It's 17 March and so a tip of a Scottish hat and a raised glass of a
single malt to our Irish turners. Slainte!

I don't know why the difference between a shillalah and a tool handle
comes to mind. We hold woodturning tool handles in our hands, at times
tenderly and gently but at other times they must be held in a tight
grasp, but never with pale knuckles. Either way they are _not clubs to
bludgeon a workpiece. They may be guide-ons, but they aren't flag staffs
to wave about the spinning wood.

One of the independently diverse (perverse?) ways woodturners think
about and do things is the difference in the size, shape, material and
finish (or lack of same) of their tool handles. Plumbing pipe, copper
tubing, lead weights, stainless steel, 2X4s, and exotic woods are all
used in long, short, thick, thin, straight, curved, coved and ferruled
tool handles.

It's rare, but "I knew a turner who danced with his gouge's original
handle... in Chicago, my hometown". A tool handle is a serious thing
and worthy of all Turners to make a careful choice on their own.
Please forget shafts, bevels and edges for this once and describe (pic?)
some of your favorites and why you like them ... even if they be the
originals.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter



http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

--IIRC it's spelled "shilelagh"; vague memory from Scrabble, heh.

--
"Steamboat Ed" Haas : Concave, convex, con
Hacking the Trailing Edge! : carne: all is Zen..
http://www.nmpproducts.com/intro.htm
---Decks a-wash in a sea of words---

On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 12:17:21 -0500, (Arch) wrote:

It's 17 March and so a tip of a Scottish hat and a raised glass of a
single malt to our Irish turners. Slainte!

I don't know why the difference between a shillalah and a tool handle
comes to mind. We hold woodturning tool handles in our hands, at times
tenderly and gently but at other times they must be held in a tight
grasp, but never with pale knuckles. Either way they are _not clubs to
bludgeon a workpiece. They may be guide-ons, but they aren't flag staffs
to wave about the spinning wood.

One of the independently diverse (perverse?) ways woodturners think
about and do things is the difference in the size, shape, material and
finish (or lack of same) of their tool handles. Plumbing pipe, copper
tubing, lead weights, stainless steel, 2X4s, and exotic woods are all
used in long, short, thick, thin, straight, curved, coved and ferruled
tool handles.

It's rare, but "I knew a turner who danced with his gouge's original
handle... in Chicago, my hometown". A tool handle is a serious thing
and worthy of all Turners to make a careful choice on their own.
Please forget shafts, bevels and edges for this once and describe (pic?)
some of your favorites and why you like them ... even if they be the
originals.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter

Funny you should mention that, Arch...
I got the newsletter from my turning club yesterday and the challenge this month
is to make a tool handle..

My wife says that I should bring my favorite Olan tool in... the one that's made
out of a bolt with a hand-wrapped duct tape handle.. *g*

gotta go out to the shop tonight and have a beer with the "O'tools"..
Mac

https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

Hi Steamboat. Thanks for the correction, Ed. I knew it didn't look
right. I shoudda said "Irish toothpick".


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter



http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

"steamer" wrote in message
...
--IIRC it's spelled "shilelagh"; vague memory from Scrabble, heh.


Challenge! You can give 'em "L," Arch.

Amazing what happens when we try to impose writing on a language which
developed without it, isn't it? There's no way I would ever, with my
American, have come up with proper pronunciation for the Gaelic names of
places over there. Modern Irish are as baffled when the name is not a
familiar one. "Sound it out" is not an option.

I had the same problem in Poland, where the Latin alphabet is in use.
Pronounce it, and I could get the meaning. Trouble was, Cyril and Methodius
were orthodox or Polish would be written in the easily pronounceable
Cyrillic.

steamer wrote:
--IIRC it's spelled "shilelagh"; vague memory from Scrabble, heh.

In its anglicized form it's usually spelt "shillelagh" (note the
double-l) and the Irish is "sail-éílle". That having been said, there's
a place not far from me in County Wicklow also called Shil(l)elagh, the
Irish name of which is Síol Ealaigh.

--
Alun Saunders

Thanks, George & Alun. Siol Ealiagh, Shillelagh, Shilelagh, even
Shillalah: one religion is as good as another! (that's not the original
pun)

I should have used "Billy Club", but then some Feminist would object
that I didn't say "Billie Club".

Now what about all your favorite tool handles? Can you post pics of your
club's handles, Mac? BTW, we need to see your Olan tool and it's
important to know the exact screw threads on the bolt. Whether metric,
fine, coarse, Whitworth, unified or whatever is under that tape makes a
huge difference in how we turn. Almost as much as the way we dry wood,
perceive art or understand plagiary.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter



http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 12:17:21 -0500, (Arch) wrote:

It's 17 March and so a tip of a Scottish hat and a raised glass of a
single malt to our Irish turners. Slainte!

It's rare, but "I knew a turner who danced with his gouge's original
handle... in Chicago, my hometown".

In honor of this particular muse, I suggest we give Arch the title of
"Chairman of the Board"

Prometheus wrote:
On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 12:17:21 -0500, (Arch) wrote:

It's 17 March and so a tip of a Scottish hat and a raised glass of a
single malt to our Irish turners. Slainte!

It's rare, but "I knew a turner who danced with his gouge's original
handle... in Chicago, my hometown".

In honor of this particular muse, I suggest we give Arch the title of
"Chairman of the Board"


Hmmm. Keep that up buster and we'll have to put one of those shillelagh
things to use! g

....Kevin
--
Kevin Miller
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
Juneau, Alaska
Registered Linux User No: 307357

On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 15:42:02 -0500, (Arch) wrote:

Thanks, George & Alun. Siol Ealiagh, Shillelagh, Shilelagh, even
Shillalah: one religion is as good as another! (that's not the original
pun)

I should have used "Billy Club", but then some Feminist would object
that I didn't say "Billie Club".

Now what about all your favorite tool handles? Can you post pics of your
club's handles, Mac? BTW, we need to see your Olan tool and it's
important to know the exact screw threads on the bolt. Whether metric,
fine, coarse, Whitworth, unified or whatever is under that tape makes a
huge difference in how we turn. Almost as much as the way we dry wood,
perceive art or understand plagiary.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter

don't know if I can get pictures of the club challenge, but I'll try... It's on
March 25th..

I might even drag the camera out to the shop today and take a picture of my Olan
handle and post it on ABPW... *g*

Next time I make one, I really want to take construction shots and put up a page
on making them..

See if you can get a handle on all this, Arch..
Mac

https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 20:52:21 -0900, Kevin Miller
wrote:

Prometheus wrote:
On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 12:17:21 -0500, (Arch) wrote:

It's 17 March and so a tip of a Scottish hat and a raised glass of a
single malt to our Irish turners. Slainte!

It's rare, but "I knew a turner who danced with his gouge's original
handle... in Chicago, my hometown".

In honor of this particular muse, I suggest we give Arch the title of
"Chairman of the Board"


Hmmm. Keep that up buster and we'll have to put one of those shillelagh
things to use! g

...Kevin

Kevin.. this is ARCH we're talking about...... maybe Chairman of the Bored?

Mac

https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 20:52:21 -0900, Kevin Miller

wrote:

Prometheus wrote:
On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 12:17:21 -0500, (Arch) wrote:

It's 17 March and so a tip of a Scottish hat and a raised glass of a
single malt to our Irish turners. Slainte!

It's rare, but "I knew a turner who danced with his gouge's original
handle... in Chicago, my hometown".

In honor of this particular muse, I suggest we give Arch the title of
"Chairman of the Board"


Hmmm. Keep that up buster and we'll have to put one of those shillelagh
things to use! g

...Kevin

Kevin.. this is ARCH we're talking about...... maybe Chairman of the
Bored?

Mac
=============

Mac,
Kevin has thought for years that HE was Chairman of the COC Board; probably
all that whale blubber they eat up there in the Frozen North. {:-)

Ken Moon wrote:
"mac davis" wrote in message
...
On Sat, 18 Mar 2006 20:52:21 -0900, Kevin Miller

wrote:

Prometheus wrote:
On Fri, 17 Mar 2006 12:17:21 -0500, (Arch) wrote:

It's 17 March and so a tip of a Scottish hat and a raised glass of a
single malt to our Irish turners. Slainte!
It's rare, but "I knew a turner who danced with his gouge's original
handle... in Chicago, my hometown".
In honor of this particular muse, I suggest we give Arch the title of
"Chairman of the Board"


Hmmm. Keep that up buster and we'll have to put one of those shillelagh
things to use! g

...Kevin
Kevin.. this is ARCH we're talking about...... maybe Chairman of the
Bored?

Mac
=============

Mac,
Kevin has thought for years that HE was Chairman of the COC Board; probably
all that whale blubber they eat up there in the Frozen North. {:-)

That's muktuk to you, heathen. g I'm just trying to keep the
atrocious jokes to a minimum. Can't have just anybody spouting off with
bad puns or we'd have a whale of problem on our hands. Of course, this
may have just been a fluke...

....Kevin
--
Kevin Miller
http://www.alaska.net/~atftb
Juneau, Alaska
Registered Linux User No: 307357

On Sun, 19 Mar 2006 20:14:11 -0900, Kevin Miller
wrote:

Mac,
Kevin has thought for years that HE was Chairman of the COC Board; probably
all that whale blubber they eat up there in the Frozen North. {:-)

That's muktuk to you, heathen. g I'm just trying to keep the
atrocious jokes to a minimum. Can't have just anybody spouting off with
bad puns or we'd have a whale of problem on our hands. Of course, this
may have just been a fluke...
drum roll

...Kevin

/drum roll

*groan*
Mac

https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm

I appreciate being nominated as a member of the board, but I could never
be Chairman. I can't sing, but I'm much more like Dean than Frank.

Seems their's no interest in discussing what handles you all favor and
use for your different turning tools. Sorry. Best to forget tool handles
and return to a more helpful, topical & popular subject.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter



http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

On Mon, 20 Mar 2006 13:15:35 -0500, (Arch) wrote:

I appreciate being nominated as a member of the board, but I could never
be Chairman. I can't sing, but I'm much more like Dean than Frank.

Seems their's no interest in discussing what handles you all favor and
use for your different turning tools. Sorry. Best to forget tool handles
and return to a more helpful, topical & popular subject.


Turn to Safety, Arch
Fortiter



http://community.webtv.net/almcc/MacsMusings

Arch.. I think we ALL have the same preferred handle...

The one on the opposite end from the pointy part.. *g*

Mac

https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis
https://home.comcast.net/~mac.davis/wood_stuff.htm