How to Make Small Round Lathe Tools Pt 1 of 3 - Round Skew

I demonstrate how to make and use a variety of useful, special purpose woodturning tools in this 3 part series . They are all made from inexpensive 1/4” round HSS rod.
Part 1 is this video on using and making 1/4” round skew. It is a great little tool for small projects like finials and inexpensive to make.
Part 2 Using and Making a Point Tool is available here: • Point Tool - How to Ma...
Part 3 Using and making several specialty turning tools is available here: • How to Make Small Roun...
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases from my Amazon shop www.amazon.com...
Round HSS Rods amzn.to/2T6lRYO
Check out my website for demonstration handouts, downloadable copies of articles I have published, and more. hrrp://www.MikePeaceWoodturning.com

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Since Enco was bought out by MSC Direct the 1/4" x 8" HSS rod has almost doubled in price. Check out my Amazon shop for Round HSS Rods amzn.to/2T6lRYO

[@eagha50]

Most of these on eBay say not yet heat treated. Are they heat treated in oil?

[@richk5350]

As a relatively new turner I spend a lot of time watching instructional videos. I have watched countless videos by Mike Peace and consistently benefit from the excellent techniques and information presented. Most recently I watched the video (part 2) on the making and use of the 3-point tool (pyramid tool). I found an old Sears (good quality steel) screwdriver that I never use and decided to try to make a 3-point tool. Wow, how did I ever live without this tool. What a great addition to my set of lathe tools and I did not have to spend $35 to get one. Thanks Mike.

[@SuperZmeister]

Very inventive. I’ve always been a fan/promoter of making my own tools and you’ve given me yet another challenge. I am curious, the ‘chuck’ through which you-pass the tool-rod. May I suggest a 5/8 or 3/4 solid aluminum bar drilling The 1/4” tool steel through and drill/tap a set screw in to secure the tool? I’ll try one and hopefully send you some pictures of how I tried or did it.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

That is a good solution. I just could not justify buying the aluminum to make one collet.

[@AJsWargaming]

Can't wait for parts 2 and 3. Nice video Mike. Thanks. Thumbs up!

[@gilgrace1915]

I made a double ended tool out of the 1/4" X 2 1/2" round HSS from Harbor Freight. I mounted a 1/2" mild steel rod into a shop made handle. I bored a 1/4" hole in the end of the shaft and added a set screw about 1/2" from the end. This acts much like your collet idea but I can use shorter stock for the tool bit and rest the mild steel shaft on my tool rest. My first tool is the cove tool on one end and the point tool on the other, as you show in this video. Now I can use the same HF HSS to make as many tools as I can think of and use the same handle to mount them. The longer HSS would be nice too, but the HF store is about a block away from my house. Also this only takes up one slot in my tool rack. ;o)

[@TheWingnut58]

I buy 36" lengths of drill rod off eBay relatively inexpensively....you can get most any diameter you want. You can also get square and flat bar stock tool steel in various sizes and lengths as well....

[@philipemmans4382]

Mike, I have used a small skew chisel for years to turn lace bobbins. When turning a bead,, it is vital to ride the bevel on the chisel to prevent catches!

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Absolutely

[@stringmanipulator]

Thank you Mike, always nice ideas and good tips in your videos. Looking forward to the rest of this series .. have a good one

[@jimrobb6325]

Thanks Mike. Enjoyed the video on the small round skew. Easy made and so many applications on the small stuff. I use mine on the inside of small boxes to give a nice straight side. Being round permits a straight cut without push out to the middle Look forward to the next two. Great grind wheel the CBN, Bought two myself early in the year. love them, best ever. Nice adaptable tool rest as well. Agree with you about the collet chuck. a very handy item. Thanks again for sharing. Jim

[@anthonychavez3742]

I'm new to woodturning so I'm very interested in your video am going to start watching it see what I can learn.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

You can learn some things by watching but you have to turn to get good at it.

[@rbollard1]

Golly. Is there anything you can't do? These tools will be fun to make and a joy to use. I love making my own fancy n unique handles from purpleheart, walnut and other pretty woods. I store tools point down, so the different handles work well.

[@joescarborough1]

Thanks, Mike! Just the size I need for head beads on lace bobbins. Looking forward to the rest of the series. Joe

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

+Joseph Scarborough Excellent!

[@lesgallivan4159]

I have some trouble getting HSS , but as a ex-farmer I have lots of scrap steel that is very tough high carbon Going to have to try your skew and point tools . I made a kind of a round nose 3/8 skew from a harrow tine, it is almost my " go to" now , plan some swan neck hollowing tools this week . I want to try using cultivator sweeps for something. They give a bar 5/16x3"x12" . Have some rod-weeder rod , its 3/4 round x 12 feet of very tough steel , but would have to be forged

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

A farmer can do almost anything and learns how to make do! Good luck.

[@donbomer5630]

Hi again Mike, and thanks for another excellent video. I purchased "10 Pcs High-Speed Steel Lathe Round Bar Milling Cutter 6mm x 100mm " for $7 plus $5 shipping (3 weeks or so) from wish.com. I've purchased a number of small tools, etc. from Wish and so far, so good. These might be pure Chineseium, you never know, but for $1.20 each, I can't go broke. And BTW, Wish.com has a large variety of carbide inserts plus other HSS round, square and rectangular bars of various dimensions too. Now for parts 2 and 3, and please keep up the great work.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Thanks for introducing me to Wish.com. Interesting selection of stuff almost like eBay but with less production description.

[@donbomer5630]

@@MikePeaceWoodturning My pleasure...

[@donbomer5630]

@@MikePeaceWoodturning Glad you find them useful, Mike.

[@mgorrow]

Mike, I enjoyed your excellent video. Another source for 1/4" and 3/8" rod is Doug Thompson. I made a round skew in each size and his steel in my opinion is the best. Thanks for sharing. Merry Christmas.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

+Marshall Gorrow You are right. I mention him as a source in Part 3. Great minds think alike : )

[@jamesstanlake4064]

I am a huge fan of the CBN grinding wheels along with the CBN hone cards. I find I use the wheel bench grinder to shape tools and after that I can touch up with the hone card to put the burr on the edge. As with the other advantages of the CNB wheels, it has revolutionized the way I approach sharpening.Again thank you for another informative video packed with useful information we can all gather some knowledge from no matter the experience level.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

+James Stanlake I love my CBN wheels. Not a necessity for a beginner but very nice.

[@jamesstanlake4064]

Amen

[@RickTurnsWoodturning]

Great video, Mike! I love videos about tool making. Did you make the collet from steel or aluminum?

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

+RickTurns Made from aluminum. Someone made the collet for me but in part 3 I will show how to make one from a compression plumbing fitting of brass.

[@Adam-qv7gc]

Hi Mr. Peace. Thanks so much for your helpful videos. I like your Robo Rest! I need something just like this for shorter chisels but I have a dedicated Wolverine Jig setup and am curious if I could use both interchangeably without much hassle. Is your Robo Rest on a different grinder than your Wolverine Jig? If not, how do you make them work in your shop with one grinder (assuming you use just one)?

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Reed Gray no longer makes the Robo rest. Yes it is designed to fit into the Oneway base. If you want a similar design that adds simplicity, check out the rest by WoodturnersWonders.com that is a part of their Kodiak system but can be bought individually. woodturnerswonders.com/collections/kodiak-sharpening-system/products/kodiak-tool-platform-without-optional-jig-set

[@Adam-qv7gc]

@@MikePeaceWoodturning Thanks so much! Have a great day

[@samswoodshop9937]

Mike I use On Line Metals good source

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Thanks for the tip!

[@eagha50]

Hi Mike! Great video. Can't wait to make one! What do you use to cut your HSS bars in half?

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

eagha50 Dremel style rotary tool with cuttoff disc.

[@philwarnement5315]

Thanks Mike. This is going to be very informational. Can you post where you get your collets for the handle?

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

+Phil Warnement Someone made it for me. But I have a brass plumbing collet solution in Part 3

[@TheLittleGardenShedWorkshop]

Thanks for the video Mike, very interesting, I'm looking forward to the rest of the series, Merry Christmas and happy New Year to you and your family, Best wishes Harry

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

+The Little Garden Shed Workshop Thanks, Harry. Merry Christmas to you and yours.

[@monophoto1]

Great video - and nicely complements the article that John Lucas wrote for Woodturning Design a few years ago about making small skews from old spade bits. Something you didn't address - how do you make the collet mount for the tool?

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

+Louie Powell Someone made the collet for me but in part 3 I will show how to make one from a compression plumbing fitting of brass.

[@waterfordrs22]

I'd like to turn simple chess pieces. This is something I need to try my hand at. Thank you.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Be sure to check out my Chess playlist of 10 videos kzbin.info/www/bejne/b52ynn6FhtuZjpI

[@philippevause-robens645]

Many thanks for all your vids, Mike ! Have you got any explanations about the system of attachment of points interchangeable to what one can see on your video? Thnaks in advance from a new woodturner in Belgium!

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

I showed the use of the different tools in the Part 2 and 3 of this 3 part series. Does this answer your question?

[@rgoodleaf]

Awesome video Mike!! Can't wait to see how to make the point tool. Did you make the collet? How long is the collet?

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

+rgoodleaf It is 2 5/8" long. See other replies

[@ednyegaard9514]

Thank Mike, good video. I noticed that your roborest read 35% when you were grinding at 20%. Is the jig that far off or have you changed the setup?

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

+Edward Nyegaard The 9 is at 90 percent but the other numbers don't represent their percent but are just relative references. It is a great rest.

[@machobo1]

Thanks Mike, good info. Where do you find the collets for the handle? By the way,, Enco has apparently changed stock numbers. I found it as # 383-7015. Could not get a hit on # 385-715.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

+machobo1 Thanks so much for catching that. I was able to add an annotation to report the correct #. Someone made the collet for me but in part 3 I will show how to make one from a compression plumbing fitting of brass.

[@terryvance9390]

Great video Mike. I found high speed steel drill rod at the local Fastenal store. Not sure exactly what sizes they carried, I got 5/16x36"

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

What did they charge? They have a store not too far from here but never visited.

[@terryvance9390]

+Mike Peace A friend picked it up. As best I can remember it was around 3 bucks for the 3' piece. I also picked up some large nuts to use to make face plates for my lathe. Got the locking nut and turned the plastic part out and then it will screw on easily and by turning the nut around will mate up with the spindle.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

+Terry Vance Terry, I checked the Fastenal website and could not find HSS round blanks longer than 8". I believe you got O1 drill rod which sells for 5.56. It will require heat treating to harden. I see they do sell a Size E 0.25 x 4" Bright Finish HSS Drill Blank for $3.10 which could be an alternative

[@jimkeown2074]

Mike how do you make the tightening collet?

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

You can't stop watching after Part 1 of 3. Finish the series and all is revealed. 😉

[@Henry-n7n8]

thanks

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Welcome

[@erouse666]

These enco tool bits are no longer available and. let me tell you, m2 in that size is difficult to find. I did find them at metals depot, but the shipping was 3x the cost of the part. So I resorted to the age old practice of repurposing and bought a 3, 12" long 1/4" drill bits from amazon for about the cost plus shipping of 1 from metals depot; then used my die grainder (hack saw will work but a lot more effort and slower) and cut the shank off. If I cut off 7" i was lwft with a 'standard' length dirll bit and blank. 8" left a usable but kind of short drill bit. Not ideal but you do what you can.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Did you see my reply below? Search out 7mm HSS on eBay.

[@sawman611]

Mike ? Where did you get the collets for the tool

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

+Michael Doubek Answer In Part 3

[@bassrun101]

Mike, this is Garry not Linda. Are you aware that Enco was bought out by another company and no longer carries this kind of product? It's only a shell of what it was, sad.

[@MikePeaceWoodturning]

Yes, An alternative source is at my Amazon store www.amazon.com/shop/mikepeacewoodturning