Thread: Hairy Oak Handles

Keen to see what you get out of the timber, MA!

MA

Hairy Oak (and Bull Oak) are favourite timbers of mine and they will come up looking quite spectacular. Bear in mind that they darken with age.

Regards
Paul

Thanks, JP and Paul. I have played around with positioning of the handle (trying to get as much fleck as possible and avoid some rot) and set out the modified shape (Sargent's have a more pronounced top to their handles). I have drilled the two round sections, the centre hole for the rod, and cut our a little of the shape. I brought the off cut up into the house just to show everyone but I don't think they are as excited by it as me. I love the uniqueness of the grain. Hopefully it won't darken so much that the contrast disappears.....and it will be interesting to see how the knob looks when turned (this will come out of the other log, the first was milled into 30mm thick boards).

Sent from my SM-S928B using Tapatalk

That's going to turn out great! Such a beautiful timber. Good luck and enjoy the process!

When I looked at the pic you posted I thought your H.O. looked a bit pale, M.A., but when I compared it to a pic of some Paul & I collected a few years ago, it doesn't look much different. And what looks the same is the defects - wood munchers seem to love the stuff!: gallery.jpg

But the most annoying feature (& it looks like there's one in your piece) are random, small inclusions of what looks like bark, caused by (I think) some critter chewing a bit of the cambium tissue. These get filled with bark-like tissue until the defect "heals", so you don't see them until you slice through one & it suddenly appears. This is a particularly big one close to the surface: bark inclusion.jpg

Despite that, A. inophloia would be one of my favourites amongst the Casaurinas I've come across. What I've had has been far nicer to work than most of the others. The lot Paul & I got from a bit west of his place was noticeably softer & easier on tools (& me!) than the bull-oak that was growing beside it. But it polished up with a lovely tactile finish just as nicely as any bull-oak: Flame-oak pr.jpg

So your new handles should be quite spiffy when you're done....

Cheers,

I have to agree with Ian, in my experience the Hairy Oak from Paul's area is far superior to the HO we get in FNQ. It seems to be larger in section, with less splitting than ours, but then beggars can't be choosers.

Thanks CK, Ian and MT. I was impressed with the ease of milling on my bandsaw. I am finding my 6mm blade seems to do the job nicely. I am looking forward to shaping it.

Update on handle and knob. I already have a Sargent 409 and have been able to use this as a reference for the 408. Handle was a bit of trial and error (including a split needing gluing up) but got it sorted. Knob was a lot easier, being turned, but the drilling did expose the wobble in my chuck. Exposed a lot of gum veining and insect damage but I like the character.

Sent from my SM-S928B using Tapatalk

Don't worry. The repaired split is not halfway up the handle, that's just insect damage.

Sent from my SM-S928B using Tapatalk

Well, they certainly look nice. Great job! What did you use on the timber?

Great job. I like the look. Did you copy the tote and known as close as you could or did you make some adjustments to your liking?

Sent from my SM-G781B using Tapatalk

So when can we place orders, an will there be signed one offs, well done MA.

Cheers Matt.

Thanks JP, CK and Matt. I really appreciate the chance to use this timber, so thanks again to you JP. I used my standard finish BLO, Turpentine Oil and Clear Laquer. It is glossy because I installed the tote and knob while still wet. CK the tote is very close to this style of Sargent plane (I quite like the exaggerated sweep of the upper section) and the knob is a low style with a bead round the base (again in keeping but modified for height of the rod and brass "nut"). Matt what you can't see is the leather washers I made to pack the "nuts" up and the enlarged holes under the tote where I didn't quite get the location right. [emoji39]

Sent from my SM-S928B using Tapatalk

Handles really set a plane off well and adds to affinity and feel when using the tools.

Inspires, to make a few more to replace some of the machined beech handles on a couple of users ...

Looking forward to the photos of the assembled planes with the obligitury shaving and fresh paper background...