V-parting tool information

[Brian Jordan]

I came across this information on V-Parting tools while cruising the web. I thought this may be useful to some.


http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDcQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.bob-easton.com%2Fblog%2Fwp-content%2Fuploads%2F2011%2F04%2FSelectingAndSharpeningYourVtool.pdf&ei=rhX9UZDlAte64AOXjoG4Bg&usg=AFQjCNFDCYFVLVzYGrxrOZjBlNIViA2lBg&sig2=YcvghdXtrefmxvqDJ1lLDg&bvm=bv.50165853,d.dmg&cad=rja

[BIGMAN]

Thanks, I was just in my workshop this morning thinking on sharping my carving tools. 

[necchi]

Wow! Nice.
102 pages on one tool! Had to save that one.
There's a ton of useful info there, Thank's for the link.

[oldarcher]

Thank you for posting this booklet. I saved it for future reference.

[PPatch]

Page 80 before we got the V tool sharpened... Phewwww. Good tutorial and likely the longest one in the world. Thanks for posting this.

[Oliver]

This has been a great help. Thank you very much indeed.  

I have a wishlist of carving tools for my birthday - the five in Acer's tutorial.

I have Pfeils in mind, but I am also considering Ashley Iles tools from ToolsForWorkingWood.com as well. I expect to sharpen a new chisel or gouge, but not have to retool it right off. There's a nice, little savings on those five carving tools if I go with the latter.

[Acer Saccharum]

This is the definitive method, very thoughtfully laid out, step by step. Overworking the idea? I don't think so;  a well sharpened parting, or V, tool is the most useful tool for decorative carving. Dull, and you might be better off with a dremel.

I admit, I didn't study the whole piece, but scanned it. I didn't see where he uses a strop for the inside of the vee. That would be the only addition to his tutorial. I make one to fit the tool, of either hardwood or brass, and charge it with diamond lapping compound. this trues the inner faces of the Vee, and removes any burrs.

His point of starting with A GOOD TOOL IN THE BEGINNING is most crucial.  Look at the end of the vee before you buy one. A large radius at the bottom of the vee is pointless(!!), a tool with uneven lip thickness must, and can be, corrected. But if you have a dozen tools to paw thru, pick out the best one.

[Meteorman]

page 78, Acer. 
he's slip-stroppin' away on the inside.
seem's a guy has to have as much or more patience sharpening as he does chiseling and carving.
people who crank out 6 or more guns a year amaze me.
/mike

[Acer Saccharum]

Thanks, Mike. This is a terrific titorial. I'd attempted one years ago, but this guy's is accessible and very thorough.

He uses a leather strop inside his vee tools. This works for medium to large sized tools, but not for the really small ones.

I would just add to his inside stropping techniques.

My strops are materially different, in that a hard strop is made for a specific tool. It fits the Vee to a Tee, no gaps, does both sides at one go. I came onto this concept, because I'd purchased a 16/1 vee tool from Pfiel. It's a FABULOUS tool, but a nightmare to sharpen without the means to hone the inside of the vee. I made a BRASS slip for it, which works like a dream. You'd never fit a soft leather strop down into this deep and narrow vee. I use hardwood on larger parting tools.

Tool in action:


Delicate linework can only be done with a sharp tool. It glides through the wood without disturbing the neighboring surfaces, and leaves a finished cut, no cleanup required.

[PPatch]

I admit, I didn't study the whole piece, but scanned it. I didn't see where he uses a strop for the inside of the vee."

He does cover it Acer and like you he makes his own inside strop.

[Eric Kettenburg]

This is seriously well written and exactly what anyone contemplating using a V-tool needs to read.  No tool can be more miserable to use if it is not sharpened properly than one of these.  And I have to say, those Ashley Iles tools kick ass.  I have a bunch of them and they, along with Henry Taylor tools, take a better edge *and hold it* than any others I've used.    Sad and unbelievable to say, I've not yet found a German V tool that I can get on with.  I guess this sounds like spam.  With a brit accent.

[Meteorman]

Acer - do you charge your custom-made inside strops with some sort of polishing compound ?

[Acer Saccharum]

I make one to fit the tool, of either hardwood or brass, and charge it with diamond lapping compound. this trues the inner faces of the Vee, and removes any burrs.

Yes, Mike, I use Diamond lapping compounds on both brass and wooden laps. You could use a valve grinding compound, but it breaks down faster than diamond grit.

You can get it from places such as Gesswein, MSC or McMaster-Carr. A smidge goes a looong way. example: http://www.mcmaster.com/?m=true#lapping-compounds/=nxivy5

[Mike Brooks]

Here's my solution. I have never been able to sharpen a V tool worth a @!*%. I find it takes years for them to get dull. So, when mine won't cut anymore or I drrop it and it lands on the cutting edge I just throw it away and buy a new one. I figure with what I charge for labor I'm money ahead not spending hours trying to get it sharpened right.

[JDK]

Mike, Who supplies one that has a satisfactory edge as purchased???  J.D.

[Brian Jordan]

I just throw it away and buy a new one. I figure with what I charge for labor I'm money ahead not spending hours trying to get it sharpened right.

The next time you throw one away can you send it to my address? I will gladly dispose of it for you.

[Acer Saccharum]

The tool in my photo above was made by Pfiel. I used it right out of the box. It cut like a dream, until, you would have never guessed it, a huge chunk of one side of the vee just broke out.

The factory sharpening, while razor sharp, had left one side of the tool wafer-thin. The tool was little more than a sharpened burr on one side. I had to grind it right back, even up the vee, and then work it down to a good edge again. I also made the brass strop at this time, filed and fitted to the vee. Now the tool requires a simple stropping occasionally.

This can happen with any new tool. It's best to buy in person, and bring magnification with you to the store. If you buy on line, then you best learn how to sharpen the tool right. It's a chore, but one learned, you'll be the envy of your neighborhood.  

[Acer Saccharum]

Yes, Mike, I'll take them, sharpen them, and sell them as 'better than new'.

[JDK]

That was my point.  While most Pfeil tools I have purchased had a very fine edge, I received a small profile "V" tool from them that would not cut and wasn't sharp at all....and that appears to be the rule, rather then the acception with most other tool makers.

Oh, Mike, I would like to get on the list for your cast off tools too.  You can skip the step of dropping it on the floor.

Enjoy, J.D.

[Acer Saccharum]

I've had tremendous luck buying old English caring tools. And old American brands, too.

There is a hardware store in Great Barrington, Mass, that sells antique, or vintage, carving tools. I've purchased nice gouges and chisels for $15 or $20 ea. They all need re-shaping and sharpening. ( Harlan B. Foster )

Sorry, Mike, there is no way out of this for you.

Wait, I'll make you an offer. Send me two tools, and I'll send back one properly sharpened. 

[Mike Brooks]

Mike, Who supplies one that has a satisfactory edge as purchased???  J.D.

I don't know what brand I'm using at the moment, I've had it for years. I buy them at the local woodcraft shop.

[Mike Brooks]

I'm actually using my second V tool of my 30+year career (over 320 guns) ..... You guys will all be dead by the time I need another.

[Brian Jordan]

I'm actually using my second V tool of my 30+year career (over 320 guns) ..... You guys will all be dead by the time I need another.

Mike, are you saying that those tools hold an edge that long, that you have only used 2 in 30 years without sharpening? I would definitely like you to verify the brand of tool.