chisel identification help !

[adversigns]

Hi
I bought a set of old cast steel chisels
Im not sure what the one 6th on the left is called or for.
Any help would be awesome.
they all seem to be austin macgilivary & co.

thanks

 

[lurker]

Assume you know thay are turning chisels
Some nice looking grinds amongst them
The one you comment on looks like what I would use to scrape out the inside of a box

 

[adversigns]

I bought them for woodturning
Ive never seen grinds like them before though !!

 

[AndyT]

They may be quite old. This is a page from Volume II of Turning and mechanical manipulation intended as a work of general reference and practical instruction on the lathe, and the various mechanical pursuits followed by amateurs, by Charles Holtzapffel, published 1850, a tremendously informative Victorian encyclopedia on turning and much more besides. It shows tools used for hardwoods and ivory, which were ground to various shapes similar to the tools you have found.

You can read the rest of the book or download it here https://archive.org/details/turningmechanica02holtuoft

 

[adversigns]

Thank you

I spent 4 hours online last night and didnt find any info other than spearpoint chisels

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Austin McGillivray are still in production, now under the ownership of Jack Adams - http://www.sheffieldknives.co.uk/

According to Grace's Guide, Austin McGillivray were first incorporated in 1891 - http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Austin,_McGillivray_and_Co - though I haven't found any information on what they produced; I have a vague memory of them being a respected name in the cutlery trade (but don't quote me on that!). That would not preclude them dabbling in the edge tool trades, but I don't recall the name coming up in connection with chisels or plane irons before.

The turning trades changed somewhat with the development of High Speed Steel in the early 1900s, the increased cutting capacity of the new material forcing the redesign of machine tools to take far higher turning speeds and feed rates than was the case with carbon steel tools. That was certainly the case with metal turning; I suspect the same applied to commercial wood turning, but maybe a few years later. Thus, the reference Andy posted above would still be relevant in the 1890s, so the tool forms shown would still be current.

Holtzappfel's supplied their last ornamental lathe in 1928, though it was made in 1913 - a long time to hold a product in stock! - according to T.D.Walshaw's book 'Ornamental Turning'. Thus, it's not beyond the bounds of possibility that Austin McGillivray saw a niche market in supplying ornamental or specialist turning tools in their early years.

 

[SVB]

Guess you know these will be carbon steel so go easy on the grindstone not to draw the temper.

S

 

[adversigns]

That I didn't know !!
Thanks for the info I'll use the softish stone

 

[CHJ]

Don't heat them much above hand touch hot limit, cool in water as soon as they get this warm.

Any heat that starts to cause a colour bloom (pale yellow through to blue) will destroy the temper, very easy on a thin cutting edge.

 

[adversigns]

I wonder are these valuable ?
I was thinking of grinding the biggest one into a negative rake scraper