Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 15 of 23

Thread: Weird Chinese Mop Handle with Two Types of Wood

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    FL
    Posts
    1,026

    Weird Chinese Mop Handle with Two Types of Wood

    Long ago, I picked up a mop handle from Home Depot just so I would have a piece of cheap hardwood for little things like bench dogs and chisel handles. When I cut into it, I got a big surprise. There was a different kind of wood inside it. It had a rectangular cross section, and I could not see any gaps between it and the outer wood. It looked like the manufacturer had done a fantastic job of putting different types of wood together.

    Two questions.

    1. How?

    2. Why?

    I assume this thing is Chinese. How did the Chinese manufacturer put the wood together so cleanly? Is there a big plant over there with precision planers and jointers, turning little bits of wood into big ones so they can make mop handles?

    Why would they do this? Seems like they're putting a lot of expense into making a $4 mop handle.

    It's pretty neat for chisel and file handles. Anyone who sees it in the shop will do a double take.

    02 15 20 file handle made from home depot mop handle full view small.jpg

    02 15 20 file handle made from home depot mop handle butt end small.jpg
    Last edited by Steve H Graham; 02-15-2020 at 2:09 PM.
    Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of bench.

    I was socially distant before it was cool.

    A little authority corrupts a lot.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2010
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    5,582
    1) Glue
    2) Repurpose scrap wood

  3. #3
    I've made some things like that by gluing up different colors of wood and then turning the final product. It's difficult because you have to chuck up the blank exactly centered or the final product comes out a bit off.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    FL
    Posts
    1,026
    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Barry View Post
    1) Glue
    2) Repurpose scrap wood

    "Glue" is not really a good answer. We all know the work it takes to glue wood together this precisely, and why do it when you can go to the nearest Chinese or Siberian forest, free of all types of environmental regulations, and cut trees that don't need to be glued together?

    Gluing scrap wood together is more expensive than cutting up trees.
    Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of bench.

    I was socially distant before it was cool.

    A little authority corrupts a lot.

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Central MA
    Posts
    1,584
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve H Graham View Post
    Gluing scrap wood together is more expensive than cutting up trees.
    Not in China it isn’t. Also; the outside of that handle is bamboo, not wood.
    Last edited by John Lanciani; 02-15-2020 at 7:20 PM.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    FL
    Posts
    1,026
    How can more labor not cost more money? Even in China, labor, machinery, and power cost money. There has to be a reason why they did this. Somehow, it has to cost LESS money than solid wood.

    I wondered if it was bamboo.
    Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of bench.

    I was socially distant before it was cool.

    A little authority corrupts a lot.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2014
    Location
    Silicon Valley, CA
    Posts
    1,048
    What is the core wood like? I'm wondering if this isn't sort of a torsion box construction. If the core is too weak, too soft or too brittle, to be a handle by itself, it may just be cheap and used to keep the stronger but thin bamboo shell from collapsing.

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Apr 2005
    Location
    Central MA
    Posts
    1,584
    Quote Originally Posted by Steve H Graham View Post
    How can more labor not cost more money? Even in China, labor, machinery, and power cost money. There has to be a reason why they did this. Somehow, it has to cost LESS money than solid wood.

    I wondered if it was bamboo.
    Unfortunately that question can’t be answered within the rules of this forum...

  9. #9
    Gluing up waste is highly cost effective with modern machinery and low labor cost. It's no different than manufacturing plywood. Imagine the amount of labor that went into the first sheets of plywood.

  10. #10
    Quote Originally Posted by Pat Barry View Post
    1) Glue
    2) Repurpose scrap wood
    +1. Any way I look at it, doing it this way must have been more cost effective for the supplier. Otherwise, they wouldn't have done it for a mop handle.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  11. #11
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
    Posts
    65,688
    If you think about it, the construction of that handle makes sense. The bamboo that comprises the outer surface is very durable and is a sustainable resource, but because bamboo stalks are hollow, the actual slices of material are relatively thin. By using a square hardwood core wrapped with even more durable bamboo, they created a very functional handle that will wear a long time. That core material could theoretically be waste from other product production, too. I suspect this was very easy to create using automated processes or nearly automated processes.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  12. #12
    Join Date
    Dec 2008
    Location
    FL
    Posts
    1,026
    Whatever the explanation is, it made for a neat handle, and I certainly did not expect it.
    Cry "Havoc," and let slip the dogs of bench.

    I was socially distant before it was cool.

    A little authority corrupts a lot.

  13. #13
    Join Date
    Jun 2012
    Location
    New Westminster BC
    Posts
    2,981
    I wonder if the core wood is less dense than bamboo and the reason was to come up with a stronger lighter handle by using the combination of woods.

  14. #14
    Quote Originally Posted by Doug Garson View Post
    I wonder if the core wood is less dense than bamboo and the reason was to come up with a stronger lighter handle by using the combination of woods.
    Seems to me that the improvement would be minor. People have been making and using mop handles made of solid wood for a lot of years and I haven't heard any problems about them breaking or being too heavy. Any costs you would add to the mop handle would be difficult to recover in sales price, unless people just like the novelty of the handle and pay extra for that.

    Seems that manufacturers would look for cheaper ways to make the handle, maybe of synthetic material, where the handle could be extruded.

    Mike
    Last edited by Mike Henderson; 02-16-2020 at 1:13 PM.
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  15. #15
    Join Date
    Apr 2009
    Location
    Palm Springs, CA
    Posts
    1,085
    That mop handle reminds me of one of my first turning projects from years ago. I had a few pieces of very hard rosewood and saw a picture of a decorative and useful way to use them. It turned out to be a great way to use up scrap wood that would have been too thin and small to do much else with.

    Mallet small file 1.jpg

    Mallet small file 2.jpg
    Dick Mahany.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •