Tool making is the traditional province of the blacksmith, and until now it has been shrouded in mystery. This useful volume brings tool-making within the reach of anyone who starts with modest hand skills. Readers will learn about suitable steels, and how to identify them and buy them at reasonable cost. Through sharp photos and drawings, readers will see how to set up a small, basic forge and anvil suitable for making their own tools. They will learn how to forge, heat-treat, and finish common woodworking tools through detailed, highly illustrated exercises. Larsen leads readers step-by-step through the creation of a heavy mortising chisel, a delicate skew chisel, and a curved carving gouge. Along the way, readers will learn dozens of little secrets and time-saving shortcuts that make small-scale tool-making both possible and fun.

Bringing together the collective wisdom of a past generation of craftsmen, Traditional Toolmaking provides an in-depth record of the skills and techniques that made the mass production revolution of the twentieth century possible. When first published in 1915, this book was an answer to a vast array of tool-room problems and explained many essential toolmaking operations. It includes timeless practices as well as some personally tailored methods by master toolmakers, including how to: make straight forming tools grind curved surfaces gauge the angle of a thread re-flute worn cutters and much more! With detailed descriptions of every procedure, essential mathematical rules and calculations for use in the workshop, and a number of illustrative figures, this book stands as an invaluable reference for those with an interest in practicing hands-on toolmaking processes.

"The book examines a series of practical goldsmithing projects, each of which has been successfully completed by student goldsmiths using its instructions ... The creation of rings, chains, bracelets, earrings, and clasps, the use of specialized tools, as well as hand positions, movements, and technical data are described in lucid text and demonstrated with an abundance of detailed color photos"--Cover.

Hundreds of examples and guidelines detail how to improve your current die designs, or utilize new progressive designs that maximize efficiency while minimizing cost. Examples of the topics covered in the book's nineteen chapters include: punches and dies, stock guides and pilots, strippers, press selection, binding, blank development, design of strips and stampings, carbide dies, die material selection, design practices, EDM, mathematics and angle calculations, lubrication, sensors and die protection, and more.

"The book contains hands-on information, valuable tooling tips, and procedural recommendations regarding the selection, processing, and use of materials. This comprehensive reference is for anyone working with the selection, application, and use of cast irons, cast steels, wrought tooling sheets, and aluminum and stainless steels. The subjects of basic metallurgy, heat treating, machining, grinding, electrical discharge machining, welding, quality, wear enhancements, surface coatings, and treatments for tools and dies have been carefully organized and presented for quick reference."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved