Joyce Lee on sat 15 nov 03
A clayarter said:
" There is a company that makes some kicken
tungsten tools and they are $40 and up. Coleman says once you go =
tungsten
you never go back! I'm still saving my pennies for one of those =
babies."
--------------------------------------------------
For you too new to know, the company=20
referred to above is Bison Tools owned
and operated by the tools' creator&maker, our own
Phil from Las Vegas who will send you a
catalog...... an exquisite, hand-drawn, non-
computer generated work of art .... style of
20s.... maybe 30s...... Phil? I think he charges
a couple of dollars.
These are the same tools
favored by Tom Coleman and by me and
countless other claybuds. Between Phil's
tungsten wonders and Chris Henley's
wooden beauties (gorgeous enough to be
arranged in a wall grouping any day..... and
serving their original purposes grandly), some
of us have a worthy, inspiring tool display on our
benches.... all designed&created by Clayarters.
One can get by with less...... certainly...... but
it is worth some scrimping to have the best.
Joyce
In the Mojave where each fall the early arrival
of Darkness catches me off guard ...... happens
every year..... every single day for a predictable
period..... yet I'm always surprised. Makes for
an exciting life!
Fredrick Paget on sun 16 nov 03
>A clayarter said:
>" There is a company that makes some kicken
>tungsten tools and they are $40 and up. Coleman says once you go
>tungsten etc.......
>--------------------------------------------------
>
>For you too new to know, the company
>referred to above is Bison Tools owned
>and operated by the tools' creator & maker, our own
>Phil from Las Vegas who will send you a
>catalog...... an exquisite, hand-drawn, non-
>computer generated work of art .... style of
>20s.... maybe 30s...... Phil? I think he charges
>a couple of dollars.
Joyce Lee
Just to set the record straight, the material referred to above is
not tungsten but tungsten carbide.
It is made by pressing a mixture of tungsten carbide powder and
cobalt metal powder into a die and then sintering it until the
cobalt melts and glues the mass together. It is around 10 percent
cobalt more or less depending on the grade. The less cobalt the
harder and more brittle, the more cobalt the stronger and less hard.
You have to order the right stuff for the job you have in mind..
Phil knows just what to order that works for him. The hardness and
edge keeping quality are well known to any who have used these
tools. They remain sharp for years in use trimming even dry clay.
Fred
--
From Fred Paget, Marin County, California, USA
fredrick@well.com
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