The bottom divider is unmodified.  Works great, and it can hold a pencil.  The top one is modified by having one point ground down.   It will not measure quite as small a [...]]]> I love multifunctional tools. Sadly, most of them don’t really work very well. Here is one that is a real gem.

The bottom divider is unmodified.  Works great, and it can hold a pencil.  The top one is modified by having one point ground down.   It will not measure quite as small a gap.   It is however a much more useful tool.  The leather sheath above it holds extra bits and protects the divider.

The bit pocket has a snap at the top to put bits in and a snap at the bottom to pour them out.  It is a bit flawed as the sharp bits fall right into your hand, so you need to be careful.

This tool will act as a divider, can draw circles, and cut circles.

First I take a normal bit, and grind it down

Original Phillips Bit

Bit ground down partially

Bit Ground to point

Point ground into a cutter

The point can be ground by putting the bit in a drill and spin grinding it with sandpaper.  It can be done faster on a grindstone or belt sander.

Cutting bit in divider

A couple of important points.  The flat of the cutter should go to the outside, and should be ground level with one of the six faces of the bit’s shaft.  This way it is in line when you cut.  The curved edge facing inward, tend to force the cut to maximum allowed diameter, making for a more stable line.

Circles cut and marked by divider

This bit is great for marking wood and leather.  As you can see it will also cut.  Bits can be made with steeper angles so they do not sink as deep, or with finer points to leave a finer mark.  More conventional blades can be made as well.

Blade

Blade

With a nice divider able to cut, scribe, measure, scratch and mark, you have a pretty amazing tool.  With a screw driver handle added to the kit, you can use the blades and points for an even wider range of functions.

I made a better version of the original sheath.  Here it is on a belt with a pair of bottle holsters.

Divider Sheith on Belt with Bottle Holsters

The Bit holder uses one snap, and allows you to see and select the bit you want.  The bit can be grabbed from the bottom to avoid the sharp points.

Improved Bit holder!

I got a bit of feedback desiring one of these made for them.  So I have created an Etsy Store to sell stuff to those who don’t feel comfortable making their own.  Since one of the major goals of Toolmaking Art is to encourage people to make their own tools, the prices will of course reflect this goal.

Bob

This was made from one of the cutters in an old broken pencil sharpener.  It was a bit dull so I sharpened the cutter using the ancient method of soaking it in vinegar.  Now it is nice and sharp.  A bit [...]]]> I have been wanting one of these for about three years.  I finally made one!

This was made from one of the cutters in an old broken pencil sharpener.  It was a bit dull so I sharpened the cutter using the ancient method of soaking it in vinegar.  Now it is nice and sharp.  A bit of all-thread, between the knobs,  holds  it all together.  Great little tool,  Kind of a cross between a float, file and a spoke  shave.

Bob

The tool is a very stable compass that can cut.  My current need is one to mark a radius in steel.  [...]]]> Johnathan, recently posted on Woodnet his rendition of an inlay radius cutter.  The design is one that Steve Latta showed in an article on Fine Woodworking.   Lie-Nielsen sells one based on that design.

The tool is a very stable compass that can cut.  My current need is one to mark a radius in steel.  So I threw one together.  It of course is a bit different.

The body is osage, the knob is mesquite, and the angle adjustable cutter/marker holder is ash.

The points where ground from old high speed steel drill bits and tempered hard.  I need them hard because I am marking steel.  In the picture below, you can see the radius cut into the edge of a head knife that I am making.  The red just outside the cut is to show me where I need to grind off steel.  I am using the thread end of a Chicago bolt to put the pivot in to give fine precision.

The arc on one side of the cutter tends to pull in as it cuts.  This tends to reduce slop and make for a more precise cut.

The holder is tapered to fit into a tapered hole.  The drilled hole in the end of the holder was drilled with the same bit that became the cutter.  A pair of slices into the wood makes it grip the blade quite tightly when wedged into a tapered hole.

I even have a point for scribing instead of cutting.  I will make another holder to wedge a pencil into the hole as well, when I need it later.

The hole was drilled, and then I used a sanding fid to taper it.

This is my sanding fid.  A drill bit pushed to hard into wood so it locked in.  Then the wood was turned to make a cone.  A slit was cut in the end.

Now sand paper can be fed into the slit and wrapped around the cone.

Once it is wrapped, is is ready to sand out a nice taper.

The locking mechanism is simple, a threaded insert and a knob turned with a bit of brass thread and a nut epoxied into the end.

Opened up this can make a really big circle.  Best of all, it is rock solid stable once set into position.

Bob

The ferrule on the knife was made by heating a nut on punch, to a nice cherry red an then beating it with a hammer. This gave it a good angled inner surface that jams on tight to a wooden mortise. This makes [...]]]> When making simple hand tools, a ferrule is an important addition.

The ferrule on the knife was made by heating a nut on punch, to a nice cherry red an then beating it with a hammer. This gave it a good angled inner surface that jams on tight to a wooden mortise. This makes for a stronger tool.

A ring at the back end of a tool can keep it from being destroyed by the process of wacking the tool with a mallet. Ferrules are important, and there are a lot of ways to make them.

Bob