a "cornering" or chamfering tool. Those I've seen in use worked pretty well.


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## BillWhite (Jul 23, 2007)

I have one, and use it often. It is for rounding edged, not chamfering. Sharpen with sandpaper around a properly sized dowel.
BTW, I still have, and use my AMT scroll saw. My bench vices are from AMT as well.
Miss AMT. Chinese, but some pretty good tools.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

I have a few odds and ends from AMT as well Bill. Mine are all asian imports but they did start as a US manufacturer in the 40's. In the 80's they started importing from China and Taiwan.


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

The answer is drag it along the edge of a scrap board. Did it make a roundover, or a chamfer?

The ones I have seen have always rounded over. but I wouldn't bet the same concept couldn't be in a chamfer.


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## SMP (Aug 29, 2018)

> The answer is drag it along the edge of a scrap board. Did it make a roundover, or a chamfer?
> 
> The ones I have seen have always rounded over. but I wouldn t bet the same concept couldn t be in a chamfer.
> 
> - therealSteveN


I have a "Slickplane". When you buy it, its setup to roundover. But you can buy additional cutters that ar chamfer cutters. It works pretty well. Caveats being type of wood and depth of cut. Too deep on soft wood and it basically becomes a splinter maker tool.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

To clarify, this tool is for a roundover, not a chamfer


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## Andybb (Sep 30, 2016)

Never saw one before but now gotta have one! I'm always leary of round over router bits on a box edge especially when made from crazy grains like burl.


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## rad457 (Jun 15, 2013)

Do believe I have the Lee valley version somewhere!


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## Andybb (Sep 30, 2016)

> Do believe I have the Lee valley version somewhere!
> 
> - Andre


So, you're saying it was one of those tools you just had to have but now never gets used??


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## therealSteveN (Oct 29, 2016)

It's what I call a "concept tool" it has a very interesting concept, that simply pulling, or pushing it along a boards edge that it makes a consistent profile. In practice that doesn't happen too often. The differences from one species, grain pattern, locking and interlocking grain versus smooth one directional grain, just simply too many things to consider. This doesn't count that sharpening these is not a walk in the park, even using their sharpening kit.

A router bit, at least a good quality one, that is sharp, and set to take a believable cut off of the wood you are working, with a motor spinning at a rapid speed can, and will take a much more consistent cut.

I'd put the money toward a Whiteside round over if you don't already own one.

Without using power equipment, if you desire to do a round over, or even just simply break an edge, sandpaper is probably the best choice to start with. If you can visualize what you want to end with, you can do that. After sandpaper many do it with a hand plane. Even those who use a hand plane, many still finish with sand paper to smooth it out.


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## Andybb (Sep 30, 2016)

> A router bit, at least a good quality one, that is sharp, and set to take a believable cut off of the wood you are working, with a motor spinning at a rapid speed can, and will take a much more consistent cut.
> 
> I d put the money toward a Whiteside round over if you don t already own one.
> 
> - therealSteveN


I was being kinda sarcastic. I do have a collection of good bits plus a few tools that looked like a good idea at the time.


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## HokieKen (Apr 14, 2015)

Oh, the router table definitely gets the call 99.99% of the time ;-) I have several roundover bits with different radii. Like I said, I got this tool in June of 2018 and have used it exactly once. And then only because I needed to break a sharp edge and the router table was serving double duty holding parts from a mill I'm rebuilding at the time. I do enjoy hand tools and this little guy came in handy but, it's definitely not a tool that will be on my "regularly used" list.

That being said, I do think a more modern/better made one of these would perform significantly better for extensive use. This one is too "flimsy" and isn't at all ergonomic. The handle needs to be bigger, closer to the cutter and needs to have some sort of indexing geometry instead of being round. The bottle-opener shape of the Veritas set looks much more useable. If I were a hand-tool only guy though, I'd dedicate a molding plane or plow plane to be set up to break corners though I think.


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## DavePolaschek (Oct 21, 2016)

> That being said, I do think a more modern/better made one of these would perform significantly better for extensive use. This one is too "flimsy" and isn't at all ergonomic. The handle needs to be bigger, closer to the cutter and needs to have some sort of indexing geometry instead of being round. The bottle-opener shape of the Veritas set looks much more useable. If I were a hand-tool only guy though, I'd dedicate a molding plane or plow plane to be set up to break corners though I think.


A beading plane is the traditional fancy answer. Either a Stanley (or Lie-Nielsen) 66, or a shop-made one will do the trick. I have one that's got two fences that works great for chamfering or rounding over, depending on what blade I put in it. It's in one of the boxes I won't be unpacking until my new shop is done.


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## rad457 (Jun 15, 2013)

> Do believe I have the Lee valley version somewhere!
> 
> - Andre
> 
> ...


LOL! that may be a under statement, sure I did use it on something? LN 102 gets 93.7% of the work now?


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