I've only been turning a couple of weeks, but I've already decided
that longer handles on my tools are a must!
My question is if I go out and harvest some of my timber for handles
which is better Osage Orange or White Oak. And how dry should it be
before I make/use it for handles?

-Terry

"THumphr" wrote in message
...
I've only been turning a couple of weeks, but I've already decided
that longer handles on my tools are a must!
My question is if I go out and harvest some of my timber for handles
which is better Osage Orange or White Oak. And how dry should it be
before I make/use it for handles?


Turn another week. The length of the handle is to allow you to make nearly
imperceptible small adjustments on the business end by making longer on the
guiding end.

Keep your rest close, the tool firmly anchored to it and as close to 90
degrees to the rest as possible, and you'll hardly feel a thing against a 15
to 1 mechanical advantage. If you do, you're not cutting, you're hacking.

Yellow birch is my favorite on the ones I've shortened.

"George" wrote: (clip) Turn another week. (clip)
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
I think George is right. Some very reliable tool companies make those
tools, and a large number of accomplished turners use them.

However, there is nothing wrong with making your own handles, and it
certainly makes a good project for a beginner. I find that the round,
tapered table legs (that have a threaded metal insert at the top) make
excellent tool handles. They are often seen for very cheap at flea markets,
garage sales and such.

My take on this is longer the handle the better, especially inside turning.
With the proper tecnique, longer is not always necessary, howerver, with
average technique (me), go long! My reason is very simple; the dreaded
catch!! A long handle gives you the mechanical advantage to hold, and a
catch does always rip the tool from your hands.

On Mar 28, 11:36 am, THumphr wrote:
I've only been turning a couple of weeks, but I've already decided
that longer handles on my tools are a must!
My question is if I go out and harvest some of my timber for handles
which is better Osage Orange or White Oak. And how dry should it be
before I make/use it for handles?

-Terry

To respond directly to the question of what wood to use, I would
personally use the oak. I have found the green Osage orange to be
very, very unstable, and then when dried an ugly color of pee. I have
had too many OO pieces self destruct while drying.

Let the oak dry as much as you can, but if you turn a pretty uniform
handle it should dry out pretty straigtht even if it is a little
green. I wouldn't turn it off the tree, but if it was a little green
you should be fine.

I had read somewhere that the old smithys used to use green oak wood
for tool handles because they could force the tool into the handle and
let the shrinkage of the wood help hold the tool in place. I tried it
on a small hollowing tool, forcing the tool into a piece of some kind
of finely grained green oak. (found wood)

It worked great.

Robert

Hi Terry

I know some of the turning tools from the far east do have rather
short handles compared with the Crown and Sorby etc. tools.

It depends a lot on what you turn, size and power of your late, blanks
etc, as what size tools you should use and the handle length.

As for what wood to use, I have made handles from rough sawn blanks as
an apprentice for tools used in metal working, as this was in Europe,
we didn't have Osage or even Hickory, so the most often used wood for
handles was Ash, or Hornbeam, Oak was not used as it likes to stick
splinters into your hands if you tread it a little rough, I would
suggest if you can get your hands on it to try to get nice Hickory,
Hornbeam or Ash, Dogwood and hard Maple is also a good wood for it,
Osage seems like a good contender also, but as it is very scarce up
here, I would like to use that for some nice turning projects ;-))),
However if you have plenty than send some to me OK, (the bigger the
better) and I'll send you some Ash for turning handles in return :-.

How dry ??, if the wood is wet and you make ferules for the shoulder
they will come loose as the wood shrinks, also the wood probably will
split if you make it from wood with the pith in it, like branch wood.

So straight grained wood that is fairly dry and without knots or the
pith in it, is what you would like to get and use, but lesser wood can
and has served also.

Have fun and take care
Leo Van Der Loo


On Mar 28, 1:36 pm, THumphr wrote:
I've only been turning a couple of weeks, but I've already decided
that longer handles on my tools are a must!
My question is if I go out and harvest some of my timber for handles
which is better Osage Orange or White Oak. And how dry should it be
before I make/use it for handles?

-Terry