In May of this year I managed to eke out some time to take the NW Arts tool making class offered at the PTSW with Steve Brown. Not having made any tools before and having limited experience working with metal, I was somewhat apprehensive. I had this image of me standing around an open forge in a leather apron beating a piece of iron into a recognizable and useable shape (think medieval sword maker). Much to my relief that image was replaced by a propane forge, bench grinder, belt sander, and a gallon of mineral oil.
The class was two full days with introductions and a basic outline of what to expect on Friday evening so that everyone was ready on Saturday morning. The Saturday morning classroom discussion was spent understanding the process terminology and how it applies to the tools you will make.
Some of the topics discussed were:
CrT- or critical temperature at which steel molecules re-form
Annealing-the softening of steel by heating to the CrT
Hardening-heating steel to the CrT and cooling slowly in mineral oil
Tempering-re-heating hardened steel to add flexibility and toughness
Sharpening-or the “Art” of polishing an edge
Steel –what to look for and buy, or find (Free?)
Equipment and tools – do you really need that $2500.00 forge and $900.00 anvil?
Keen Edge– a fine steel edge of two flat planes that meet at an angle (22-30 Degrees)
By the time the class ended at 5pm Sunday everyone had created at least two or more Adze blades with handles and two knife blades under the watchful tutelage of Steve. The class was structured at a pace that allowed for everyone to have individualized instruction as well. I had specific sizes in mind for both a knife and an adze before I started the class and this was easily accommodated due to a limited class size (10) and a self pace structure. The time spent discussing and learning how to sharpen your tools or as Steve puts it “Polishing” was well spent. I do believe there is an art to this as well as considerable patience. The sharpening instruction reinforced what I didn’t know that I thought I knew about sharpening tools whether it is an adze, a bent knife or any of your other tools that require an edge sharper than a butter knife. I for one was impressed by what we were able to create in essentially two days as well as the wealth of knowledge and information that I continue to build on.
If you have never taken the tool making class with Steve at the Port Townsend School of Woodworking, and even if you have created your own adze or knife before I highly recommend this class, it was a great experience. Look for the class to be scheduled again.
Since finishing the class I have purchased a forge, bench grinder, belt sander, anvil and a gallon of mineral oil. I am now making tools at home to the specifications of the carver in my house; this provided me an excuse for the enlarging of the work shop ( J). I am now finding it difficult to resist spending time rummaging through junk stores and garage sales looking for materials.
Look for links to tools, supplies and other interesting sites on the home page of the NW Arts section and if you have NW Arts related sites that you would like to share please email me.
Chris
"The Edge: it's hard to define or explain because the only people who really know where it is are the ones who've gone over" ….H.S. Thompson
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