Questions: turning handle; parting tool use

[Hilel Salomon]

Well I have too many (I guess coming from me that's a joke) of Doug Thompson's great gouges, and I'm tired of changing handles. I finally started to do some real spindle work (lidded boxes) and I'd like to make some handles. My question is how would you drill the hole for the gouge's tang on a really long (17-19") handle? I have a drill press, and the necessary lathe drill implements, but I'm wondering how one would keep a finished handle steady enough to do the drilling on the lathe.

Secondly, I seem to be doing something wrong w/my parting tools, as I often get a jerky pull. I wind up sawing by hand a lot, and wonder what I'm doing wrong.
As usual, my ignorance is apparent, and I would love to get some advice.
Regards, Hilel.

[Bernie Weishapl]

Hilel one of the things I have found when my parting tool gets jerky is that you need to open up the kerf at least a couple of blade widths wide. Not sure if that may be your problem but when I first started and would shove a part tool in it would jerk and sometimes binds. I found if I opened up the cut a blade width more it went smoothly.

On drilling handles I put my drill in the headstock at a fairly slow speed. I put my livecenter in the tailstock with a cone on it which will center the handle. I have the other end of the handle with the center marked and use a punch to make a dent then bring the tailstock up and drill. Probably easier ways but works for me.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Hilel,

I haven't drilled tool handle but in his video IIRC Richard Raffan drills it by hand. Just plunges it in while the handle is still rotating on the headstock.

Using the parting tool? A parting tool can be used as a scraper and a "cutter". Scraping has it's advantages as it will sever the surface grain fibers cleanly. When used as a cutter, the tool will often leave some torn grain on the surface. So I will often use the parting tool as a scraper initially to cleanly sever the surface grain and then switch to the cutting method to give me a clean cut of the other fibers. With a sharp parting tool, when you use it to cut or part, ride the bevel...and use it with commitment.....no hesitation.

When parting, leave yourself enough room to "step" through the cut.....a space slightly wider than the width of your parting tool so you don't have the sides on either side of the cut grab the parting tool....make yourself some working room.

Practice with it. You can do beads with it too!

[Norm Zax]

Topic has been up before. Check out this: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?p=1148137#poststop
As to myself, I can tell you they come out 95% straight when preparing a niche on both halfs (with a router) and then gluing the two halfs together and turning; or 70% straight when drilling any other way at all. Some people just get it straight freehand and dont really understand the question. I gave up and justify the results by saying that the slighlty crooked ones perform exactly the same. They actually do. Our eyes need symmetry but our hands dont really need to get it perfect.
All taken into account, I guess that a long drill combined wth long tailstock travel should be sufficient.
Good luck,
Norm

[Ted Calver]

Hilel,
Hold the handle in the headstock, put drill in the tail stock (morse taper drill chuck) and use a spindle steady to keep the handle from moving as you advance the tail stock to drill the hole. Essentially the same as drilling pepper mills.

[Wally Dickerman]

There are usually several ways to do most things on a lathe. I have some drills that have a morse taper which eliminates the chuck. Since the handle was turned between centers you have a starting point for the drill which is mounted in the headstock. Use the tailstock and hand hold the handle, centered on the live center. Slowly advance the piece into the drill. It helps to pre-drill a smaller hole, especially if you can't slow down the RPM's. I use a leather glove to hang onto the handle.

Wally

[Mike Peace]

As Ted suggested use a steady rest. Here is a picture from a club demo where Fred Mester showed using a special purpose steady rest clamped to a tool rest. I have a square sided box making tool rest that is perfect for clamping the steady rest to. You can see that the steady rest is simple a board with a hole drilled in it to match the diameter of your tool handle.

[Jake Helmboldt]

I do like Ted C. (ala Raffan). Before you finish turning it you use a jacobs chuck and bit in the tailstock and advance it into the handle. (turning the handle mounted in a chuck with a tennon before you part it off). It doesn't have to be that deep; only several inches so an extra long bit isn't needed. Depending upon quill travel you may have to stop and slide the tail stock up to get the full depth. I don't bother with a steady.

When you got to finish turning and part off you can use a live (cone) center in the tails stock and it will enter the hole and seat itself, automatically centering the handle.

[Dan Forman]

As Ted suggested use a steady rest. Here is a picture from a club demo where Fred Mester showed using a special purpose steady rest clamped to a tool rest. I have a square sided box making tool rest that is perfect for clamping the steady rest to. You can see that the steady rest is simple a board with a hole drilled in it to match the diameter of your tool handle.

I like that, simple and cheap!!!

Dan