Hand Tools From Unconventional Sources

I wanted to challenge myself to use more hand tools, but there was a problem: I don't have many to choose from.

In this Instructable, I will create my own from some not so intuitive sources, but they will be inexpensive, custom, and fun!

There are quite a lot of tools used here to make other tools. Some are common, some are specialty. Here is a list of general tools required:

Something to cut metal, like a hacksaw or angle grinder

Something to shape metal, like a file or angle grinder

Stuff to sharpen metal

Hammer

Drill

Punches

Ruler

Sanding paper

Marking tool / pencil

Consumables like glue, epoxy, tape, stain, wax/sealant

Clamps

Copper & tube cutter

OPTIONAL:

Saw Teeth setter

Ferric chloride (for metal etching)

Torch/Oven to heat treat

Brass rod, to set handles

Texturizing hammers

I have a hand saw like the one in Pic 1, but I wanted a Japanese pull saw. I found a Western style saw at the local thrift store and decided to make my own.

The leading edge will be the handle side to make it a proper pull saw. In hindsight, I should have left the areas marked in Pic 3 with an 'X' alone and used that as the head of my saw. My reasoning was, "I don't want a hole on the top!"

Yes I did...

Regardless, I drew an outline of material to remove, and grinded the surface back to bright metal. BE Careful with that step because I took the sander straight across the teeth. Some of you enthusiasts are shaking your head. For those playing the home game, my mistake was grinding down the offset teeth that aid in efficient sawing of wood. I will correct my mistake in Pics 11-13 because as luck would have it, I have a set of saw tooth setting pliers. Those are not needed if you don't make my same mistake.

I smoothed all the rough cut edges, placed my wooden handle on, and set it with a 3/16-inch brass rod (x3). This is not absolutely necessary if you want to set your handle with simple epoxy. Just be sure to rough up the metal so the adhesive has something to "bite" into.

OPTIONAL:

Add your person logo, name, design with ferric chloride. As seen in Pics 15-16, I taped off (literally) my nickname and added a small amount of ferric chloride. This will "eat away" the metal so don't leave it for too long. I did 30 minutes followed by a water rinse & wipe. After that I neutralized any residual acid with baking soda followed by another water rinse & wipe. Now it looks really cool and personal!

Pro Tip: IF you use ferric chloride and wonder what to do with it after the etching is complete, keep it. I pour it back in the bottle to use another day. It still will have the potency needed to etch another day.

And, of course, I have YT Shorts on all these.

That first tool may not be very unconventional, but a rolling pin in the shop?! Maybe if this were a cartoon show (dreams). This next tool will be a common shop hammer. Now, I have made hammers in the past like this recycled one or this comically large one, but I will focus on a Chisel Mallet here.

Why a rolling pin you ask? They are usually inexpensive found at a thrift store and generally made of hard wood. The one I found was likely discarded because the inner connecting rod was severely bent.

Pull apart your old rolling pin and it should slide right off like in Pic 2 (Save handles for later). Carefully saw your rolling pin. I wound up with a 1, 5, & 4-inch piece. The 4-inch piece is not used here.

The holes down the center were roughly 7/8-inch so I used my oak dowel to be used as a handle. I didn't measure this, I just cut it to allow enough comfortability in my hand. I also cut some small pieces to fill the top and bottom. I then glued & hammered this together and allowed it to dry. Lastly, I put a wax coating on the entire mallet.

You could make a jointers mallet with other piece but I already have one. If you want to do that, too, however, follow the same process only horizontally, instead of the vertical chisel style mallet. You may also want to use something besides a dowel for the handle!

This includes the mallet and the next bonus in step 5.

I didn't toss the rolling pin handles because I will use them as handle for two of my smaller files.

I added a copper ferrule that is just some scrap copper pipe and yakisugi the wood prior to sealing it. If your handles are not rounded but still need a copper ferrule, try this option.

You'll notice that I hammered the ferrule down in Pic 6 and it is tearing away the wood as it is inserted. I thought that would suffice to keep it in place. However, the more I handled it, the more loose it became. Pics 7-8 show me using a metal chisel to score one side of the copper. This, followed by some epoxy for reassurance, made the ferrule solid and ready for steady usage.

Old saw blades can make a variety of tools. Take a look at my other instructables for a variety of ideas, but this one is my favorite! I used one with busted carbide tips to make the next three tools.

This one is a blade for a spokeshave using hardwood salvaged from an old discarded cupboard.

I started by cutting the piece from the blade using an angle grinder. I cleaned up the metal and edges with filing / sanding. Holes were drilled and the spokeshave edge shaped. I decided to quench & normalize the blade prior to sharpening it.

The handle was marked as seen in Pics 13 & 14. The centerline was marked and allowed for sufficient room to mount the blade and have the handles ergonomically shaped.

Look at that cool Japanese pull saw in Pic 15 and the chisel mallet in use in Pic 16! Dang, I am glad I made those so that I could properly shape the wooden handle.

Pic 20 is the obligatory shaving of arm hair to "prove" it's sharpness. Pic 21 is the final assembly while 22 shows a nice shaving in action!.

The aforementioned saw blade was shaped into a thin axe all done free hand. I wanted a thinner / smaller axe for my shop to have something I can reach for easily when I need to hog out larger wood.

The edge was roughly shaped with my angle grinder to remove bulk material, followed by the belt sander. The handle is a scrap hardwood tree branch I had been kicking around the shop. It was like a fidget spinner you kick...

I used my super awesome chisel mallet again to chisel out a recess in the branch to allow the scratched up handle (notice the cross hatch) to accept it for epoxy, very rustic.

Once the handle hardened overnight, I used a series of files / sandpaper to smooth out the handle. I left some of the rougher area to keep that rustic appearance. Personal choice but that is what I wanted.

Satisfied with the feel, I used some wax to seal the wood and allowed it to set. Then the fun began, whacking stuff! I just chopped a bit of firewood for the shot but I am happy to have my own shop axe. I don't need one every time I am in there, but when I do need one, it is so nice to have.

I made another instructable for a kiridashi that was a replica of Ashitaka's sword from Studio Gibli's Princess Mononoke.

I struggle to use it as an actual kiridashi because of my infatuation with it. I would rather make another, more traditional style kiridashi for everyday use than use Ashitaka's sword. I will save that for corrupted forest spirits, obviously.

I used the offcut from the axe since it had that shape already. This was actually a serendipitous event because I had no intention of making one until I saw what was left over in that section of the sawblade. I thought, "Self...That looks exactly like a traditional kiridashi!"

Just like the axe, I shaped the faces, edges, and eventually the blade with my angle grinder, however, I used my belt sander to create one bevel (as opposed to a double bevel).

To add more flare and personality, I used some thicker copper pipe for the handle. I used my texturizing hammers to add more customization. I used the same 3/16-inch brass rod to secure the copper to the kiridashi and polished it up with a scouring pad. I shaped the rough edges with a file to make it more comfortable in the hand.

I love making my own tools, so much so that I find myself making tools and then never making stuff with them.

That being said, it is still creative and I love the process. I will definitely be using these in some form or another in future builds so I hope you stick around for my future projects.

Share some pics or comments if this helped you out and you created your own tools. See you on the next one.