Thread: Timber species for bench chisel handles?

they're not big, 25cm max (80yo trunk, not big trees). When I did my handles I just split the log with an axe and made do but that's awfully wasteful. I think there's still a largish crotch buried in the shed too.

I can rip them down the middle with a chainsaw before I hand them over.. you at least have one flattish surface to work from.

At the latest I have to come down for chrissy. I could drop a couple of logs and a satchel for tom if you would be willing to shove some handle blanks in it for me when you get around to chopping it up.

PM on the way.

bah.. total hard drive melt down a few weeks ago means I can't lay my hands on the photos.

Half way down THIS page is a photo of one.

Hmm, they look tasty ;-}

Yeah, if you could rip them with the chainsaw that would make things quicker at this end.

Will do

I had better get my 2c worth in. I see no reason to use hoops unless you are going to take a metal hammer to the chisel as in Japanese chisels. That said I have remade a berg handle with the original hoop to keep the look. Being a bevel edge chisel it is not intended for a bashing in any case. I replaced some titans with spotty and no hoops and the spotty does a good job. I have also used blackbut and so far it has stood up but I am not expecting too much from it. Then I made a handle from a scrap of osage and I have to reckon it is the best handle wood around. Not only is it well suited but it looks great too.
If I can end up with enough osage offcuts then all the chisels will be getting a makeover.
Not an oz species but it did grow here. The group of chisels left to right are osage, blackbut, spotted gum and blue gum. I wont use blue gum again as it has shrunk and the hoop is now loose. The old handle shows how badly chewed up they get when hit with a metal hammer. By process of elimination I am getting there.
Regards
John

Yeah, I have a couple of Bergs that look like your last pic John.

Many thanks to Luban for the donation of some Osage. Finally picked the box up from his Dad yesterday.

I agree that hoops shouldn't be necessary but it's just another interesting wrinkle to sort out.

Putting my head in here as it follows nicely from your other thread which there's a whatsit for Berg handles and now in ' ere as I'm also interested about what timber would be good too.

Once I've had a few practices on some merbu which I have lying around, it was my plan to use ironwood as handles I have a few suspect Berg handles to also replace, very much like the last shot of Orraloon's

As Woodwould says, ash. No real shortage of it in the southern states, and it grows faster here than in Europe. For once this is in our favour as this seems to make it more resilient to blows. Otherwise, spotted gum or victorian ironbark are hard to top for handles to smack around.
cheers,
Gav.

Yeah, a number of my turning tools come in Fraxinus.

And I've got lots of it for turning but don't like it for staining if in 'repro' mode.

The Osage won't look much like birch root for the Bergs either but it's fine grained and with the patina of use ....

I lucky enough to score a full set of Harold and Saxon Chisels, Handles are Fiddleback Desert Rosewood. Nice one Trent


Cheers


Steve

Desert Rosewood?? Tell me more.

a frriend found them burning gidgee as firewood in Alice....

There's plenty of gidgee to burn. Have had fires of mulga while outback.

Originally Posted by rsser

Desert Rosewood?? Tell me more.

Hi Ern,

He's a link to some planes Terry Gordon has made with the stuff http://www.hntgordon.com.au/gallerydrw.htm and i'll get a photo of one of the chisels when i'm in the workshop tomorrow.



Cheers

Steve