Turning Tool Handles

A Demonstration by Brenda Stien
Edited by John Lucas

Brenda Stien was our demonstrator for February. Brenda turned a tool handle and opened the house to discussion several times to discuss other options. I thought this was a wonderful idea and those who attended learned quite a bit. I will try to write this up including the audience tips and techniques. Brenda learned to turn handles from Charles Alvis. I believe Charles was the first one that I saw also.

First select the wood of the proper size. For small size tools green wood will work but for larger tools I would use dry wood. Since wood takes about a year per inch to dry cut or split some now for future tool handles. I've turned larger green handles and just let them split. After a few months just fill this void with epoxy and sand it down. You can also laminate wood to get the thickness. Brenda chose a solid piece of dry wood for the demo.

There was some discussion on whether to drill the hole for the tool before or after turning. Brenda drills a small hole and uses a 60 degree live center in the tail stock for centering. After the handle is turned a drill is mounted in headstock with a Jacobs chuck and the handle is pushed onto the drill. This gives the proper size hole for the tool.

One tip from the group was to put the handle in a chuck at the beginning. After the handle was turned you put the Jacobs chuck in the tailstock end and drill. It was felt that this was safer but probably slower. You have to pull the drill out to clear the shavings.

Several others suggested drilling to the proper size before turning. This guarantees that the hole will be centered. If the hole is large care must be taken to keep from splitting the wood with the tail center. I have tool handles done both ways. Some are not centered. It doesn't look very professional but I can't tell the difference when I use the tool. In other words all these methods work.

Brenda used a rough out gouge and spindle gouge to turn the handle. To turn the ferrule she used a small spindle gouge. She turned a tenon on the tool end of the handle. The tenon was turned to be slightly oversize and a brass compression nut was threaded on. There was a lively discussion on ferrule material. Basically it boiled down to anything that would fit on a round tenon will work. The ferrule is there to keep the wood from splitting. There is quite a bit of force applied at this point when using the tool and wood by itself isn't strong enough.

A compression nut has advantages and disadvantages. Because it screws on it is unlikely to fall off. Wood moves as it changes it's moisture content and when it gets really dry a smooth ferrule will often fall off eventually, even with good glue. The compression nut won't because it is threaded on. The compression nut is six sided. If you want it round then it must be turned. Some will leave it unturned. Brenda demonstrated turning the ferrule round. She used the small spindle gouge. I've tried using bowl gouges, spindle gouges, skews and scrapers. All of these tools work but I prefer the spindle gouge. Soft materials can be turned quite well using high-speed steel tools. Copper sometimes comes hardened and can be difficult to turn. Heat it red hot and quench it in water. This is the same procedure for hardening steel but it will soften the copper. Try turning brass sometime. It's really fun to watch those little bitty curls coming off. Take really light cuts or you'll get chatter.

Here is a list of materials that I've seen or used as ferrule's. Brass Nipples. These come in different lengths and are fairly thick. I cut them with a hacksaw and then square up one end using a wooden mandrel on the lathe. Aluminum tubing and Copper tubing can easily be turned. For quick handles I've used strapping tape, dental floss or string soaked with CA glue to wrap the tenon. (Wrap the tenon first then apply thin CA glue) You ex Navy guys should be able to do a good job of this. I've had one tool that lasted for 8 years done with Dental floss and CA glue.

Because of wood movement the round non- threaded ferrules eventually fall off. I've found 2 solutions. One is to use a flexible glue such as Dupont e600 or Elmers F26. These take hours to dry so you can't turn in one session. The other is to dry the tenon in a bucket of heated sand. After it is dry turn the tenon to a snug fit and drive the ferrule on. The moisture in the room will swell the tenon and lock it in place. I don't have a moisture meter so I let them sit in a bucket on stove for 6 hours or so on low heat. This is a chair makers trick but works great for tools. Someone mentioned heating the ferrule and then driving it on a snug tenon. When it cools it will lock in place. This is how wagon wheels were built.

When you've finished turning the handle you will have to install the tool. If it is a round tool it is simple to install. Just drill a hole 1/64 smaller than the tool and drive it in the hole. You can also drill the hole the size of the of the tool and then epoxy it in place. Brenda suggested you drill a small hole in the side to relieve the hydraulic pressure created by the glue. She said she broke a handle while pushing a tool into the hole. If you have a tapered tang on the tool you can drill a series of holes decreasing in size as you go deeper. Then push the tang in and fill with epoxy. A better alternative is to drill the holes under size and then heat the tang near the red hot stage. Now drive it in. It will burn it's own perfectly sized hole. This is a blacksmiths trick and works incredibly well. To protect the blade from overheating you can simply wrap a wet rag around the blade while heating the tang.