Hello to all lovers of homemade products, every specialist knows well that the tool plays a big role in the work, namely its reliability and build quality. Thinking about this topic, thoughts arise to make the perfect handy tool with your own hands, in in this case These are wood cutters, and cutting out patterns with their help is quite an exciting activity, which is good news. The main thing in creating cutters is to be more careful, since you will have to work with sharp objects, namely cutting part. The author’s idea to make wood cutters with his own hands was accompanied by the fact that there was no such tool nearby, and there were no local stores either.
Properties that should be good knife for wood carving the following:
High-quality steel that increases the service life of knives and maintains their sharpness for a long time.
Ergonomic (comfortable) handles.
Relative ease of manufacture.
Reliability.
To create this homemade product you do not need any hard-to-find materials, they shouldn’t be here, since it was planned in advance that all the details would be easily accessible to most carpenters and woodworking enthusiasts.
Required materials and tools:
* Pieces band saw, made of durable steel, which from experience confirms their long-term sharpness retention.
* Remains of oak boards left over from previous work, since oak itself is durable, beautiful and technologically advanced material in its own way.
Tools you will need:
* Electric sharpener.
* Belt sander with a grit of about 40, as well as sanding paper (grit 80, and for finishing - 240, 800 and 1000).
* Hacksaw.
* Respiratory protection - respirator (gauze mask).
* Wood glue.
That's all the details with the right tools ready, now let's start the step-by-step assembly.
Step one.
The first step is to make a blade. From pieces of a saw blade about 8 cm long, the author turned metal blade blanks the desired shape, and provided the blanks with shanks, their length is about 4.5-5 cm, these dimensions guarantee sufficient strength for fastening the blade in the handle.
For greater reliability of fixation (protection from loosening and the knife falling out of the handle), I made semicircular cutouts on the sides of the shank.
The cross section of the knife blade has a wedge narrowing, the angle of which ranges from 10 to 15 degrees from the butt to cutting edge, which is the descent of the blade. Well, the cutting edge is given this shape by a small chamfer, that is, a large narrowing, and therefore an angle of 25-30 degrees close to the blade blade.
A large chamfer on knives must be made even before the moment when the shank is not glued into the handle. The chamfer shape must be given on both sides, while maintaining a certain angle, and the grinding of the metal must occur symmetrically. It is known from materials science that during intensive grinding the metal heats up, which causes it to temper, and this leads to the fact that the metal becomes softer and loses the ability to maintain an edge. To prevent this from happening, the workpiece to be turned must be periodically cooled in water, thereby avoiding overheating. It is most convenient when the container is cold water is nearby and lowering the workpiece is not difficult. To finally shape the blade, as well as sharpen and polish it, you need to install a handle, which is what will happen next.
Step two.
After much work with metal, we move on to making the handle; oak bars are well suited for this, the dimensions of which were 12 by 22 mm in cross-section, and the length was slightly more than 120 mm. These bars were selected so that the surfaces to be glued were smooth. To simplify the work, we make a selection of a socket for the shank in one of the halves of the future handle.
First, the shank is processed using a grinder along the edges in order to get rid of burrs. Then, placing the shank on the prepared block, we outline it with a pencil. Using chisels, we select a socket to a depth that is equal to the thickness of the workpiece, periodically assembling the structure assembly dry to check the fit of the bars to each other. If the depth of the socket is insufficient, the handle will either not stick together or, if the connection is poor, it will simply crack during use. Also, a socket that is too deep will cause the blade to move from side to side, which leads to undesirable consequences, namely cracking of the handle or deformation of the shank. Therefore, be as precise as possible when selecting the socket for the shank.
After you have made sure during the dry control assembly that all the parts fit tightly, in this case the shank, and also that there are no gaps between the bars-halves of the handle, then you can start gluing. We apply carpenter's glue to the surface of the block and into the socket under the shank, since it is impossible to achieve accuracy in depth when manually selecting a socket, then just in case it is better to fill it with glue, after which dries the shank will be held in place due to its hardness, in case of inaccuracy. You also need to apply glue to the adjacent part of the handle, but in a smaller layer.
Step three.
Then we combine the parts (you need to connect the ends of the blocks located closer to the blade as accurately as possible), and tighten them with clamps. Remove excess glue with a damp cloth and leave for 12 hours until completely dry.
Step four.
Now let's adjust the handle to a suitable shape for the cutting tool, usually this is a small bend on the back to support the thumb.
But you can’t do without the features of these pens; they differ in that
their back part is wider and rounded than the one closer to the blade, because of this, all blanks for handles in the first stage of processing look more like a truncated elongated pyramid, and there is also a recess for the index finger.
After gluing the workpiece, the back part is sawed off with a hacksaw to a size of 12 cm.
Then we grind the ends of the handles with a belt sander, do not forget to use personal protective equipment - safety glasses and a respirator, since oak dust can cause allergies.
Sanding is started with 40 grit, and then in increasing order until the workpiece is smooth.
Cover with nitro varnish.
Step four.
We are finishing the cutting part, we need a small chamfer, the sharpening angle of which for these knives is approximately 25-30°. To form a small chamfer, the author uses sandpaper of different grits, gradually increasing the grit, starting from 240, moving to 800, and then to 1000, finally everything is polished on a leather belt clamped on a block. If sharpening is successful, then the wood should be cut both along and across the grain without applying special effort, and the cut surface should be smooth and shiny, the so-called “oil” cut.
Several knives were made using this manufacturing template; in general, they are quite reliable and easy to use, which is quite decent for a non-professional.
A wood lathe is considered an indispensable assistant during careful processing of wood. Using such a tool, you can turn a baluster for a porch, as well as construct a staircase for the attic. A lathe helps real craftsmen produce turned parts for a variety of trims, create original elements for internal and exterior finishing houses, parts for assembling furniture, as well as many other structures.
The basis of a wood lathe is a single-phase electric motor, the power of which is about one kilowatt. Some manufacturers during production process Three-phase motors were used, which have a rated power of about 1.5 kilowatts. It is worth noting that the latter unit operates exclusively using a capacitor circuit. Experts recommend that craftsmen opt for electric motors that have a reduced number of revolutions per minute. But this value should not exceed 1500.
Features of using wood turning tools
Today, the construction market offers a large and wide range of wood turning tools. Anyone can make such a purchase. But many experts argue that such devices can be made with your own hands and not spend a lot Money. Also, the presented wood cutters can be adapted for your own needs.
The incisors consist of a posterior, pointed and anterior angle. It is worth noting that the sharpening angle primarily depends on the material that needs to be processed. Craftsmen use sharp angles to work with wood. The shape of the chip depends on the rake angle.
How to make wood cutters yourself?
Every person can make homemade cutters, which will become an indispensable assistant for surface treatment. To execute you need to do next steps works:
To process wood on a lathe, it is necessary to use cutting cutters, sharpened on both sides for rough and initial alignment of the workpiece, and semicircular cutters through passage. They will be useful for treating the surface after rough cleaning.
Using such a tool, you can remove existing nicks and also make a semicircular recess. To work with the machine, you need to use an oblique flat cutter, which will help round off all edges, trim the base or end parts of the part.
To refine or perfect wooden parts you need to use small semicircular turning and flat straight cutters.
How to properly use a wood lathe?
Today, wood lathes are widely used to create multi-functional furniture parts. Also, using such tools you can make beautiful and original decorative elements. This includes candlesticks, cups, toys, tops and many others.
Wood lathes vary in size depending on amateur models. They are suitable for use on industrial machines weighing about several hundred kilograms. All presented models are manufactured using a basic set of components.
The first step is to choose the most suitable machine. Today, among a large and varied selection, there are tabletop lathes that are ideal for small project, for example, feathers. Larger machines are used for turning balusters used for making furniture and railings. There are several parameters by which lathes should be distinguished:
When choosing a machine for working with cutters, you need to pay special attention to the material and weight. Models made from a cast iron bed and steel frame have a fairly strong and sturdy platform to work with. But they are not included in the category of mobile machines, so they are difficult to move from one place to another. If craftsmen work and store their own unit in crowded workshops, then they should consider buying a more compact and lightweight model.
As tools for working in lathe special cutters are used. They have long arms curved shape so that craftsmen can hold the tool firmly and reliably in their hands, as well as apply the necessary effort.
How to make wood cutters with your own hands
How to make wood cutters with your own hands. How to make a wood chisel from a metal drill with your own hands. How to make a jamb knife from a rapite saw with your own hands. How to do semicircular chisels from punches with your own hands. One of the most pressing topics for any carver is where to get a good wood tool? High-quality, well-sharpened wood cutters can help out even a less experienced craftsman. The cuts are smooth, clean, and working with such a tool is much easier! Having tried different variants source material for making tools for woodworking, from scalpels to razors, I settled on metal cutters.
They are quite fragile and strong at the same time. Carbon steel allows you to keep the edge of the blade sharp for a long time; it does not dull even on hard wood. So, first we cut the cutter on a metal cutter according to a pre-applied drawing of the future cutter.
In our case, this is a small cutter knife, which is the main tool of the carver.
The presence of such an abundance of sparks during cutting indicates that the steel is good, carbon, and therefore suitable for wood carving.
It turns out to be such a preparation.
It is desirable that the part that will be in the handle be larger than the blade. This is for durability. We polish the knife blade, constantly dipping it in cold water to prevent it from overheating.
Now you need to make a handle for the knife. To do this, we take slats made of durable wood. In one part we draw the outline of the knife, the other as an overlay.
We cut a hole in the wood in the shape of a knife so that it is flush, coat both parts with PVA glue.
We glue the knife in a vice. Gluing takes about 12 hours to a day.
After gluing, we sand the handle and sharpen the knife to the desired sharpness. Using this principle, you can make a knife with your own hands. By the way, excellent wood chisels are made from metal drills.
And semicircular chisels made from punches.
A knife-jamb can be made from a rapite saw.
Cutting tools for wood turning
To turn parts on lathes, chisels are used - cutters (Fig. 32), the type of which depends on the design features of the product and the machines on which they are used. Cutters can be manual, for working on machines with tool rests, and caliper, for working on machines with mechanical feed.
Hand cutters for primary (rough) turning have the form of semicircular chisels with a blade sharpened at an angle of 25-35 0 along an arc with outside(Fig. 32, a). The width of the cutter can vary from 4 to 40 mm with a gradation of sizes through 2 mm to 12 mm width and then through 4 mm. For work, a novice master needs only two chisels with a width of 4 and 12 mm and one medium one with a width of 10 mm. Narrow semicircular cutters with a width of 4, 6, 10, 12 and 17 mm are used for turning grooves with a semicircular bottom.
Flat cutters - chisels with an oblique blade (Fig. 33) have a cutting edge located at an angle of 70-75 °. The cutter blade is formed by sharpening a chamfer from its rear edge with a sharpening angle of 20 - 25 ° or from both sides in the form of two chamfers with a sharpening angle of 30 - 40 °. In the first case, cutters are used to process soft wood, in the second - hard wood.
Rice. 32. Turning cutters: a-with semicircular blade for rough turning; b-with a straight blade for finishing turning; v-shaped; g-machine pass
Fig.33. Cutting Cutter:
1-canvas; 2-cap; 3-handle
Rice. 37. Formation of shaped surfaces with cutters and chisels:
1 - blank; 2-cutter (chisel)
Rice. 38. Shapes of handles for cutting tools: a-standard; b-faceted; in-round; 1-with ring; 2-with metal attic cap; 3-with bandage
The width of the incisors can vary from 4 to 50 mm. Such cutters are used for final finishing turning: wide (20 - 50 mm) - for turning in a straight line, and narrower ones (6 -15 mm) - for turning convex surfaces. The straight and convex sections of the part are ground with the middle part of the blade, the upper sharp part is used to trim the ends and cut off the products, and the lower blunt tip is used to make roundings.
Flat rectangular chisel cutters (Fig. 34) have a main cutting edge located perpendicular to the axis. Such cutters are used for turning rectangular recesses.
For turning profile parts Curly cutters with special blades are used. There are many designs of such cutters, but the most commonly used are double-cutters (Fig. 35) with the apex on the longitudinal axis. The apex angle, depending on the purpose of the cutter, can range from 70 to 130. Double-headed cutters allow you to process protrusions, depressions, and corner transitions. Rounded. Concave and convex surfaces are turned with shaped cutters with a rounded blade.
For turning recesses and internal curved, cylindrical or conical surfaces, hook-shaped cutters are used (Fig. 32 c).
Shaped chisels are used for turning complex products (Fig. 36). Such chisels are used both to form the general contour of the product and for final processing of the profile - turning grooves, recesses, and rollers. Options for forming shaped surfaces are shown in Fig. 37.
All chisels - cutters must have durable and comfortable handles, the length of which is approximately equal to half the length of the entire tool and is 150 - 220 mm with a diameter of 30-35 mm. Cuttings are carved from birch, beech, maple, ash, adjusting the diameter and curvature of the surface to the size of the hand (Fig. 38).
A good chisel for turning can be made at home from hacksaw blades, old files of various profiles, car springs. To do this, the material is first given a shape corresponding to the design on an electric sharpener, constantly wetting the workpiece with water so as not to burn the metal. The appearance of blue indicates that the steel has lost its hardness. After heat treatment, the cutting part of the cutter is sharpened at the required angle.
Work with chisels is carried out only with support from the tool rest.
When processing wood, cutters are used, similar to cutters for metal, which are secured in a special clamping device of the lathe support.
According to the design of the cutting edges, these cutters are divided into rough cutters - for rough primary processing, through cutters - for secondary finishing turning, flow cutters - to obtain the necessary recess, and trimming cutters (oblique left and right) - for cutting rectangular shoulders and end surfaces.
You can turn a decorative product with a complex profile using shaped cutters, which craftsmen make themselves. To do this, take a strip of carbon steel 3-5 mm thick, release it and cut it into plates 10-20 mm wide and 100-120 mm long. Afterwards, the outline of the recess is made: a template of the required configuration is cut out of thick paper,
apply it to the sharpened surface of the plate and scratch it with an awl. Using shaped abrasive wheels, the plate is ground along the applied contour. During processing, the workpiece is constantly cooled with water. When the cutter takes on the desired shape, it is hardened and sharpened. In most cases, shaped cutters are fed into the part in only one direction. Variants of such shaped cutters are shown in Fig. 39.
Rough turning when processing wood is carried out with a cutter feed of up to 2 - 3 mm and a turning depth of up to 2 - 4 mm, finishing - with a feed of 0.5 - 1.5 mm and a turning depth of up to 0.5 - 2 mm.
Rice. 39. Types of shaped cutters available for self-production
Actually, I’m a bit slow with mentoring, but I’ll try to tell you about professional production of wood cutters with your own hands. It makes sense to get into this business, I’m not afraid of competition, but every game should be worth the candle. Of course, making your own cutters is somewhat expensive and a lot of hassle. It is much easier to purchase one or two sets from a specialist for 10 USD. That is, without any prepayment. But if you have a desire to start your own business and some money to “promote” it, then read this material, evaluate your capabilities and... go ahead.
I offer the most simplified version workplace organization for making wood cutters with your own hands. First of all, you need to have an anvil, preferably weighing about 100 kg, smooth, not broken, and securely mounted on a massive block (Fig. 1), dug into the ground or concreted in the ground. An anvil on a table or chair, as well as random pieces of iron or pieces of rail - all this is not serious, and even unsafe.
You will need a pair of forging tongs 0.5 m long. The easiest way to make tongs is from a steel rod with a diameter of 12 mm (Fig. 2). To bend workpieces, you can use round nose pliers and ordinary pliers with machined semicircular grooves in the jaws.
 1 - water tank; 2 - hearth. |
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The forge is also required; its device is hardly worth describing. Let me remind you that a forge is a table with a hearth, that is, with a forge nest for heating workpieces. In the center of the hearth there is a tuyere through which air is supplied to the hearth from below, ensuring intense combustion of coal. Good examples are presented in the Do-It-Yourself almanac No. 1 for 1990 (in the article “Hephaestus’ Heirs”). One of these forges is shown in Fig. 3.
Our forge (Fig. 4) is simpler than the forge shown in Fig. 3. Its frame is welded from steel angle with a flange width of 40 mm, and panels from roofing iron. The hearth is based on a steel plate 18 mm thick.
It is milled rectangular hole 80x150 mm in size for a steel tuyere also 18 mm thick. To prevent the tuyere from falling into the hole, the walls of the hole have a slight taper. Holes with a diameter of 5 mm in the tuyere - as many as possible.
The ash storage box is welded from 4 mm steel and welded to the plate under the tuyere (Fig. 5). I also note that on the pipe for supplying blast, instead of a gate-type air damper, you can successfully use an inch water (steam) tap. Inch pipe It is also sufficient for supplying blast. Our forge, closed on three sides, has exhaust pipe with a diameter of 250 mm and a height of about 4 m. Dampers on chimney In winter we close it at night.
A vacuum cleaner is suitable as a blower, but it is better to install a small one centrifugal fan as we have done. Any coal is suitable (even charcoal), just not very coarse. “Weeding out” will also do. It is advisable for the coal to be slightly damp, as such coal burns more evenly. It is preferable that the container with quenching oil be located in the forge itself - the air will be cleaner and more convenient.
The metal for cutters is usually selected as sheet metal, without shells. We also polish it. It is better not to use ordinary carbon steel for cutters: it is difficult to form a cutting edge, and if the workpiece heats up during sharpening, all the work will go down the drain. Good cutters come out of frame saws with a thickness of 2...2.5 mm; for small cutters you can cut an old hacksaw for wood. In general, it is very important to decide on a specific grade of steel, for example, make a supply of 9KhMF steel (it is not in short supply) and work only with it. At the same time, in the process of work, select the necessary hardening and tempering modes for the steel (at random or according to a reference book) and not suffer in the future with different steels from scalpels and bearings. After all, when working with steel alone, you will be confident that the product you make will turn out to be of high quality.
The metal from which woodworking tools are made (circular saws, frame saws, knives from thickness planers, tape blades, etc.), as I already said, are well suited for our cutters. Their working surfaces are smooth and polished. After all, what wood is meant to cut is what it's supposed to do. And besides, as a rule, the steels from which these tools are made have very similar hardening and tempering regimes.
To cut metal into blanks you will need powerful scissors. It's good if someone has access to the guillotine, but this situation does not always happen. An autogen petrol cutter is a bad helper in this matter - it makes splashes when cutting, the workpieces get uneven edges, and microcracks form in the metal. And alloy steel does not like such treatment - it warps and breaks. We have desktop eccentric machine for cutting sheet steel, it is at least 100 years old, they don’t make them like that anymore. With this machine, the effort of one hand is enough to cut a sheet of steel with a thickness of 5 mm or a rod with a diameter of up to 10 mm. When there was no machine, but it was bought in cooperative times, and very expensively, they got by using the old-fashioned method. An ordinary frame saw made of steel 9ХМФ, 9ХФ, 9ХС, etc. was chopped on an anvil with a chisel made from a drill with a diameter of 25 mm (sharpening angle - 90°). The metal was marked with a scriber and the sheet was cut through almost half its thickness in several steps. Next, the sheet was turned over and back side(the chisel marks were visible) they struck this mark with the sharp toe of a plumber's hammer. As a result, the metal split like glass, and a fairly even split line was obtained. You just have to take into account that metal, like wood, has fibers along which you should cut. It is more difficult to cut across the grain. The work is backbreaking, noisy and dangerous, as pieces fly in all directions. But people still use the cutters of that time and are not going to exchange them for the German “Solingen”. They don’t look as nice, but you can’t sharpen them with a file, in a word, not “bourgeois” things for six months of intensive work. Later we purchased a machine, brought it to mind, improved a few things, and things became more fun. So, the blanks are ready. You can now give the blanks the desired shape.
If you want to form a semicircular chisel for hand carving, then a strip of metal of the required width with a total length of 110...150 mm is placed in a forge on heated coal and the entire workpiece is evenly heated to approximately 1150 ° C (until a straw-yellow color). It should be noted that alloy steels really do not like extremes of heat treatment: underheating leads to cracks, overheating leads to coarse grains. The heated workpiece is very quickly transferred to the matrix, placed in the desired groove and, using a punch and hammer, the workpiece is given the shape of a groove. Now it should cool down on its own. No water or other forced cooling. When forming the shank, the end of the workpiece that you like less is again heated in the forge to the same temperature (up to 115°C), then its end part, 30...40 mm long, is flattened to a thickness of 6...7 mm. Flattening is carried out either in a small vice or on an anvil with a hammer (the latter method is not so accurate). Next, the shank is sharpened using sandpaper in the form of a cone, the working part of the future cutter is trimmed and sharpened at an angle of 20°. Hardening is ahead, but for now let’s look in more detail at the design of the dies and punches.
As you know, the matrix is a part of the stamp that has a recess that matches the shape (or contour) of the part that needs to be produced. Another part of the stamp is a punch, which presses on the workpiece located in the matrix. One of our first matrices is shown in Fig. 6, from which it can be seen that the matrix is a thick steel plate with several longitudinal recesses of different profiles. Any milling machine operator can make such a matrix. A 4-sided block is welded to the bottom of the matrix, with the help of which the matrix is secured to the anvil. True, now we do not use a similar matrix for the manufacture of cutters of different profiles. It turned out to be more practical to make a personal matrix for each chisel of a particular profile.
As for the punches, for semicircular chisels they are made from round metal rods, forming a platform (flat) along the entire length of each rod for hitting with a hammer. Knife-shaped plates of the metal used are used as punches for “stamping” narrow cutters. To form angle cutters, large triangular files are often used, in which the notch is ground off. But in mass production, a more “serious” steel than U7 is desirable for such a punch.
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But let's get back to hardening. Here again it all comes down to the grade of steel. If you come across some kind of “exotic” product, then you need to find a reference book and dance around the heat treatment modes indicated there. If you prefer to torment a domestic frame saw or your grandfather’s hacksaw (not very old, since they used to be made of carbon steel), then again, please heat the cutter to the same 1150°C. Only this time, do not heat the entire cutter, but only its working part 20...30 mm long, then quickly immerse it in the oil, stirring vigorously. That's all the hardening is, if you don't take into account the almost glassy fragility of your masterpiece. So the hardened cutter is clearly not ready for work, and it still needs a vacation. If your “batch” of cutters consists of only one copy, you can release it on a candle. It is enough to clean the convex side of the cutter to a metallic shine and heat the inner surface of the working part of the cutter in a candle flame. Heating is carried out from the periphery of the working part to the cutting edge up to 300°C, that is, until a cornflower blue tarnish appears. In any case, try to spend a similar vacation. The activity is fascinating (Fig. 7).
Well, if the batch of cutters is large and there is no thermal furnace with an eternally inaccurate thermometer, they act differently. Prepare a container with mineral oil, load the tool into it and heat it in the usual way until boiling (and this is the same 300°C). That's all. An excellent, soft and smooth vacation is guaranteed.
Next, the cutters are washed from oil, cleaned of scale, sharpened, brought to perfection, and handles are attached. Our handles are quite versatile; now we use wood for them Manchurian walnut. The handles are beautiful, light, durable, and since the wood absorbs sweat from the palm well, the cutter does not slip in the hand. Wax mastic emphasizes the beauty of walnut wood texture.
We still make the crimp rings on the handles from brass; there was an opportunity to install iron factory ones, but we didn’t want to. They may cost us more, but the incisors have their own face, recognizable on the TV screen.
(Continuing the theme “Wood carving behind barbed wire”)
Let me make it clear right away. I am not trying to glorify camp romance here, but look at things from a purely practical side. I have heard about the hatchet cutter, the No. 1 cutting tool in places not so remote, for a long time. But, as I already mentioned, there were no familiar carvers from the “zone”, and former inmates-eyewitnesses, straining their brains, drew on paper cutters of such a configuration that these life-cutting knives were the most appropriate place could only be in horror cartoons. What’s funny is that the shape of the handle (as it turned out later) was depicted quite accurately, but the geometry of the blade did not want to emerge from memory.
I was able to find only one place on the Internet where the “hatchet” was briefly mentioned:http://forum.woodtools.ru/index.php?topic=325.75
Based on the photo from the previous page of this topic on woodtools.ru, one test “hatchet” was made, which somehow didn’t quite fit the bill, especially since geometric carving, apparently, is a thing of the past for me.In the article “Wood Carving Behind Barbed Wire,” I already wrote that I would like to communicate with a person who went through the original camp school of wood carving. And such a person appeared. Even sooner than expected. And not in the virtual, but in the real world itself, reaching us from afar in a completely unexpected way. (We should probably make something else in LiveJournal). And it is necessary - precisely with the legendary “hatchets”. Here they are.
The handle of the largest “hatchet” is made from a guitar neck. However, even if it were made from a Stradivarius violin, I was more interested in the blade and the techniques of working with a cutter in relation to relief carving. After “testing” the middle incisor for several hours, I made my own tool in its likeness, changing only the shape, size and finish of the handle to something more familiar to me.
The blade is R6M5 steel, 2 mm thick. Sharpening - double-sided wedge. The sharpening angle depends on the hardness of the wood being processed and is selected experimentally, from larger to smaller, according to the cut at the end of the board made of the working material. Handle - birch, burnt gas burner until black and then sanded sandpaper until the charred layer is removed. Lacquer or oil coating not used. This handle sits very comfortably in the hand and does not cause calluses. From my own experience I can say that the palm does not sweat even after 9-10 hours of almost continuous work.
The geometry of the blade and the shape of the handle allow the “hatchet” to be used as a fairly universal tool. He cuts both “for himself” and “for himself”. The cut can be made with the “heel” (“with the heel away from you” - this is, in fact, the main and most often used cut), or with the “nose”. Cleaning the verticals in the recesses - with an “inverted spout”. Various convexities can be cut well with the middle of the blade.
The speed of work, the depth and cleanliness of the cut with a hatchet can be very high, but this depends not only on the tool, but also on the hands in which it fell.
All photos from the article
In the arsenal of any craftsman engaged in the manufacture of decorative objects, there will definitely be wood cutters for self made. These devices can be very different, and therefore it is advisable for beginners to become familiar with their main types, as well as study the features of choosing and caring for such an instrument.
Carving tools
General principles
Wood carving is a fairly popular technique for decorating various products.
As a rule, the process itself follows this scheme:
- First, a blank is made from wood, be it a flat board, a block or a figured blank.
Note! Sometimes with the help of . In this case, a fragment is selected whose shape has maximum decorative potential.
- Then a rough leveling of the surface of the workpiece is performed, during which all defects are removed from it.
- After this, the surface is processed with special cutters, with the help of which a part of the wood is selected. Due to this, a decorative relief is formed.
- After the actual carving is completed, finishing– grinding of cut areas, impregnation protective compounds, full or partial painting, varnishing, etc.
Most important tools In this process are wood carving cutters. In addition to the skill of the carver himself, it is the quality and correct selection of the cutter that determines how clean the ornament or plot image on the wood will be.
That is why below we will look at the main types of such tools and describe where and how they are used.
Main types of incisors
For creating volumetric images Craftsmen use a variety of types of wood cutters. In principle, if you have the skill, you can do without some of the products listed below, but to achieve best result It is better to collect as extensive a set as possible and use each device for its intended purpose.
The main types of cutters are presented in the table below:
| Variety | Application at work |
| Blunt knives |
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| Chisels | The most common type of incisors. A typical chisel is a long rod with a cutting edge formed at the end. Depending on the shape of the chisel edge, there are:
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Wood carving is a complex and fascinating activity. It allows you to create unique crafts, decorate your home, and give gifts to friends and acquaintances.
Also, carving will be a constant source of positive emotions, and for some, even generate income. For children, this hobby will be a great way to occupy free time and develop artistic thinking.
Most often, wood carving tools are made. This happens for three reasons:
- Firstly, you can rarely find a good cutter on sale.
- Secondly, many people cannot afford it, especially teenagers and children who are interested in carving. Most often, cutters are sold in sets and have high price and half of them are unlikely to ever be needed.
- Finally, the third reason is that experienced carvers prefer to make a tool “for themselves.”
DIY wood carving tools (drawings) can be divided into three types - knives, chisels and gravers.
A knife is a tool that works with a straight or curved cutting edge.
Wood is cut under a force directed primarily across the axis.
A carving chisel is a tool in which the force is directed along an axis, similar to a regular carpenter's chisel.
A shtikhel is a tool that is a type of chisel. First, it cuts into the wood, and then a small layer of wood is “torn off” with the skillful movement of the carver. Stichels include all kinds of cranberries - a special tool popular in Transcarpathian wood carving.
Let's start with something simple - a cutter for geometric carvings
Geometric carving is the simplest type of carving.
She will be best choice if you just want to try your hand at carving.
Despite its apparent simplicity, it allows you to create drawings with a “three-dimensional” effect.
It is also a national artistic craft in Russia, Karelia and Finland.
Geometric carving does not require great “hardness” of the hands, like, for example, carving with a chisel. It consists of simple elements - chips and triangles.
Making a wood carving tool with your own hands is easier than any other. Objectively, this is the only tool that can be made at home without the use of forging.
A cutter for geometric carving is a knife. Outwardly, it looks a little like a shoe leather knife with an oblique blade, but that's where the similarities end. The main difference is the width of the blade and the cutting angle of the knife.
The width of the cutter for geometric carving should be about 2 cm, however, this will depend on the size of the chips that are intended to be cut.
The “bevel” angle of the cutter should be quite steep, almost straight - from 80 to 70 degrees. It is not advisable to work with a nose that is too “sharp” - the cutter during such work will cover the drawing and it will not be visible what you are doing. In addition, if the angles are too large, the tip of the cutter will constantly break during awkward movements.
Blade material
The best option is to make a forged cutter from a rod.
The part of the blade protruding from the handle must be unforged from round section into a flat knife.
It will cover the picture less when .
Unfortunately, most carvers do not have access to a forge and do not have forging skills.
It would be optimal for them to make a wood carving tool with their own hands from an old metal hacksaw blade.
The blade is made of steel R6M5, sometimes of carbon steel. It has a width of 25...50 mm and a thickness of 2 to 5 mm. If possible, take a blade 25 mm wide and 3 mm thick, it will be optimal for the cutter.
How to cut the canvas the right size and at the right angle? After all, it is hardened! There is no need to cut anything. Clamp the blade tightly in a vice under the desired one.
Then, using a hammer, simply break off the blade as needed - in the vast majority of cases, the break will occur along the clamping line of the vise jaws.
Then straighten the cut line on an electric sharpener and pre-sharpen the cutter. The blade is fixed in the handle using teeth that used to cut metal. The best way to do this is by drilling holes and hammering in rivets, but the hardness of the material will make drilling extremely awkward.
Perhaps you will find another, more suitable one. The main thing is that it must be made of high-quality steel. Some people make cutters by sharpening them from files or surgical instruments, from the blade of knives for stripping wires. Excellent incisors come from broken ones. disk cutters for metal from steel R18. All these methods are good.
About homemade wood tools - in the video: