What Wood for Chisel Handles?

[David Weaver]

Good morning ladies and gents. I just picked up a delta mini lathe over the weekend seeing as it looks like delta is trying to blow them out (they were $199 at rockler down the street, and I see they're as cheap as $159 on the web).

I also picked up some kingwood and lignum vitae to turn handles. Both probably not the first things I should try turning, but I have already. It's hard to get a #2 morse taper into the lignum - that's for sure.

Anyway, the only reason I got a lathe is to turn tool handles as my attempts at getting the taper correct to fit the sockets just takes too long and isn't accurate enough using a rasp.

I am trying to find hornbeam blanks to make handles, but haven't found any local. Where is a good place to order online? - there are tons of places with blanks, but hornbeam doesn't seem to be a popular one. And knowing that you can strike Maine hornbeam with a steel hammer without having a hoop at the end of the chisel, is there any other wood that performs as well?

I guess I'll use the kingwood to make paring handles - I can't imagine that too many of the dalbergias wouldn't chip if they were hit with a hammer.

Anyone with experience with lignum vitae for handles? Will it tolerate hammer strikes? I can get it for about $3 for each handle.

[harry strasil]

don't understand the #2 morse taper into the LV???? can you elaborate, please?

[David Weaver]

Being a newbie, I might have the names of the lathe parts backwards. Whatever sticks in the wood and has the teeth on it - it's a pain in the weenie to get it in the lignum far enough to get the teeth to bite into the wood - even with a hammer. Maybe the lathe is supposed to be able to get the blank to dig in by turning the adjuster - but the delta midi lathe doesn't seem to have enough "spank" to get the points far enough into the blank.

Is the morse taper on the other end without the teeth? Or is it the some other part of the lathe?

I swore that I would never get into turning, and don't want to learn more than I have to, but I have too many socket chisels without decent handles.

[harry strasil]

morse taper is what is in the headstock and tailstock to hold the part you are talking about and the center for the back end.

If your driver has 4 teeth, just make two saw cuts at 90 degrees to let the teeth fit into.

[harry strasil]

FWIW, I take and roll up a piece of paper into a funnel, put in the chisel socket and fill with either sawdust and glue mix or JB weld and let dry then remove to get right taper for chisel handle, or use a candle and soot the socket inside then try handle in the socket, work the black spots down till it fits. You can also spray the socket with WD40 or something and then work the wet spots down too.

[harry strasil]

for a loose handle I oil the tapered part then wrap paper around it to hold it and then put handle back in, kinda like glueing a plane shaving to a chair rung end to make it fit tight.

[David Weaver]

Harry -

Thanks for the tips. I'm not above shimming with paper, for sure. The saw tip is a "duh" tip, but one I'll be using plenty.

Do you buy hoops, or do you smith them?

[harry strasil]

make sure handle tapered part is at least 1/4 or more short of bottoming out.
When turning shoulder at upper end of taper, leave about 3/16 long as it will wedge deeper with use.
.

[Mark Stutz]

David,
Dont' know about Hornbeam unless you just get handles from LN. As long as the wood for the handle is harder than the mallet, then you're good to go. Osage or Persimmon will work very well. Trditionally, most chisels were ash or hickory, though they usually had leather washers on the striking end. Bob Smalser has some good threads on re-handling chisels.

Mark

[Mike Henderson]

FWIW, I take and roll up a piece of paper into a funnel, put in the chisel socket and fill with either sawdust and glue mix or JB weld and let dry then remove to get right taper for chisel handle, or use a candle and soot the socket inside then try handle in the socket, work the black spots down till it fits. You can also spray the socket with WD40 or something and then work the wet spots down too.

I like your idea for getting the taper of the socket. In the past, I would just estimate the taper and "try and fit" until I got a good fit. Your idea would definitely make it go faster. Thanks!

Mike

[Mike Henderson]

Just a suggestion for David. Take some scrap of any kind of wood and make a handle or two. That will give you some practice and you can see what the handle feels like in your hand. Once you get the fit and feel you like, then turn your "good" wood. You won't waste so much that way.

The feel in your hand is very important. Don't be in a rush to turn the "final" handles until you're really sure you like the way the handles feel (overall shape, how big around, and how long). The only way you'll know your real preferences is to make several of different sizes and pick the one that feels best.

[added note] Oh, one more thing. When you turn the handles, leave the centers on both ends of the handles. That way, if you later decide that you don't like the shape of the handle, you can put it back into the lathe easily and change the shape.

Mike

[David Weaver]

In short, the LN handles are too short for hand work, but good struck. The hirsch handles are OK, I wouldn't call them great, but I wouldn't call them intolerable, either. They're OK for hand work, and OK struck.

Longer and thinner handles for paring would be nice on one set, and stubby handles on chisels for striking.

I don't have enough hours under my belt to know that my tastes won't change, but it's nice to be able to just make other handles if that's the case.

[David Tiell]

In short, the LN handles are too short for hand work, but good struck. The hirsch handles are OK, I wouldn't call them great, but I wouldn't call them intolerable, either. They're OK for hand work, and OK struck.

Longer and thinner handles for paring would be nice on one set, and stubby handles on chisels for striking.

I don't have enough hours under my belt to know that my tastes won't change, but it's nice to be able to just make other handles if that's the case.

David,
Since you are talking about socket chisels, maybe you could make two sets, one for hand work, and the other for striking. Just swap them out as needed.

Dave

[Glenn Madsen]

Maybe it's a little simple, but why would you go out and buy something special in the way of wood to learn with? There's got to be something hard, dense and nasty in the wood pile somewhere to turn.

I used Sweetgum(?) Liquid amber, because that's what the city cut down, when it tore up some sidewalks. Or almond, because the load of firewood we got for my dad came from a friend's orchard. Or scraps of soft maple, because I had pieces left that fit the need from a bathroom project.

In other words, free wood. Someday, if those fail, or I need something more special, I'll make some more. And I'll be better at it. I hope, at least.

Have fun with your new lathe.

[David Weaver]

Because the blanks aren't that expensive, at least to me. If the first one turns out OK, I want to use it. I have gobs of chisels without handles, so even if it doesn't turn out great, I'll put it on a mortise or framing chisel or something less delicate than a paring chisel.

I can get foot long 2x2 osage blanks for about $3, and the Lignum are $6. I can easily make two chisel handles out of each.

Just a matter of perspective, I guess. Other than rough work and ripping, I do most of my work by hand because I like how woodworking feels. I don't know anything about turning, but I do know I like the way lignum and kingwood feel (even if the tips of the gouges don't), so I'm just indulging myself.

In order to knock the corners off the blanks before putting them on the small lathe - I use a drawknife and a hollow-face bailey shave from the 1870s to rough most of the stuff off - not because it's practical or faster, but because it's what I want to do and it feels good.