Turned my first tool handle.....lessons learned!!!

[Dennis Nagle]

(I've only been turning for a month so go easy on me ah?)

I got a bunch of 3" x 3" lumber a couple weeks ago to turn handles. Well, the wood was pine and is too soft. It turned really easy but when I went to drill the holes for the tools, they went way off center. I drilled the hole for a 3/8" spindle gouge but the wood was so soft, I could pound in the big tapered tang of my rough gouge. BUT, the hole was all out of alignment so the tool is all out of whack. Oh well, it is my first.

The handle is 22" long and about 2.25" at its widest. I used Purple, Red, and Yellow liquid Rit dye, then rubbed DNA across the color lines to blend them. Then I used 3 coats of WOP. The Colet(sp) is 1.25" copper pipe connector.

[Rob Boesem]

Without a doubt, the coolest dyed handles I've seen!!

I can tell you from a fellow noob, that no turning is wasted and you learn something from everything you try....The knot near the rear of you handle concerns me a bit, but I think you did a nice job.

[charlie knighton]

on a nice summer day, your hands will sweat, you will be able to see what tool you used, try some lemon juice to clean your hands

ten years from now you should smile about pine handles, are there any sap in the handles or are they dry???

[Jamie Donaldson]

I think you'll find this handle too long for a spindle roughing gouge, and I would cut it just about where the knot is located. After you have more turning experience you'll also find that well finished shiny handles are too smooth for good grip, and rough up the handle with some 120 sandpaper to improve the "traction factor."

[Aric Krueger]

Nice color job on the handle!

Drill bits almost always wonder off center a little bit when drilling wood end grain. It won’t make the handle unusable but it may make it awkward.
The problem might be with the drill bit. I assume you used regular machinist drill bits. Depending on how well it’s ground, one cutting edge might be cutting more than the other, causing it to wonder.

Even if the bit’s grind was perfect, the wood density between the annual growth rings will cause it to wonder. This is especially true in pine and other softwoods. I would recommend using a hardwood that is defect free (no knots, cracks etc) with straight grain. A rived blank would be best so as to avoid grain run-out along its length.

There are some ‘tricks’ to keep the hole as straight as possible. Rather than designing the handle then drilling the hole, drill the hole then turn the rest of the handle. Mount the blank in a chuck and use the tailstock. Rough the blank to round then drill the hole at the tailstock end (use a spindle steady if you have one). Start by using small drill bit sizes and work up to the size you want. Remove the spindle steady if you were using one. Put your drill chuck with bit in the hole at the headstock end and advance the tailstock into the blank. This will make a new center that is aligned with your wondering hole. (Hopefully your handle is not so heavy that it flexes the drill bit, you may have to play with it a little.) You can now finish turning it between centers using a spur drive on the new center you marked and a 60° cone revolving center at the tail stock in the hole of your handle.

You’ve probably seen these but just in case, here are some resources on making handles.
http://www.woodturningonline.com/Tur...s.php?catid=99

The challenge and learning is half the fun! I’ll bet your next handle will be exactly what you’re aiming for! Happy turning!

[Steve Vaughan]

I really like the color. Makes for a really cool handle. I agree with the others on their ideas and this is exactly where and how you learn. It's a great looking handle and cool colors.

[Dennis Nagle]

Thanks for all the good data and ideas. Even if this pine handle gets too loose too fast, I still had fun and learned A LOT!!! Aric is right, my next handle will turn out just like I want it.

[Mike Cruz]

Dennis, I think your handle turned out nice looking. But I have to ask... Am I the only one that is concerned about a handle make of pine? Not only is it soft (so the tool steel may likely work loose fairly quickly, but pine really isn't very strong. I'd be concerned that one good catch could bust it. Granted, it is a spindle gouge, not a bowl gouge, but still...

[Timothy Mann]

I would have some serious concerns about useing pine for a tool handle as well. Please keep your safety in mind first. I would suggest useing a straight grained hard wood for tool handles. I think you did a nice job on the shape and the dye job however.

[Dennis Nagle]

Yep, the wood being pine has been the cause of most of the problems with this handle. I used it today to turn two Teak and Oak handle blanks today and it worked just fine. I didn't use it aggressively and I liked the way it felt. The steel is held in quite tightly by the collet but I;ll continue to monitor it.

I got 18 feet of oak banister that will make fine handles I think.

[Robert McGowen]

Just my take on things, but I would try drilling the holes before you turn the handle. Put your live center in the tailstock and put that is the drilled hole. That way, the hole is for sure centered in the handle and it should be easier to drill a straight hole is a square block of wood, instead of trying to stand a handle on end to drill it. (This is assuming that you are not drilling the hole on the lathe, which is the best way, in my opinion.)

[Scott Hackler]

What Robert said. Handles should have the hole drilled prior to turning so you are turning the handle around the hole. You'll almost never get a straight/centered hole doing it after the handle is shaped. I know, from experience when I tried to turn my first handle. Then someone, here, pointed out the process and the light bulb went off.