Is Anyone A Toolmaker Or Machinist?

[oldlady]

is anyone a machinist who can duplicate this tool?   i have been trying to find it or something close for years.  today i was inspired to make it and i did.  but, i know there are other people who could benefit from it if it were readily available.

 

looking for someone who is familiar with working with metal and has a basic shop.  you can see that mine is made with duct tape holding it together.  will you please contact me by pm to share details?

 

 

[neilestrick]

It looks like a calligraphy nib. What do you use it for?

[oldlady]

scraffito.  it was the best carving tool i ever had.  amoco made it and i bought it back in the 70s.  they only had two left and i wore out both of them.  the edges cut cleanly and the "sawdust" is pushed aside as it is cut.

[Guest]

It looks like a calligraphy nib. What do you use it for?

 

That was my thought too.

 

tooling up for this would make it cost prohibitive. Nibs are cheap.

[JohnnyK]

Could you provide top, bottom and end views? How did you make the tool you are showing?

JK

[Marcia Selsor]

I thought it might be an engraving to etching tool or scribe.

Marcia

[oldlady]

johnny, i actually LOOKED at my old potato peeler and realized it was already perfect, just needed a little pounding at the end to round it smaller and squeezing to make it narrower and sharpening to make it cut smaller and a handle and padding.  so i used the vise to hold a big C-clamp so its rounded end was secure, the hammer to whack the end of the peeler over that, the vise to squeeze it, the grinder to sharpen it, the bandsaw to cut off the excess leaving just the cutting part  and a ground flat16 penny nail with duct tape on it to fit inside the squeezed part.  there is also foam weatherseal tape on the outside and duct tape covering it all neatly.  oh, yes, the opposite end of the peeler is now inserted into an old paintbrush handle to use as a stamp.

 

a pen nib does not have the rounded part which is what makes all the difference.  

[oldlady]

my newest search at thrift shops will be old, metal potato peelers.

[Dick White]

Could this be made by cutting a piece of small diameter metal tubing at an acute angle (in the manner of a Kemper hole cutter, but a much sharper acute angle) and sharpening and then tapping the point over lightly with a hammer? Then add a handle as desired or leave it long and wrap it nicely for a grip?

[oldlady]

what i have a problem with is the fact that the globular support is very hard to find.  the end of an old metal nutcracker is pretty round and about the correct size for the potato peeler but i saw the rod that turns the C-clamp first and used it.  i just do not know what would allow me to form the curve on a smaller diameter tube.  and brass is not very strong for long term use.  

 

the reason i used the potato peeler is that the curve was already there, i just made it smaller and more distinct. the thickness of the metal is also good so it can be sharpened. 

[Pugaboo]

I'm not sure if something like this would do what you need. A picture of the tool from another angle to see its exact shape all around would help.

 

The shape I can see from your photo reminds me of the scratch tools used for scratchboard drawing.

 

http://www.dickblick.com/products/scratch-art-tool-set/

 

There are various sets and you can even just buy the heads.... do any of them kind of look like what you need?

 

T

[Pres]

That nib also looks like an old time fountain pen nib, that has a little more bend to it. It the nib split? Either way, you may be in luck, as cheap fountain pens are available again for those of us that still like the format. I would buy a cheap one, and see how it works for you, you may have to take a pair of pliers and bend the tip just a pit to match the bend on yours.

 

best,

Pres

[oldlady]

thank you all, terry, i have the whole set.  they work but not as well.  it is the roundness underneath that matters.  it is hard to explain and even harder to photograph.  that space is what directs the cut clay away from the point and cleans up the entire carving.

 

pres, i noticed the resemblance to a fountain pen when i saw the photo but again, it is the fact that the tip has been pounded onto a spherical steel ball that cannot be done with a pen.  and i remember the split, so, it won't work.   i got a fountain pen for christmas when i was 8 and was so proud of it!  loved that i no longer had to use one of the pens and nibs that needed constant dipping in ink.  the ink bottles built into our school desks were removed shortly thereafter.

 

i guess that i will just be happy to have the one i made and if anyone else wants one, too bad.

[Min]

You're leaving us hanging here Lady!!! think we are all trying to visualize what you are talking about. 

Closest I can come to imagining what you mean is the Kemper K27 or a #5 speedball lino cutter blade.

[oldlady]

sorry, min, i have the lino cutter set.  the kemper is just something sharp and pointed.  

 

everybody as suggested things i have tried over the years while searching for the perfect thing.  the inspiration came when i was taking out a potato eye with a potato peeler.  the motion resulted in a spherical glob and it hit me that the end of the peeler was exactly what i want but too shallow.  pounding it rounder did the trick.

 

the local supermarket sells a peeler that looks like the old ones but has no special end.

 

will have to set up a way to take a close-up photo.  it was hard to get the ones i posted, i could not hold the camera and the tool at the same time i pressed the button.  maybe do a timed one. 

[Pres]

The type of fountain pen I was speaking of has a rounded end on it, not a thin edge. The rounded edge was used for a "smoother" feel when writing. Don't know as any of the newer ones are that way. As to the split, the amount of pressure you would put on would not cause a wide spread.

 

 

best,

Pres

[Dick White]

will have to set up a way to take a close-up photo.  it was hard to get the ones i posted, i could not hold the camera and the tool at the same time i pressed the button.  maybe do a timed one. 

I learned a new trick recently - though apparently it only works with recent vintage Android smartphone. In the camera settings, enable voice activation, and now hold the phone/camera to frame the shot as desired and say "Smile." The picture will take automatically, no need to fumble finding the button.

[Magnolia Mud Research]

oldlady:

Reverse the camera to the touch screen side.
Lay the camera down on a table.
Move the tool to the proper place, compose, and take the picture .

[ayjay]

thank you all, terry, i have the whole set.  they work but not as well.  it is the roundness underneath that matters.  it is hard to explain and even harder to photograph.  that space is what directs the cut clay away from the point and cleans up the entire carving.

 

If you have almost exactly what you want but without the "roundness underneath" - can you *solder blob* the item or possibly add a small dab of epoxy to create the roundness?

[oldlady]

i finally understand the confusion i caused you all.   when i say "roundness" and "sphere" i am referring to a HOLLOW under the nib.  a place that collects the odd fragments the nib cuts off and disperses them cleanly off to the side.  the hollowness of the bottom of the tool is the hard part to make with a straight tube.  the hollowness of the circle i pounded out from the already started hollow in the potato peeler is what attracted me to it as a possible blank tool.  the THICKNESS of the metal potato peeler allowed me to smack it into a more rounded hollow and that thickness will keep the tool working much longer than a brass one.  and though i have tried to use my Kodak camera, (i do not have a cell phone), it does not show what you need to see.

 

do i finally make sense?

[What?]

Keep your eye out for tubing of different types of material. Some sort of steal will be best for edge retention and durability. You can cut out and or grind (dremel) the shape you want. If you need to bend the tip afterwards and the material cracks or breaks then heat it up with a small butane or propane torch should be fine since it is a very small nib. Once you've refined the tip heat it up again and quench it in water. You could make several and epoxy into an ink pen (once you remove the guts) or make your own from any number of materials.

[JohnnyK]

As for shooting the pix, why not just clamp the tool vertically in your vise. You could also clamp it in a c-clamp, lay the clamp flat at the edge of a table or block of wood. Then you can shoot photos at all angles around the tool. 

I'm also thinking that it may be possible to use 1/4" stainless steel tubing to start with. The wall thickness will be more than adequate and the SS would be strong enough to last awhile as well as be sharpened more than a couple of times. Yes, I do have a fair amount of experience making my own tools, including a patent on a tool that doesn't pertain here.

JK

[JohnnyK]

Here is my version of your tool. It's made from 5/16" steel tubing that I had laying around. Took about 5 minutes to make. The tip is relatively easy to shape so there is any design you may please to be had.

JohnnyK

[Marcia Selsor]

Oldlady,

I think these look very similar. They ar scrimshaw scribes on eBay.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PRINTMAKING-SCRIMSHAW-SCRIBE-POWDER-HORN-CARBIDE-TOOLS-5-EACH-EXTENDED-POINT-/370941170100?epid=1548637386&hash=item565dd111b4:g:lX4AAOxyHE5RwKhc

[oldlady]

i am going to have to have someone do a video showing why the hollow spherical space works.  without that, any sharp tool would cut through clay and slip.  

 

my camera just cannot pick up the subtle difference.