mel jacobson on mon 24 dec 07
i was able to attend the world `heat` show in chicago
a couple of years back. it was a big eye opener for me.
i would guess that there are more kilns/furnaces built to
heat treat materials then there are to make ceramics..by
a long shot.
almost everything we buy, use has been heat treated. even
plastics. of course we all know how metal is `heat treated`.
i even have a bamboo spear used for fishing...400 years ago.
the blade has been fire treated. hard as can be. old reed pens
used in the middle east were very carefully heated in an open
fire to make the reed hard.
anyway....there were at least six booths at this conference
that were touting...`cold treated`...really cold..cryogenic.
and, they all say it is superior to heat treating.
they were showing a very high class shot gun...you know
a two thousand dollar gun...the barrels and receivers had been
set...at very cold temps.
simple heat treating of metal has been around forever. when i
make `steel banding` trimming tools...i warm the blade end with
a torch..let it get that wheat/iridescent color then plunge the
end into oil. they take a much better edge..and hold it longer.
with some brittle metal, like hack saw blades...i use that handy
torch, heat them...and bend them in a vise...then re/heat
and use the oil bath to cool. it is not big science, i just guess.
it seems to work well. many of those metals will crack if you
just bend them in a vise/or use a plier. in fact...a hack saw blade
will make four really nice trimming tools...leave one with the
saw teeth intact. makes for a nice trim pattern. everything does
not have to be smooth.
once the trimming tool `home made` hits you...there is no end
to the variations you can make. each has a `look` that is
unique. some pots just cry for a unique foot ring. that is when
i grab the home made tools. for production work, phil's buffalo
tools are just wonderful. they go on and on. but, we all need
some home made/one of a kind hand tools that make our work
sing a bit. and, of course...once you find bamboo...split it, use
it every day...your life changes big time. i still think that bamboo
could be used for surgery instead of metal scalpels...it can be
that sharp;)
mel
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
steve graber on mon 24 dec 07
"everything does not have to be smooth."
~ thanks mel.....
see ya
Steve Graber, Graber's Pottery, Inc
Claremont, California USA
The Steve Tool - for awesum texture on pots!
www.graberspottery.com steve@graberspottery.com
----- Original Message ----
From: mel jacobson
To: CLAYART@LSV.CERAMICS.ORG
Sent: Monday, December 24, 2007 6:08:40 AM
Subject: heat treating, cold treating
i was able to attend the world `heat` show in chicago
a couple of years back. it was a big eye opener for me.
i would guess that there are more kilns/furnaces built to
heat treat materials then there are to make ceramics..by
a long shot.
almost everything we buy, use has been heat treated. even
plastics. of course we all know how metal is `heat treated`.
i even have a bamboo spear used for fishing...400 years ago.
the blade has been fire treated. hard as can be. old reed pens
used in the middle east were very carefully heated in an open
fire to make the reed hard.
anyway....there were at least six booths at this conference
that were touting...`cold treated`...really cold..cryogenic.
and, they all say it is superior to heat treating.
they were showing a very high class shot gun...you know
a two thousand dollar gun...the barrels and receivers had been
set...at very cold temps.
simple heat treating of metal has been around forever. when i
make `steel banding` trimming tools...i warm the blade end with
a torch..let it get that wheat/iridescent color then plunge the
end into oil. they take a much better edge..and hold it longer.
with some brittle metal, like hack saw blades...i use that handy
torch, heat them...and bend them in a vise...then re/heat
and use the oil bath to cool. it is not big science, i just guess.
it seems to work well. many of those metals will crack if you
just bend them in a vise/or use a plier. in fact...a hack saw blade
will make four really nice trimming tools...leave one with the
saw teeth intact. makes for a nice trim pattern. everything does
not have to be smooth.
once the trimming tool `home made` hits you...there is no end
to the variations you can make. each has a `look` that is
unique. some pots just cry for a unique foot ring. that is when
i grab the home made tools. for production work, phil's buffalo
tools are just wonderful. they go on and on. but, we all need
some home made/one of a kind hand tools that make our work
sing a bit. and, of course...once you find bamboo...split it, use
it every day...your life changes big time. i still think that bamboo
could be used for surgery instead of metal scalpels...it can be
that sharp;)
mel
from: mel/minnetonka.mn.usa
website: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/
Clayart page link: http://www.visi.com/~melpots/clayart.html
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James and Sherron Bowen on mon 24 dec 07
Some informationon bamboo tool making is in order, don't you think? How do
you put an edge on bamboo?
JB
----- Original Message -----
From: "mel jacobson"
To:
Sent: Monday, December 24, 2007 7:08 AM
Subject: heat treating, cold treating
Taylor Hendrix on mon 24 dec 07
Handmade potter's tools / Philip Whitford, Gordon Wong is a good book
on making tools including bamboo tools.
In it they talk of wooden knives and trimming tools out of wood. I
think they mention making knives out of bamboo, but I have noticed
that the bamboo knives don't have the blade made out of the denser
material found just at a node. That will make a harder blade edge.
blade or very fine sand paper can hone a good sharp edge.
Taylor, in Rockport
On 12/24/07, James and Sherron Bowen wrote:
> Some informationon bamboo tool making is in order, don't you think? How do
> you put an edge on bamboo?
> JB
WJ Seidl on mon 24 dec 07
Mel:
Sharpen that steel FIRST. Put a good edge on it, _then_ heat treat it.
You'll have a far easier time putting a very fine edge on it afterward.
(Before you heat treat, finish it to 800 grit. Afterward, start with
an 800 grit stone, go to 1000 then 4000 for a mirror finish.)
My dad the tool and die maker taught me that. He used to plunge/quench
the steel in used motor oil, a mix of 10W30 and 90W,
kept a heavy wool blanket near..."just in case". Wish I had his touch,
the man was a true artist with metals.
Happy Holidays,
Wayne
mel jacobson wrote:
>
>
> simple heat treating of metal has been around forever. when i
> make `steel banding` trimming tools...i warm the blade end with
> a torch..let it get that wheat/iridescent color then plunge the
> end into oil. they take a much better edge..and hold it longer.
>
Steve Slatin on mon 24 dec 07
I cut mine with a thin-bladed draw-saw. Bamboo requires no
hardening or special treatment beyond cutting to shape and
possibly sanding smooth so you don't get a rough edge on
your hand.
The big mistake I made was to split some early samples --
that gives you an edge that will put splintery residue deeply
into your hand.
So ... my suggestion is -- put a length into a vise,
carefully evaluate the bamboo, saw across into
lengths that you want (with the segment end where you
want) then put it in a vice and have at it with a saw -- even
a circular saw will do -- and in seconds, you have two
nice bamboo blanks. Then carefully do the end cut to
put the edge on with a fine saw, and sand a bit.
Locating the segment ends where they are most
comfortable for your hands and stabilizing for your
tool is important.
I made no effort to heat-treat, fire-treat, or oil the
tools, and they've held up admirably.
-- Steve Slatin
James and Sherron Bowen wrote:
Some informationon bamboo tool making is in order, don't you think? How do
you put an edge on bamboo?
JB
Steve Slatin --
History teaches us that there have been but few infringements of personal liberty by the state which have not been justified ...
in the name of righteousness and the public good, and few which
have not been directed ... at politically helpless minorities.
-- Harlan Fiske Stone
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