Turning tool and handle lengths

[Chris Barnett]

Shopping for turning tools, I have seen short, long and extra long up to 25 inches or so, for the larger bowl gouges. There is an advantage of more tool steel; but, are the longer handles recommended or do they just get in the way? I have watched several turning videos, in which the guys are digging wood out like an angry wolverine, but the handles are short or long, depending on the video.

[robert hainstock]

Mostly it is a personal preference. I like most of my tools to be twenty to twenty four in. most sets come with too little steel, and are then too shortI just made a bowl gagr handle 14in with seven in tool exposure. you will most ,ikely learn by fee what is right for you. you will have lots of response to this question, and have to sort them out. good turning, and welcome to the vortex. :eek::eek::eek:
Bob

[David Wilhelm]

Chris, I think it pretty much depends on you and your lathe. To me as long as it got good balance and it fits the size blank i'm turning............. My 1/4 is longer than my 1/2 but it's cheap. It feels good and cuts great. It just looks weird going to a smaller flut and the handle has to stick out the window.

[Curt Fuller]

I would say that the length of the tool handle should be proportionate to the size and porpose of the tool. If you own a lathe that's capable of turning large bowls, 16" and up, and has the horsepower to back it up, then you'd probably like a big 5/8" or larger bowl gouge with a long, stout handle. Then you can put your hip into it and really hog out some wood. But other than that, most factory handles would be all you would want.

[Bill Stevener]

I agree with Curt, I use dental picks. :)

[Kevin McPeek]

At one of the Stuart Batty demos I have been to he spoke of a ratio to consider. For every inch of tool you have beyond the rest, you should have five inches behind the rest. So if you are hanging 4" over the rest a 20" handle is adequate.

[Rich Souchek]

Chris,
By the time I made my first tool handles, had already collected the HF tool set and about 3 or 4 handled tools including a bowl gouge or two. I felt all the handles, and then thought about how they felt while doing the turnings on the equipment in the shop.
Decided to copy a 3/8" Pro Crown bowl gouge whose handle seemed best suited for me. A bigger tool steel will get a bit bigger handle, a smaller steel goes witha smaller handle.
This approach let me move the handle swells and narrow points to the handle locations that felt right to my hands. This IS real important. I also found I prefer a real solid hard wood that doesn't flex at all. Large enough ferules to get solid wood around the tool steel is important also.
Thinking about it, pretty handles are nice, but I want my handles to feel good in my hands and guide me to turn to my best potential. Does the pretty handle feel as good when my eyes are closed? Do the palm swells tell me where the tool steel end is? Is the darn thing to skinney to get a solid grip? Whimpy? Flexible? No wood to support the steel beneath the furule?
Rich S.

[Jim Becker]

I prefer long handles on my bowl gouges because it gives you more options for supporting them. And since I use the Ellsworth grind, as you know, it makes some of the finishing cuts where you hold the tool 45º from the piece and 45º off vertical easier to comfortabely manage. Body position is absolutely critical when you are turning so you don't want to have to be "all arms" or in uncomfortable positions when you are working your piece. And one other point is that a longer handle gives you more leverage for those times when you are extended over the rest quite a ways as well as the ability to make more granular adjustments to the cutting orientation with greater ease than with a short handle.

But this truly is personal preference. I took David Ellsworth's course and have embraces his methods, more or less since. And you should have seen how long the crazy handles were on his hollowing tools...miles, it seemed... :)

[Bernie Weishapl]

I like my handles thicker and longer on my bowl gouges. As Curt said and Bill Grumbine says you can put it by your turning muscle (if you watch his DVD) your hip. You have greater control since you move your body and are not all arms.

[Allen Neighbors]

Check out the harpoon style Oland Tool that Darrell Feltmate has on his website, http://www.aroundthewoods.com . Just search for "thar she blows"... :)
I have one Oland Tool that I modeled after his. The handle is a 1" black pipe 24" long, that reduces down to a 3/4" black pipe 18" long, into which I insert a 3/4" round shaft that is 18" long. The 24" pipe is about half-full of B-Bs. My cutters are 1/8" and 3/16" hss cutters that mount in the end of the tool shaft with set screws. Using the 1/8" cutter, I can extend the tool shaft 12" over the toolrest for tall vases, etc.
The length and weight of your tool handles are dependent upon what you're going to turn. Wood or metal... it's all up to you. I have a 5/8 bowl gouge with a wooden 24" handle, and I have a 5/8 Crown bowl gouge with a Crown handle, about 18". They both come in handy.
Make them the length you need, and make them to fit your own hands.

[Reed Gray]

I never thought about the tool steel over the rest to the length of handle ratio, but it fits what I do. I am often out 3 to 4 inches before moving the tool rest. I like my handles on my 5/8 gouge 18 to 20 inches long, and bigger in diameter than the standard handles.
robo hippy