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Those fat clumsy Henry Taylor 17" tool handles......

Odie

Odie

Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
TOTW Team
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Henry Taylor makes fine bowl gouges......but, those big fat long handles are not for me! At 5"9", I'm not that big a man, and my hands/fingers are average size for my height. The width of the handle near the end is just too big around for comfortable tool work, and I've been living with them for years......until a week, or so, ago! They now have nice contoured shape that works much better for my style of tool control, IMHO.

The length would be ok, if I had a larger swing than 16", but as it is, the Henry Taylor 17" handles are a little too long for interior work.......they often hit on the bedways, and I'm unable to get the angle I'd prefer to be using.

The solution hit me the other day........put the round steel of the gouge into a chuck and the butt end into a revolving center.......cut and shape to my liking! These handles already have a center mark from when they were originally made.......easy to find the center on the butt end.

For 1/2" diameter, or smaller, the steel slips into the hollow spindle fine, past the chuck, and the chuck can be installed on the ferrel. Larger than 1/2" diameter can be chucked on the steel itself. (Careful to not thrust larger gouges into the No.2 MT, or damage can result, but >1/2" will slip right into the hollow spindle past the Morse Taper.

I don't think I spent more than about 10 minutes apiece to shape and shorten any of this batch of 6 gouges.......real easy to do. Didn't even bother to put a finish on them.....bare wood works for me, and I'm really not into the looks of them, just the utility.

......and, now I'm much happier with these......You could say they are custom made just for me! :cool2:

For me, 13 1/2" in length is just about right. 😀

There will probably be those who will say to just make my own handles from scratch......that's a good suggestion, but I've got a whole bunch of them already handled.....so, this is a solution to my particular circumstances.😉

In the pic, the one at the top is unmodified for comparison.....the other six are done up to my liking.......



ooc
 

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Bill Boehme said:
I have one 3/4" HT bowl gouge and I sort of like the handle, but then I have big hands.
Click to expand...

I'd guess there are those with more average sized hands that do prefer the thicker handles, as well......and, there will be those who have always used the Taylor handles, like I did, and didn't know this simple modification was so easy to do, and would make such a positive difference!

Now.......I ain't going to send you one, Bill.......but, if I could put one of my modified handles in your hands, I'd say the odds I could make you change your mind about giving up the original Taylor handles for a more form fit and feel are not that unreasonable a gamble! 😀

I probably couldn't convince Wilt Chamberlain to make the switch, though! Heh,heh,heh!

ooc
 
I admit that I have always turned (and sometimes shortened) the handles of most factory handles down to suit me. Have done for 20 years.

Do it the same way as Odie.

Lurve Henry Taylor gouges.😀
 
Ian Robertson said:
I admit that I have always turned (and sometimes shortened) the handles of most factory handles down to suit me. Have done for 20 years.

Do it the same way as Odie.

Lurve Henry Taylor gouges.😀
Click to expand...

Ian.......I'm not surprised at all that this idea has been thought of before! I'd be willing to bet there are quite a few turners who have done this modification......only, it's something I don't think I've ever seen discussed before.

You don't suppose the profile is made fat, in the first place.......so that it afforded some leeway for personal modification.......?

Nah, probably not, but the end result is the same! 😀

ooc
 
Bill Boehme said:
I have a solution for your problem of he tool handles hitting the bed of the lathe ... get a Robust with a 25 inch swing. 😀

BTW, my knuckles don't quite drag the ground.
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Heh,heh,heh, Bill......Yeah, I guess that would do it! 😀

You know......Those who've been on this forum long enough will remember a time when I contemplated "upgrading" my lathe. Over the past few years, something has happened to my attitude about this. I guess there comes a point when I will come to a realization that I just can't part with something that has been such a large part of my life for so long......and I get sentimental about these things.......

......I believe I have come to "that" point in time with my Australian Woodfast lathe. 😀

I've gotten rid of so many things in life that sooner or later, I've regretted.....

.....and, I don't think I'll make that mistake, this time!........:cool2:

ooc
 

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try being a short woman with small hands..we've dealt with this for years from drills , hammers to turning tools& the height of lathes & workbenches. We must be thinking a lot alike, as I did the same thing to mine.
 
Michelle Rich said:
try being a short woman with small hands..
Click to expand...

😱 Can I just take your word for it instead? Perhaps I'll stick with being who I am. 😀

I have a friend whose Powermatic 3520B isn't high enough to suit him so he put six inch riser blocks on the legs. The spindle height is just below my chin. I have tried turning on it and it feels really strange. I m a believer in keeping my nose to the grindstone, but not to the lathe spindle. 😛

Did I mention that the Robust lathe height is continuously adjustable to for any height person. 🙂 The really nice thing is that each leg is independently adjustable to accommodate uneven floors which is nice because my concrete floor is anything but flat.
 
whatever length that one needs to turn with, i understand (read it somewhere, not sure of where) that it is better to have fat handle where you hold it. suppose to be less fatiguing especially if you have a touch of arthritis.

any opinions on the arthritis?
 
I have built most of the tools I use complete with handles that are 1 1/2" diameter. Sure much easier on these old arthritic hands!!! Cheers. Ron.
 
I like big fat long handles. I have never had a problem with the handles hitting the lathe. I hold my tools level, and almost never drop the handles. I do roll them over quite a bit. They just don't feel right with one hand down by my hip.

robo hippy
 
charlie knighton said:
whatever length that one needs to turn with, i understand (read it somewhere, not sure of where) that it is better to have fat handle where you hold it. suppose to be less fatiguing especially if you have a touch of arthritis.

any opinions on the arthritis?
Click to expand...

Think that it has more to do with white knuckles than arthritic ones. If you're one of those types who tries to muscle the lathe you'll also try to grip harder. Larger diameter handle keeps you from the death grip because you can't get a full wraparound.

When I'm carving I have mallets with many different handle types and diameters. I find I favor the larger diameters as the day goes on.
 
MichaelMouse said:
Think that it has more to do with white knuckles than arthritic ones. If you're one of those types who tries to muscle the lathe you'll also try to grip harder. Larger diameter handle keeps you from the death grip because you can't get a full wraparound.

When I'm carving I have mallets with many different handle types and diameters. I find I favor the larger diameters as the day goes on.
Click to expand...

For some of us, a profiled handle also lends itself to delicate control through an arc......not everyone requires it, but for those who have discovered this to be beneficial, it allows for a marked improvement in tool control.

Let's not make an incorrect assumption......(as MM repeatedly does)......and apply that incorrect assumption to an act that can only be embraced if the premises is accepted as valid. A profiled handle does not indicate a "death grip"......In all fairness to MM, there are probably some turners who do grip much too hard, but this, IMHO, an indication being insecure in one's skills, and not having a thorough knowledge of proper presentation. The solution to the "death grip" isn't to have fat handles, but to learn advanced tool control and presentation.......😉



ooc
 
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Returning an existing handle seems like a good solution for many. I should review my tools again.

A rule of thumb is handle length should be 5:1 on the overhang of the tool over the rest. So if you overhang no more than say 3 inches and you have at least a 6" gouge sticking out of the handle, the handle should be about 12". Spindle gouges don't overhang as much as a bowl gouge so handles can be shorter. As MM and Odie both indicate, a lot has to do with personal turning style and preference.
 
Assumptions, whether correct or not, would naturally be embraced by the beholder as valid. For instance, I'll make an assumption that no person would make an assumption with a foregone notion that it is invalid. Each of us operates from our own unique set of paradigms.

My assumption is that fat handles are indisputably better because of their larger moment arm at the point where the hand meets the wood (metal, foam rubber, vinyl, plastic, or whatnot). This enables me to overpower the tool as I struggle against the rolling moment created by the direction of force between cutting edge and wood with respect to toolrest. I also favor wrapping a terrycloth towel around the already big fat handle to absorb all the sweat from my clammy palms as I defy impending doom and destruction. The towel also reduces the severity of blisters from fighting against the tool handle twisting. 😉
 
Well, those who try to muscle their work run up against Newton's third presumption, and are forced to do as much work as the motor. One would presume that greater force demands a more forceful grip, illogical as that may seem to OD.

You may also have noticed that your hand has a relaxed position which features mildly curved fingers. The farther the final shape is from this relaxed position, one might presume, the greater the stress on the joints as the flexor and extensor muscles fight with them as a hinge.

In short, smaller diameter handles may put greater tension on joints than larger, and forcing cuts forces more muscular effort regardless the diameter. If you also have arthritis, either can exacerbate it, but the higher factors are the first two.

I prefer mechanical advantages of 10 or more to 1, not 5. I would never hang anything but a hollowing tool more than an inch or so over the rest. If possible, I never allow enough space for the tool to be captured between the rest and the work. I move the rest a lot, but it gives me a chance to check the fairness of the curve with my fingers as well as my eye, and adjust the cut after the rest.
 
Now you need to dye them all different colors you you can easily identify them in the rack without having to pick each one up. I make my handle like snowflakes- and I search by shape and color.
 
You have lots more options than fat thin long short.

Turning your own handles allows oval (2 centers)
Triangular and five sided handle. The oval work nice for hollowing tools that you tend to twist a bit from level.
Ellsworth tool has an oval grip I copied from David.
Tri-sided work nice for tools you don't twist like parting tools and some flat scrapes.
Five side works well for tools like bowl gouges.

I still use a couple of bowl gouge handles I turned 20 years ago.
I just put a new Thompson gouge in one. I generally don't glue the gouge in place unless it starts twisting then I add a couple drops of CA.
Just knock the old Tool out and hit the end of the handle to seat the new tool.

Once. You turn a handle you Iike you should get a lifetime of use from it.
Al
 
Being 6 foot 3 inches tall, few lathes are set for my height, and turning larger items, I find the HT tool handles the minimum size I prefer for anything other than detail work. I also like the fact that longer tool handles facilitate using your body/body movement for making cuts. I have gone to making my own tool handles and I have learned over time to make the tools possess many different diameters at different points along the tool handle to combat fatigue. Either way, Odie, buying a lathe with a bigger swing is still the best solution 🙂 and no one said you have to get rid of your current lathe.
 
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