Making stick tang handles on a lathe?

[rancid badger]

Well there you go! I've obviously been misinformed while being instructed in the use of my lathe!! It just goes to show, you can't always trust the bloke who's training you,even if you've paid through the nose, to impart accurate information.

However, going off Dave's info, green wood is the way to go for your handles, maybe?

 

[Dave Budd]

don't get me wrong, the reciprocating action of a pole (or bow, or cord driven) lathe can allow you to turn asymmetrical shapes, but it is a case of getting the tool in for the cut and the hell out of the way when the piece not being turned comes at you! When tuning on a pole lathe normally, the wood is still revolving when you cut; its just that you only get a handful of revolutions per stroke of the leg rather than a constantly rotating workpiece.

You could turn the handles green and then leave to dry before fitting. You wouldn't be able to judge what shape that you would end p with (shrinkage varies with species, moisture content and speed of drying) and there will be a percentage of wasters due to splitting. Also, if the goal is to make a handle quickly then this won't work du to the dying time

Just fit a block of wood to the handle and shape with knives or rasps. There are no short cuts without investing in machinery (even then, they only cut down on one aspect of the work)

 

[mountainm]

My Japanese saw rasp chews through wood quick enough to make crafting simple handles less laborious. Would highly recommend one. A lot cheaper than a lathe and takes up less room to.

 

[GGTBod]

I like the look of those Mountainm thanks for informing me of their existence

 

[Paulm]

My Japanese saw rasp chews through wood quick enough to make crafting simple handles less laborious. Would highly recommend one. A lot cheaper than a lathe and takes up less room to.

They are great, highly recommended after first trying one on a Dave Budd course, very effective at shifting wood quickly and easily.

Cheers, Paul

 

[Dave Budd]

they are great tools I first saw them in the Axminster catalogue. I wasn't sure if they would be any good, so I bought one to try. Then I ordered 10 of them! They are fantastic. They work on wood, plastic, rubber, non ferrous metals, etc I have used them on mild steel too, just don't expect them to last well. The rough side shifts the wood and then the fine side will allow you to refine the surface to the point that 120 grit paper or a scraper will remove the rasp marks