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Anybody know what this is?

J

John Volcko

Joined
Dec 14, 2014
Messages
6
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19
Location
Skaneateles, NY
I recently acquired a bunch of turning tools, but I can find nothing about this one. It is 25 3/8" overall, shaft is 10", cutter diameter is 1", and it says Record Power Ltd. The cutter is fixed. I can't figure out what it does. Anybody know?20150127_134431.jpg20150127_134512.jpg
 
looks like it could be used as negative rake scraper, you would hold the cutting edge high on the blank by having tool rest above center and tool handle lowered

I have never seen this before but that is what I would do with it.....possible with the small profile you could insert it into a hollow form to clean up tool marks
 
Saw this years ago (15 +) it was used inside of an end grain box to cut the bottom flat. It works really well when done right, however, the catches were said to be quite spectacular...Tool is held parallel to the floor, handle leads the cut from center to left. Overhang was a good 3 inches.

cc
 
Never seen it but I guess it could be used to cut the bottom of end grain boxes or possibly from the middle out on end grain bowls. You would have to be very careful to rub the bevel on the bottom. If you come off that bevel good catch material. I may have to make one of those if I get time and see how it works
 
Metal Spinning Tool?

Could be a metal spinning tool. I know Record used to make them years ago. Could be for tucking-in a beaded edge or maybe parting off.
 
Thanking you

I do appreciate the responses. After 30 some years turning, There is always more to learn. I'm still uncertain what to do with it though.
 
That tool was a complete mystery to me, too. There have been a lot of specialized turning tools and gadgets that have come and gone over the past few decades. Most don't live up to the sales pitch, and fade into oblivion. Somewhere, I still have a gouge with a really strange grind on it.....If I remember right, it has a normal looking grind on one side, but the other side was sharpened about half the distance to the end of the flute. I don't remember who it was offhand, but it was some semi-popular turner's "signature" gouge. I never did see what that one could do that regular 'ol traditional tools couldn't do.........

Live and learn!

ko
 
Its not a metal spinning tool. I have several old books on spinning and have not seen a tool like that. Why not send an email to the company and ask them. Surely someone there knows
 
Well, this is one of the places I saw this tool, some of you folks may know this fellow…
www.hdv.net left side, click on Tools and tips, about 2/3 of the way down is this tool..
I wrote and asked if I could share this and he gave me the go ahead.
This is how he describes it;
“I have two of these, and they were made by Record tools in England. The tool is intended for producing a flat and very smooth surface on the bottom of a bowl. The ring is beveled, the bevel rubs and the edge cuts very much like a skew on a cylinder. One exception – it is completely unforgiving if you get aggressive or put too much edge on to the wood. The angle of the tool is critical. I don’t use mine much anymore, but it is still interesting to use once in awhile.”

I forgot to ask how it was sharpened, I spose I would make a mandrel and power hone it, seems if it's to cut like a skew, it has to be super sharp.

cc
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Clifton C said:
John, I'd love to give it a try...Whats cheap?
c

Shoot...the link is .net www.hdv.net
Sorry
Click to expand...

I edited your post to correct the bad link.

General note to all: I hate editing other people's posts (seems uncomfortably close to censorship) so, if you discover an error such as this, it would be a good idea to edit the post to correct the link so that others reading through a thread don't wind up in strange places on the Internet.
 
odie said:
That tool was a complete mystery to me, too. There have been a lot of specialized turning tools and gadgets that have come and gone over the past few decades. Most don't live up to the sales pitch, and fade into oblivion. Somewhere, I still have a gouge with a really strange grind on it.....If I remember right, it has a normal looking grind on one side, but the other side was sharpened about half the distance to the end of the flute. I don't remember who it was offhand, but it was some semi-popular turner's "signature" gouge. I never did see what that one could do that regular 'ol traditional tools couldn't do.........

Live and learn!

ko
Click to expand...

sounds like the Ron Brown "speed gouge"

http://www.ronbrownsbest.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=21
 
Shawn Pachlhofer said:
sounds like the Ron Brown "speed gouge"

http://www.ronbrownsbest.com/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=21
Click to expand...

Yeah, sort of along that line, but started as a bowl gouge, instead of a spindle gouge. The long sharpened side was much longer than Ron Brown's gouge. I haven't seen this specialty gouge for quite some time, and my memory is telling me that I may have ground off the original grind into a standard bowl gouge configuration. I'll check in my odds and ends drawer and see if it's still there. If it is, I'll take a picture and post it........

ko
 
Clifton C said:
odie,
Remember this thread? http://www.aawforum.org/vbforum/showthread.php?8736-Ray-Key-modified-spindle-gouge&highlight=ray+key
Maybe it's the tool you're thinking about ?
I just noticed that post is 10 years old...ouch!!!
Turners vortex? Time Space Continuum? Black hole?
Oh wait, just having fun...

cc
Click to expand...

Well, yeah, Clifton.......that would be the one. Your memory is working better than mine is! (I think my memory banks were erased the last time I was captured by the sand people! ha!) Ray Key is a bit more well known than I was thinking a couple posts ago.

I gave Ray Key's tool a shot, but never did find it to be any improvement over my own tool handling with traditional turning tools. This doesn't mean others won't find a way to use it successfully......

ko
 
Steve Worcester said:
Somehow I remember that tool for sale in catalogs, but don't remember what it was for.
Email Record
http://www.recordpower.co.uk/support/page/contact
and see what they say.
Click to expand...

Hello,

10 or 12 years ago I vistit a woodturning fair in London and ask the Record Power Sales Persons on the booth about this tool.
They know they had it for sale years ago, but nobody know to use it. They call it the egg cup cutter.

If some on want this tool, he can pick it at my shop for free, only used 2-3 times (with not the best results)

best regards from Wiesbaden Germany
Gerhard
 
tool explained

This is a very interesting and very useful tool. It is made by Record tools, and consists of a single sharp disc mounted directly on the end of a shaft. It cuts at about the 10 o'clock section of the circle, and is drawn from the center of the work towards the outside of the piece with the bevel rubbing. It is used to level the bottom of bowls, and I have found nothing that does it better. It's a wicked tool to learn to use, but once you've mastered it, nothing will do a better job. No sandpaper is needed most of the time, especially across end grain. This is a "skew" for the bottoms of bowls.
The second picture shows a closer view of the tip of the tool. Keep in mind; this is not a tool for the faint of heart, 'cause it can give you some heart-stopping catches. But it is worth its weight in gold, in my opinion.

courtesy of herm decries
 
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