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How to Turn Handles for your woodworking tools?

Turning your own tool handles is more than just good spindle practice.Some turning tools are sold without handles, and many turners prefer to make their own to f it their hands.

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To turn a tool handle, cut a blank from a dense, strong hardwood such as ash or hickory, making sure that the grain runs along the lengh of the blank. A blank that is 1.5 to 2 inches square and 13 to 16 inches long will yield a standard handle. Mount the piece between centers and turn it down to a smooth cylinder.

Buy a brass ferrule for the handle, or make one from 1-inch-diameter copper tubing, cut about 1 inch long. File thp edpes smooth. Then use a parting tool to turn a tenon on one end of the blank to accommodate the ferrule.

Measure the inside diameter of the ferrule with dial calipers, and turn the outside diameter of the tenon to match. Give the tenon a slisht taner so the ferrule will fit snugly. Remove the handle from the lathe, set it end down on a work surface, and tap the ferrule in place with a mallet.

Next, remount the handle on the lathe and shape it with a skew chisel and spindle gouge.

As you are turning the handle, switch off the lathe occasionally and check how the handle feels in your hand. lf you wish, make decorative grooves in the tail end of the handle; some wood turners identify their tools according to the number of grooves in thp handle.

0nce you are satisfied with the handle's shape, you need to bore a hole in the tenon end to accommodate the tang of the tool. The size of the hole depends on the type of tang. For round-section, untapered tangs, bore a hole equal to the tang diameter 2 to 3 inches deep. For squaresection, tapered tangs, you need to drill a two-step hole: The top half should be the same diameter as the tang 1.75 inches from the tip; the bottom half should be the same width as the tang 0.75 inch from its tip.

Bore the holes on the lathe. Mount the bit in a Jacobs chuck and attach the chuck to the lathe tailstock. Holding the handle steady, advance the tailstock and handle with the handwheel so the bit bores straight into the tenon end. Make sure the hole is centered in the blank.

To complete the handle, saw off the waste at the butt end and insert the blade into the handle. Secure the blade in place by rapping the butt of the handle with a mallet.

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