preferred woods for turning tool handles

[Steve Tiedman]

I'll be turning a few new wood tool handles for some Carter scrapers. Wood I have on hand that will provide the blank size I need include white oak, cherry, hard/sugar maple, maybe walnut, and hickory. I have no ash, I'd have to buy some. Ash is typical for wood-handled tools from Crown, Sorby, etc.

It's been a long time since I've made lathe tool handles and the last time I did, I used sugar maple for a couple hollowing scrapers, and it seems dense enough that every action at the cutting edge has viration that rings right up to my hands. It doesn't qwell the vibes as well as ash. The hickory I have seems just as hard and dense as the sugar maple, may not be the best choice, unless you feel otherwise.

If you've made a variety of wood handles over time, do you have a preferred species you like to use? Others to avoid? Thanks.

ps- I'm not going to metal handles, I do not care for them.

 

[Ron Solfest]

I’ve made handles from cherry, walnut, oak, and laminated woods. Have several with other woods as well, and a Thompson metal handle. I don’t notice any difference other than looks which helps me choose the right one, and shapes that I’ve migrated towards what I like.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

Thanks Ron.

 

[Don Wattenhofer]

The hickory I have seems just as hard and dense as the sugar maple, may not be the best choice, unless you feel otherwise.

Hickory is harder than hard maple.

 

[John K Jordan]

My favorite is hickory, but I've used many woods: cherry, maple, bubinga, persimmon (american ebony) and dogwood.

For most things, the type of wood doesn't matter - it's all strong enough. (Although I don't think I'd use balsa wood!)
If turning needs enough force that would break a cherry or walnut handle, something else might be wrong.

One thing that IS important to me is to use some type of texturing on the handle for a better grip (and looks), whether from a texturing tool, simple v-grooves, or just a few small coves.

I like to make aluminum inserts for most handles with set screws to hold the tools. That way I can use lots of tools with fewer handles.
Since I'm an insane photo nut, here are some photos:

For tools with round 1/4 and 3/8" shafts.
I like a small diameter insert for a small diameter tool because of how I like to hold the tool when turning details.


These are for round 5/8" shafts, persimmon and bubinga.

I'll put some big skews and scrapers with tangs into the same inserts, just tighten the set screws.

A few in a row. The 3rd from the left is one I bought many years ago. I thought, hey, I can make these myself!


And how a deep hole lets me set the shaft deeper to control the amount of tool extending.
(Shorter extension is better for most detail turning.)


I've made standard wood handles with ferrules and the tool glued into the handle, but I like the inserts better.
I've made some on the metal lathe but if you are interested, I posted a document here on how to turn them from aluminum on a wood lathe with woodturning tools.
It's not real fast but it's also not difficult!

Thread 'Turning metal on a wood lathe'

Oct 6, 2024

I wrote this PFD document for a demo I did on turning metals, primarily aluminum and brass, on a wood lathe with woodturning tools. Relativity easy to do!

For an example I show how I make inserts for lathe tools. The one I show is fairly small but the method is the same for any size.

JKJ

• John K Jordan
• Replies: 21
• Forum: Tutorials and Tips

• 

One comment - if getting a lot of vibration in the handle, there may be something else not quite right or you are working in a different way than me.

JKJ

 

[John Grace]

Just a thought...ensure your tool rest is set distance wise close enough to the piece, ensure the tool is quite sharp, and pay attention to your presentation to the wood. Being incorrect on any of those three is the only reason why I ever get vibration in my hands. I've made handles from hickory, hard maple, white oak, ash, and just about any scrap laying about. good luck...

 

[Steve Tiedman]

Thanks for your responses, gents. Much appreciated.

 

[Josh Mandell]

I've used silver maple for most handles I've made, but haven't noticed any vibration issues. I like the patina it develops with use.

John, I love the texturing idea! I'm going to try that next time!

 

[John K Jordan]

John, I love the texturing idea! I'm going to try that next time!

Thanks! I use a variety of textures but one of my favorites is the stippling done with a tiny carbide egg-shaped cutter in a dremel - takes a while but looks and feels good. I use it on a lot of things:

The bubinga handle with 5/8" insert


Purpleheart wand


Some bottle stoppers


Bowl, bradford pear, with carved handles and feet


JKJ

 

[Josh Mandell]

Thanks for the tip! I think I have one of those among my dremel attachments so I will try that out.

 

[Gregory Hickman]

tiny carbide egg-shaped cutter

Do you mean a Kutzall burr? I assume you have the burr in a hand tool with bushings/bearings (decorating elf?)

 

[hockenbery]

Most hardwoods will work well. I don’t usually sand or finish handles

I have handles made from maple, white oak, cherry, Purple Heart, rosewood, sapele,….
Ferrell I make from brass or copper pipe or pipe fittings.

Tools I use for a long time I prefer the lighter weight woods.
Sapele is nice and a club member brought a lot of free cut off
These are sapele cut off handles for my two Jamieson bowl gouges.

 

[Richard Coers]

EVERY wood is good enough for a handle.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

I've chosen the lovely billet of white oak to provide me with the 3 new handles. I turned one down to a rough cylinder this evening, but then got distracted, by necessity, by making copper ferrules.

 

[John K Jordan]

)Do you mean a Kutzall burr? I assume you have the burr in a hand tool with bushings/bearings (decorating elf?)

No, the burr I use is much smaller, solid carbide, maybe a bit over 1/8 in diameter and a little bit longer. The end is round to make a tiny, smooth, hemispherical dimple in the wood with a gentle touch. A very small spherical cutter would work but I like the little egg shape. The shaft is 1/8” and fits into a hand-held variable-speed Dremel with self-contained motor. I do have some Foredom rotary carvers with small handpieces which would also work but they are more trouble to get out. I keep three Dremel tools hanging on hooks near the lathes with different cutters - handy to grab on a whim.

It takes just a fraction of a second to make one dimple. Then move the tool a little and make another dimple. Repeat.
I wish I had a close up picture of the cutting bit. It’s carbide, so I’ve been using he same one for 10-15 years.

Thanks for the tip! I think I have one of those among my dremel attachments so I will try that out.

Josh, I start by drawing two pencil lines to define the space. I usually stipple around the outside first, trying to vary the size of the dimples a bit and stay just inside or barely touching the line. A fairly fast speed might cut a bit more cleanly in some wood. (The harder the wood the better I like it.) Then once around on the other side, then start filling in the middle. If when done it doesn’t look quite random enough I’ll go back over a few spots. It’s difficult too be perfect at the edges so I don’t worry about it - use the skew (or a point tool) to clean up the edges at the line. Then, lightly sand the surface with 600 grit paper and apply finish.

I do this all on the lathe, rotating by hand. (I made a little thing that helps a lot when rotating the spindle by hand for stippling or carving small things if anyone is interested - just ask.)

I’ve probably used this technique a 100 times over the years.

I think I have a picture of a student stippling an equine rider’s crop handle in my document on Texturing, posted here in the Tutorials and Tips section.

JKJ

 

[Gregory Hickman]

I made a little thing that helps a lot when rotating the spindle by hand for stippling or carving small things if anyone is interested - just ask.

I'm interested in this aid you've come up with.

 

[Bill Blasic]

It is so much easier to sharpen a tool outside of the handle, all my gouges come out of the handle (actually all my Thompson tools come out of the handles). You can get a much lighter touch and take a lot less off of your steel CBN or the white wheels for that matter.

 

[Doug Freeman]

Use most any hardwood for a handle, just be sure to inspect for defects. For 3” or so back from the ferrule you want clear wood.

For 5/8” shaft bowl gouges I make my own handles and use tool handle inserts with set screws from Cindy Drozda (AL with 2 set screws, similar to what @John K Jordan makes. For $23 I’d rather buy bs buying mat’l and taking my time) so I can 1) have a longer handle, 2) remove the tool for sharpening. 3/8” BG’s arent an issue, shorter handles and lighter. I also have several shape made tool shafts for hollowing, scraping, etc where I use the handle inserts.

I’ve tried various textures on handles, and knurling works best for me. I have a Sorby spiraling wheel tool I use to do it. This winter I noticed more tools were slipping in my hands as I picked them up or returned to the tool slot. I put a bit of hockey tape at the front and rear of some handles, and am starting to prefer the feel of it vs cold slick wood. Provides a bit of friction without being cushy. I used to pretty up tool handles with embellishments but not much anymore.

 

[J. Paul Fennell]

I'll be turning a few new wood tool handles for some Carter scrapers. Wood I have on hand that will provide the blank size I need include white oak, cherry, hard/sugar maple, maybe walnut, and hickory. I have no ash, I'd have to buy some. Ash is typical for wood-handled tools from Crown, Sorby, etc.

It's been a long time since I've made lathe tool handles and the last time I did, I used sugar maple for a couple hollowing scrapers, and it seems dense enough that every action at the cutting edge has viration that rings right up to my hands. It doesn't qwell the vibes as well as ash. The hickory I have seems just as hard and dense as the sugar maple, may not be the best choice, unless you feel otherwise.

If you've made a variety of wood handles over time, do you have a preferred species you like to use? Others to avoid? Thanks.

ps- I'm not going to metal handles, I do not care for them.

I think that the SHAPE and LENGTH of the handle are more important considerations than the species of wood used. Just make sure the wood used as no defects, however minor. For me, a tool with a comfortable handle tends to be used more often than the same tool with a handle that doesn't feel right.

 

[Roger Wiegand]

I make each of my handles from something different to help me differentiate my tools with a quick glance, especially if I'm working outside the shop and have them pointy end down in my traveling tool bucket. I've never noticed any difference in use based on wood type. Tropical hardwoods can have a nice feel and elegance.

 

[hockenbery]

It is so much easier to sharpen a tool outside of the handle,

I think that is more a personal preference and how you have learned to sharpen.
Heavy handled tools can be more challenging in the handle - I avoid heavy handled tools.

Bigger hollowing tools I sharpen out of the handle


For me taking the handle off a gouge and putting it back on are two steps I don’t need to add to the process.

I find the handle a key element when I sharpen a spindle gouge- learned this from David Ellsworth last century

 

[John K Jordan]

It is so much easier to sharpen a tool outside of the handle, all my gouges come out of the handle (actually all my Thompson tools come out of the handles). You can get a much lighter touch and take a lot less off of your steel CBN or the white wheels for that matter.

I agree 1000%. I get far control
(Wait, that may be mathematical nonsense...)

 

[John K Jordan]

I'm interested in this aid you've come up with.

I don't have good pictures of it in use, but I found this one I put in my texturing document. It's the thing on the far left.

• Using a piece short piece of hard dogwood, I turned a bit oversized, mounted in a chuck and hollowed it out. Threaded it to fit the lathe spindle. (A 1-1/4"x8 tap has been handy!)
• Screwed the dogwood "tube" onto the lathe and trued it up.Removed, reversed, and mounted it in a chuck and shaped the inside end for clearance, so the piece will fit tightly onto the lathe spindle, exactly as you find in the end of chucks and chuck inserts)
• Screwed it tightly on the lathe spindle again and used a knurling tool to texture the outside for a good grip.
• Added a dark line to remind me of which way to mount it!

It use, I screw it tightly onto the lathe spindle threads. When working on a spindle that needs carving, stippling, or sanding by hand I use this little collar to turn the lathe by hand. It's more comfortable than 1) reaching around the headstock to turn the hand wheel, or 2) FAR more comfortable than turning the piece with the lathe spindle threads between my fingers!

I'll take a better picture or two later today. This makes detailing spindles by hand SO much easier!

Along the same lines:
I use the same 1-1/4"x8tpi spindle tap to make special things such as this egg chuck, specifically made to clean up the end of an egg. It also has a similarly prepared dogwood insert glued into soft cedar. The cedar is knurled to make it easier to mount on the lathe.






JKJ

 

[robo hippy]

I don't think wood species makes much difference other than you want pretty straight grain. Can't remember for sure, but I think I had one tool handle that broke across the grain. I have used cabinet grade plywood, madrone, walnut, ash, hickory, oak, and probably many others. I don't think I have used construction lumber though. My preferred shape is a straight cylinder, no bumps or humps. I will some times use a walnut oil finish. Most of the time, I am choking up on the tool handle and have the bulk of it under my fore arm. I do use the sliding headstock on my Robust lathe, and the pivoting headstock on my Vicmark.

robo hippy

 

[Steve Tiedman]

Here is one of three, two are complete. White oak with a quick smear of T&T Varnish Oil after a brief hit of 120 grit, otherwise I did not want glassy smooth. A shade over 14" long, ideal for my forearm length when riding my forearm on top the handle, it stops before it gets to the funnybone patches in my elbow. Fattest area is about 1-9/16", skinniest about 1-1/4". Then up in the hump I touched the wood repeatedly with the tip of a 3/8" spindle gouge, providing a good friction, yet low strength, grasp on the handle. I played with all the tools in my collection and payed attention to what I liked and... liked a bit less. This should provide me a relaxed grip so I can steer the tool without much grip effort, and be a good counterbalance to the 3/8" thick steel that will be mounted into it.

 

[Rusty Nesmith]

I don’t usually get fancy with tool handles. Unfortunately my hands have always fit a shovel handle pretty well. I buy a shovel handle blank from Lowe’s for around $7 and get three handles out of it. Fairly quick and easy.

 

[Josh Mandell]

Nice handle, Steve. I like the spindle gouge texturing as well.

John, thanks for the details on the spindle rotating collar and for pointing me to your texturing document. I'm fairly new to the forum, so I hadn't seen that yet. Great stuff in there. I want to make one of these collars, though. It's a small thing, but it definitely shrinks the "work envelope" when going back & forth between rotating the piece and doing detail work, compared to reaching around to the hand wheel. Looks like a good, useful project.