Page 38 - Australian Wood Review №103 2019
P. 38
TOOLS & EQUIPMENT
4
Water quenched steel woodworking tools being harder than
(high carbon steel)
5 water hardened steel but still easy to
These are simple alloys of only iron sharpen and are relatively inexpensive.
and carbon which are quenched in
water. These steels have been around Most of the better known current
for a very long time with the quality manufacturers offer O1 chisels and
varying and improving over time. plane blades and you can also buy O1
Sheffield steel, Swedish steel and replacement blades for older Stanley
Japanese steel have long been the and Record planes. (Note Lie-Nielsen
acknowledged leaders in the field. no longer offers O1 chisels and blades
Buying second hand chisels is an in their range). Expect to pay about
excellent way to get good quality tools $50 – $60 per chisel.
of this type. Expect to pay $30–60
per chisel. Air quenched steel (A2)
These steels have additional alloying
You can also buy new chisels from elements such as chromium and
makers like Crown, Marples and silicon and allow the steel to be
4. Blue Spruce Toolworks (USA) uses A2
tool steel hardened and tempered to Stanley Sweetheart. You may have quenched in air, a much gentler
Rockwell Hardness Rc60-61. A primary to spend some time flattening the process which results in less distortion
bevel angle of 25° with a 30° micro bevel
is recommended, which may be increased back of new or second hand chisels than either water or oil. However
to 35° for extremely hard woods. but because the steel is relatively soft there is a possibility of creating large
Photo: Blue Spruce Toolworks
this is not a hugely difficult task on a carbide particles that may interfere
5. Clifton tools are made in the UK by Thomas diamond stone or coarse water stone. with precision sharpening and the
Flinn & Co in Sheffield, UK. Their plane
blades are no longer forged but made All the older planes, as well as cheap durability of a cutting edge so a
from O1 steel which is then cryogenically new models will have high carbon balance is needed between hardening
treated. Photo: Thomas Flinn & Co
steel blades. stability and a fine cutting edge.
6. Forging Japanese steels using hard and
soft steel. Photo: Japanese Tools Australia
Oil quenched steel (O1) Because air quenching is a relatively
7. Hock Tools (USA) offer blades in O1
and A2 steels. Company founder Ron A small amount of manganese (Mn) slow process and the hardening
Hock is regarded as one of the foremost added to high carbon steel reduces process may be incomplete, some
experts on tool steel. His research
and writings have added considerably the quench rate requirement so that manufacturers like Lie-Nielsen apply an
to our knowledge base of steels for they can be quenched in oil. These additional cryogenic treatment to A2
woodworking. Photo: Ron Hock
steels distort less with heat treatment steel to improve toughness and aid edge
8. The stages of blade manufacturing at Lie and can be hardened to a greater retention. The steel is cooled to – 195C
Nielsen Toolworks, USA involve grinding
and heat treating. Photo: Lie-Nielsen USA depth. They are an excellent choice for in a computer controlled process.
38 Australian Wood Review
