Gravers for turning

Rex Walters said:
If anyone else is looking for it, the URL for Mr. Smith's videos is http://www.wrsmithclocks.com/videos.htm.

I just purchased his Graver Making and Hand Turning DVD. Looking forward to receiving it.
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It will be good to see what a hand held tool can do. Knobs, levers, complex shapes and more are simple to do with gravers. I think there is a perception that these tools are for small work but they are by no means limited to that. I use them on the largest work pieces that leave my lathe but I've also rounded harder than Hades tiny gauge music wire. In the picture of my Sherline lathe, that lever is a solid piece of 304 stainless; what you see is "as cut" - no polishing.

I suspect you'll be happy with these tools if you make them, Rex. Let us know how it turns out.
 
I'm gonna make some gravers but there was part of the pdf article that I did not understand.

"Making Final Cuts
Making the final cuts with a graver treated in this manner
avoids the need to use a pivot file. Instead, you should go
directly to a 1/4" square hard Arkansas stone that has been
rubbed on 125 grit sandpaper until its corners are sharp.
The sharp corners are important in preventing the formation
of fillets at the pivot root. With this, remove any rings that
may remain. Then use a burnisher that has been “made” by
rubbing down a length of 125 grit sandpaper to put marks
across it. The burnisher will result in a pivot that is very
slick and with a long wearing outer shell. No pivot finished
with abrasives can equal the wearing qualities of a well
burnished pivot."

Pivot file? Pivot? Rings?Sandpaper to make a burnisher? Burnisher will result in a pivot?

This makes no sense to me at all. Can someone translate?

Robert
 
I think he is talking about a turned down end of an arbor that carries a gear or other component - not sure. In any case, a pivot has to be precisely sized and have a square shoulder in the stepped down area. He is recommending the use of an Arkansas stone to cut the root of the shoulder square, then using a shop-made burnishing tool to condition the surface of the pivot so it is smooth and work hardened.

I think ...
 
First of all I'm incredibly grateful to Mikey for starting this thread. Very glad I bought Mr. Smith's video (and I'm sad that he's passed). I can't wait to try my hand at hand turning. I'm starting to lust after one of those little Sherline lathes....

Re: the burnishing tool. His video makes it pretty clear. By rubbing the smooth burnishing tool down a piece of sandpaper, he creates very slight ridges in the burnisher. Sort of turning the burnisher into a micro file.

I'm definitely not a clock maker, but I do know they have their own terminology. Per Stan Bray's book on clock making: "A shaft or spindle is known as an arbor, and the bearing surface at the end is not a shaft or axle but a pivot."

--
Rex
 
I didn't know that Mr. Smith passed. I corresponded with him to clarify some questions on gravers and now I'm glad I had the chance to thank him for all the knowledge he shared with the world. He was a gracious and generous man and I'm sad that he is gone.
 
Habits....habits...habits... with tools, tools, tools........:)

I noticed on the Clickspring video Part 1 while using the file he seemed to be pulling the file back across the part. I know this is acceptable in soft material but it isn't advisable in regards to achieving a nice finish. I mention this because we were discussing files on another thread a couple days ago. On this video, Part 2, he did the same thing but it seemed as if he was actually more forceful, which would be a no-no x2. The other cringe worthy I'll mention is the use of the caliper as a scribe. I enjoy watching the work in progress, especially with the gravers, but tool care ranks high for me and sometimes seeing the careless acts which others may pick up as acceptable practices need to be pointed out.
 
Rustrp said:
I enjoy watching the work in progress, especially with the gravers, but tool care ranks high for me and sometimes seeing the careless acts which others may pick up as acceptable practices need to be pointed out.
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I think its okay to point things out and mention the preferred practice as long as we make it clear (as you are doing here) that it is not intended as a criticism of the person involved.

I have to admit that I have one set of dial calipers that I use to scribe through layout dye. I don't use it on bare metal to scratch a line but I do use that one for that purpose. Call it abuse but it is expedient. Okay, okay, call it lazy because I don't want to pull out my height gauge and surface plate. And if there is a machinist here who has never done this ever before then that is a very rare individual, indeed.
 
mikey said:
And if there is a machinist here who has never done this ever before then that is a very rare individual, indeed.
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I agree and my comment on the caliper was more on the fact that he was holding on the end of the part and not so much on marking the dye. I have tools that I use/abuse for specific purposes and I only use them specifically. I know I do the same with my rough cut files but when he was sawing the mill file across the taper he was cutting.......well. I've worked with guys who swear that's to help clean the file and there are those who are serious about learning the correct way as in the riftler file thread. So I don't like to see my lazy shop practices passed on as proper technique which really come into play when we attempt to clean up a part. In a similar manner when you place importance on the graver tool rest along with the distance to work.

PS. Actually I don't think it started as a riftler file thread.
 
After reviewing the pdf for making gravers I am confused by something. The shape of the graver they show is oriented like a diamond from the front end view? I assumed it would be rotated more like the square front lathe tools we use. Does that mean the tool is rested on one corner and the point engages the work? Or do you rest the tool flat on one side? Is there value in making a square and a rounded graver that sits flat? I guess I really don't know how to use these things!
Robert
 
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