Tool handles, how do you make yours

[William C Rogers]

I have just purchased some Thompson tools, 1/2 and 5/8 bowl gouges and two 1" scrapers. I didn't buy handles as I could buy two tools instead of handles. My plan is to make handles from wood with copper ferruls. I have available, white oak, hickory, and hard maple. I intend to make these 16". The longest handle I have right now is 14". I am open to other handle types. Using wood, do you epoxy the tool in the handle? Does it matter much on wood species?
Thanks

Edit: If you make your handles from aluminum, how? How do you keep the set screws from stripping?

[Russell Neyman]

Pretty simple: I grab a 2x2x15" piece of maple or oak, turn it into a handle, add a piece of copper pipe (for a ferrule) and drill the proper size hole. I've probably made 10-15 of these.

[Doug W Swanson]

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/content....Thompson-Tools!

Here's a tutorial on aluminum handles I made for my Thompson tools. Since you don't really need to crank down on the set screws, I haven't had a problem with them stripping. I've used my Thompson tools a lot since I made the handles and I love them....

[david privett]

all three species of wood listed should work well ,thought hickory is used for ax handles for a reason , as for the ring I used a piece of galvanized pipe and pressed it on with bearing press, I made a real tight fit so no adhesive would be required.

[Scott Hackler]

I chuck up a 1 1/2" square spindle, drill the appropriate sized hole in the tail stock end with a Jacobs chuck and bring the tailstock up to that hole. If you don't drill first, you handle wont be 100% centered around the hole. Then it is just about shaping the handle and turning down the end for the copper ferrule. I generally epoxy the ferrule on once it fits and gently turn the glue that squeezed out...off... and turn the copper and end of the tool for a perfect transition. The final is finish and epoxy the steel in the hole. Easy to do and a fairly quick project to save money vs store bought handles. I love the way my Thompson handles wont roll off the lathe bed, but a good wooden handle is hard to beat. I have thought about making a flat side on the next handles using a belt sander.

[Thom Sturgill]

I just described this in another thread. To keep the weight down I use 1" OD 1/8" wall aluminium tubing (not pipe - tubing has a smooth inner surface.) I then buy 3/4" aluminium rod which, with a little sanding, will fit inside the aluminium tubing. I cut a 3-4" piece and drill it to fit the gouge in question. Epoxy this into one end of the larger tube and drill and tap two holes for set screws. I have never had any problems with stripping as I use aircraft aluminium. I standardized on 3/8-16tpi screws as that was the largest I had on some items I had purchased. 1/4-20 works well too.

Vinyl hose from Home Depot or Lowes works well for a covering. Warm it in hot soapy water and it will slide onto the tubing. I use 1 1/4" OD (1" ID) tubing.

On my first handles I bought commercial adapters and then machined my own. They are a little prettier, but the method listed above is much easier and works well. the set screw goes through BOTH layers of metal, so no problem with the epoxy failing.

[Shawn Pachlhofer]

there's a great article with photos that Alan Lacer wrote several years ago available on his website:

http://woodturninglearn.net/

click on "articles" then scroll about 1/3 way down to "forgotten handles"

[Jeffrey J Smith]

I like the feel of unfinished wood handles, but also appreciate the convenience of sharpening without having to dodge the handle. It's also nice to be able to reverse the tool in the handle when traveling. Mike Hosaluk sells nice handles, but he also sells a handle adapter that works well for wooden handles. http://www.hosaluktools.com/index2.php#/gallery1/2/ Just drill the handle blank for the depth you want for your tools, counter drill for the adapter, and insert the adapter and epoxy in place. I put a copper ferrule at the drilled end for a little more security, but I think it may not be necessary. It's the best of both worlds - easy change out and the warmth and grip of wood.

I also splurged on one of the new collet system handles that Robust is selling. They were designed by David Ellsworth and, like everything else Robust sells, they're built like a tank. The handles are unfinished, and contoured to a smooth, rounded triangular profile where your hands go. Full disclosure - I haven't been able to use it yet, it's certainly not the least expensive alternative, but it really is nicely made.

[John K Jordan]

Edit: If you make your handles from aluminum, how? How do you keep the set screws from stripping?

William,

I make all my handles these days. I mostly use Thompson and Hunter tools. For those with round shafts, I make an adapter from aluminum or steel and epoxy it into a handle, usually wooden. For example, some of the handles I use for smaller work, some great Hunter carbide tools here:

textured_handles_hunterIMG_.jpg

These adapters can be purchased from various sources but I prefer to make my own. I make them either out of aluminum or steel. I prefer steel (I have a metal lathe) but did easily make on on my wood lathe using standard tools.

I think the commercial adapters are way too big to hold a small tool comfortably, so I make them much smaller. In the picture, the second one from the top is a typical commercial adapter which I think feels awkward.

As you say, stripping the threads is a concern in aluminum unless you have plenty of threads which means a proportionally larger diameter adapter. Steel is better here since it is very hard to strip. A thing I did on one was offset the hole a small amount to allow more threads on one side. I only catch a couple of threads on my smaller steel adapters and that is enough. In fact, I usually have to grind down setscrews to get them short enough.

If you don't have a metal lathe, I suspect any local machine shop could custom make these simple adapters for a reasonable fee from steel.

For the larger tools the aluminum is fine, but even there steel would be better: the extra weight would be good with big and long tools. I bought some big steel handles once with great spongy rubber wraps and that company made them from a long bar of steel. These are fantastic but I don't think are available any more.

Oh, several reasons I use these adapters rather than gluing the tool into a handle:

- I usually sharpen several identical tools at once and when one gets dull I put a sharp one in the handle and don't have to stop to sharpen.

- Long-handled tools can be unwieldy to sharpen, requiring large swings at the grinder for certain types of grinds.

- For fine spindle work I usually want just a little of the tool extending from the front of the handle. I bore deep holes in all my handles so I can push most of the tool inside. This has another advantage in that I can keep the same extension I'm used to even as the tool gets shorter.

- For delicate detail work, I often use bare tools without handles.

- Keeping a bunch of tools and a few handles at hand takes up MUCH less space!

Tools with flat tangs are different. I have several ideas on how to hold these in an adapter to try when time permits.

JKJ

[William C Rogers]

Good infotmation from all. Just before you posted John I was thinking hybrid metal/wood. I don't have a metal lathe, do may see if I can use something brass. I had done some research, but missed the links provided here. I want to make the tool removable for sharpening, so will think along all metal or metal wood.

[John Lail]

I like making my own handles but I don't use the brass or copper furrele, haven't had a problem without it. I normally make them out of oak but have used maple and black walnut.

[daryl moses]

Made these two handles yesterday. They are made of Hickory because they are tough and I have plenty of it. Since the shafts are square I cut the blanks in half and routed a 1/2 inch groove into each half 1/4 inch deep, 6 inches long and glued them back together. I then turned them between centers. My cutters are supposed to arrive later this week and I will install the shafts into the handles then.

[Brice Rogers]

I've made a bunch of tools and handles. Many of them utilize a 1/2" square bar to hold the carbide insert or to hold a home-made HSS insert. I turn down the end and make it round to make it easy to slide into a wooden handle. I epoxy the round end of the bar to the handle and use a copper ferrule which I usually epoxy as well.

There is a trick to epoxying the round bar into the round hole in the handle. When you slather the wood and/or the bar with epoxy, you'll find that you have created a piston and an cylinder - - you push it in and it wants to push out. Some people brute force it and succeed. If you put way too much epoxy in it, you may even get "hydraulic lock" and I suspect that the compressability of epoxy is like water - - pretty hard to do. So avoid this, I'll take a dremel tool and put a lengthwise groove into the end of the bar that gets glued in. I also avoid putting epoxy into that groove. That way, when I push it in to the handle, the air can come out and if there is excess epoxy in the hole, it will also ooze out. I put painters tape on the bar and on the ferrule to make it easy to clean up.

[John Keeton]

Actually, the only reason to glue a tool in a handle is to prevent twist as the forces of turning will keep it from pulling out. So, I would inserting the shank in the hole and putting just a little epoxy on the last half inch. Makes it much easier to heat that part of the shank to remove the tool if needed.

[Dexter Harris]

John Lail posted above that he doesn't use a ferrule at all. I'm about to make my first one and wonderd about this. I'm sure someone here has tried it. They look cool but are they necessary?