Thom Sturgill
01-11-2013, 2:10 PM
After reviewing discussion on 3rd party handles and their costs I decided to look at Do-It-Yourself solutions. Commercial handles start at about $40 for short handles and go well over $100 for some solutions. DIY handles are easily in the $20-$30 range and cheaper depending on your willingness to turn metal on your lathe. I found three basic solutions (I'm sure there are others) that I wanted to explore.
The first uses common PVC pipe and an adapter from Hunter tools and a video (http://www.hunterwoodturningtool.com/products/sleeve/) is available on his site. (BTW, his Osprey tool looks interesting).
250763
The adapter is turned to fit in a 1" pvc pipe and set flush with the end. It is drilled to accept a standard diameter blade and is available in for sizes for $20 each. It comes with 2 set screws, but you have to drill and tap the holes for them. I made both a 3/8" and 1/2" handle and so far they seem to fit my hand well but are a little light. It is easy to turn a plug and put weight in the back of the handle.
The other solutions involve buying aluminum pipe and rod. Depending on your source the shipping can be more expensive than the metal itself. the first solution I found involved buying the Hosulak adapters and epoxying then into appropriate sized tubing. The Hosulak adapters are also $20 and the tube is a bit more expensive than the PVC. In addition, these are then covered with PVC tubing available from the BORG by the foot for about $2/ft.
250764
These made handsome well balanced handles, though only the 3/8" one uses the Hosulak adapter, the 1/2" adapter was turned on my Jet lathe using a 1/4" square bit held in my boring bar and ground to an appropriate shape. It was finished with a file and sandpaper. . The adapters are epoxied in place.
250765
The variant on this is to buy rod sized to fit snugly in the tube and drill to fit and epoxy in place. Cindy Drozda has a tutorial on her site for this method, again the PVC hose is installed over the metal tube. Again if you are willing to turn metal on your wood lathe, you could get rod the same diameter as the OD of the tube and turn down about 2" to insert into the tube, or even better get a piece the OD of the pvc hose and turn down about 2" to go into the metal tube. This would provide a smooth transition between the area where the set screws are and the PVC covering. This solution should cost less than $20 total.
The 1" OD tube with the PVC cover is very close in finished outside diameter to the 1" PVC pipe, but the weight is more to my liking.
I will probably use the 3/8" PVC solution for my small gouges, the Aluminum handle for my 1/2" gouges and the small aluminum handle for my small Ellsworth hollowers.
The first uses common PVC pipe and an adapter from Hunter tools and a video (http://www.hunterwoodturningtool.com/products/sleeve/) is available on his site. (BTW, his Osprey tool looks interesting).
250763
The adapter is turned to fit in a 1" pvc pipe and set flush with the end. It is drilled to accept a standard diameter blade and is available in for sizes for $20 each. It comes with 2 set screws, but you have to drill and tap the holes for them. I made both a 3/8" and 1/2" handle and so far they seem to fit my hand well but are a little light. It is easy to turn a plug and put weight in the back of the handle.
The other solutions involve buying aluminum pipe and rod. Depending on your source the shipping can be more expensive than the metal itself. the first solution I found involved buying the Hosulak adapters and epoxying then into appropriate sized tubing. The Hosulak adapters are also $20 and the tube is a bit more expensive than the PVC. In addition, these are then covered with PVC tubing available from the BORG by the foot for about $2/ft.
250764
These made handsome well balanced handles, though only the 3/8" one uses the Hosulak adapter, the 1/2" adapter was turned on my Jet lathe using a 1/4" square bit held in my boring bar and ground to an appropriate shape. It was finished with a file and sandpaper. . The adapters are epoxied in place.
250765
The variant on this is to buy rod sized to fit snugly in the tube and drill to fit and epoxy in place. Cindy Drozda has a tutorial on her site for this method, again the PVC hose is installed over the metal tube. Again if you are willing to turn metal on your wood lathe, you could get rod the same diameter as the OD of the tube and turn down about 2" to insert into the tube, or even better get a piece the OD of the pvc hose and turn down about 2" to go into the metal tube. This would provide a smooth transition between the area where the set screws are and the PVC covering. This solution should cost less than $20 total.
The 1" OD tube with the PVC cover is very close in finished outside diameter to the 1" PVC pipe, but the weight is more to my liking.
I will probably use the 3/8" PVC solution for my small gouges, the Aluminum handle for my 1/2" gouges and the small aluminum handle for my small Ellsworth hollowers.