Thread: Long and Light: Quick release handle

I'll be waiting to hear your review of the quick release mechanisms after a few uses!

Originally Posted by NeilS

Yes, I know that some turners like their handles heavy and some even add lead shot. Each to their own!

Adding lead isn't to make the handle heavier... well, it is, but it's more complicated than that.

Heavy handles can give a slight advantage when roughing or removing material quickly. IMO they're pointless on 'finesse' tools for final cuts.

Because a heavy handle has more mass, if you have a "borderline" catch the tool doesn't bounce as much and there's a chance that you'll simply take off a shade deeper than you intended, rather than actually having a catch as you would with a lighter handle.

The idea behind adding lead, typically in the far end of the handle is that you can get away with a much lighter handle overall. The mass is at the far end, much like the head of a sledgehammer. However, you don't need it to weigh anywhere near as much as a sledgie!

It makes for a good compromise... a light handle that doesn't bounce as much when roughing. As I said earlier, I think it's pointless for finishing cuts but as you also said earlier: each to their own.

Just thought I'd clarify that...

Looks good Neil. I'll also be interested in how it goes for you

Originally Posted by NeilS

..I recently purchased a quick release mechanism to make a new light weight handle. I went with the Jimmy Clewes cam lock mechanism (designed by Jimmy and made by Doug Thompson), ..

I have a collet style one and it's good, but very heavy making the handle very top heavy with the tool in, I'm used to it now I'm very interested in a lighter one. Where did you get yours, got a link?

A the Maleny Wood Expo I caught up with Guilio Marcolongo and had a good chat with Enzo about his current tool development. In our discussions I raised the matter of development of a collet handle to add to their range at Vermec, as there are many turners out there looking for them. Enzo seemed quite interested in the idea but said finding the time in their busy schedule to develop / design another item is an issue. Keep an eye out.

Originally Posted by Skew ChiDAMN!!

Adding lead isn't to make the handle heavier... well, it is, but it's more complicated than that.

...snip...

Just thought I'd clarify that...

Thank you for making that 'counterpoint', Andy.

I too have a range of "removeable" handles, both Set screw and collet, so I am interested in the survivability of the Ali handle.

I nominate Neil (Dai Sensai) to be Enso's guinea pig

Originally Posted by dai sensei

Where did you get yours, got a link?

As far as I know, they are only available from US.

Two sources that I know of:

From Jimmy himself...

Jimmy Clewes Quick Release Units and Set Screw Units | Jimmy Clewes

and also from the Woodturning Tool Store...

https://woodturningtoolstore.com/pro...-clewes-tools/

Originally Posted by Mobyturns

A the Maleny Wood Expo I caught up with Guilio Marcolongo and had a good chat with Enzo about his current tool development. In our discussions I raised the matter of development of a collet handle to add to their range at Vermec, as there are many turners out there looking for them. Enzo seemed quite interested in the idea but said finding the time in their busy schedule to develop / design another item is an issue. Keep an eye out.

It would be good to have an Oz option, especially if there is in aluminium option.

Originally Posted by NeilS

It would be good to have an Oz option, especially if there is in aluminium option.

Give them a call and ask what they have in the pipeline. The more enquires they get the more chance we have of getting a high quality Aussie product.

When I was at the Woodworkers Emporium in Las Vegas last year I had a real good look at the range of collett handle systems that were on offer, not my cup of tea, but worth a look at his website.
Rgds,
Crocy.

I pretty well use a light tube in stainless and a foam covering for 90% of all my handles. The business end is welded, but these days I use aluminium and epoxy it in much like the inserts Cindy Drozda sells, although my inserted portion a bit longer than hers.

As for quick release, well I just make more handles to get around that need But the Vicmarc eccentric locking set up I do like over collets, so much so I had a go at making my own and it worked well.

I do have a sort of quick release set up on my scrapers. I have several different shaped scrapers for the hollow vessels I do and all mounted on their individual shafts. So I'm swapping scraper and shaft with a knob to lock them much like the Rolly Munro set up all on one common handle.

My take on removable handleTool Handle.jpgTool Handle.02.jpg Brass 15mm allthread (50 mm.) with gouge centered with old 1/2" pipe flange and glued with araldite. Handle has 15mm m/f joiner + 15mm. joiner. added lock nut for good measure. cheap and works for me.

It is at least six months since I began using my long and light aluminium tube handle and also the Clews quick release mechanism.

On the aluminium tube handle, it has shown no sign of failing in use and it suit me very nicely. They have worked so well for me that I have since made some more.

On the Clews quick release cam mechanism (made by Doug Thompson), two things...

Unless you give it a very firm twist, I found it can start to loosen up, not to the point where it would release the tool, but enough to feel the tool starting to move in the handle. As no tool is needed to tighten or loosen it, another quick twist while at the lathe secures it again. This only happens occasionally, and probably because I didn't tighten it properly to begin with, but I thought I should mention this.

Second point, I found the depth to which tools can be inserted into the mechanism (60mm) a limitation and also a frustration. I wanted to be able to insert some of my gouges deeper into the handle, like my Woodcuts that have an extra long shaft. I will probably saw off the blind end of the mechanism to allow this to happen, but I'm not sure if that might weaken the mechanism. But, given the quality of the aluminium used, I doubt that will be an issue.

I did show my long and light handle to Jimmy with his quick release mechanism on it when I saw him in Norway last year. He was surprised at how light it was, but also that I liked it that way. But, as I said in my first post... Each to their own!

I noticed that Jimmy doesn't use his cam release mechanism on all of his own gouges, but I didn't get to discuss his reasons for this with him.

I have since experimented with a few other handle release mechanisms, which I will report on in a separate forum thread as it is a broader topic than just light and long handles.

Originally Posted by NeilS

I like a long handle on my larger (5/8” and above) bowl gouges. But, one of the problems with having longer handles is that they make the overall weight heavier. What I need is both long and light.

Up until now I have made a few lighter handles that are attached to individual bowl gouges, and they work well for me, except I’m increasingly preferring to remove the gouges from their handles while sharpening them as the longer handles get in the way while sharpening. So I’ve been moving towards removable handles.

Over time I have added a number of removable handles to my tool rack (Thompson, Woodcut, plus some custom made ones), but I’m increasingly finding these are unnecessarily heavy (for me), or unsatisfactory in other ways. Yes, I know that some turners like their handles heavy and some even add lead shot. Each to their own!

IMG_20170224_183705.jpg

So the next step for me has been to make my own long and light removable handles.

There are two basic removable handle mechanisms. Those with one or two grub screws and those with some sort of collet or cam locking mechanism that clamps and releases the gouge bar with a twist. Besides being quicker, the quick release handles also have the advantage of not requiring a grub screw wrench at hand or having to look for dropped grub screws in the shavings! The down side is that the quick release types are usually more expensive.

In practice I don’t find the grub screw type is all that much slower. If you keep your T-bar hex keys near your grinder and tool rack it doesn’t take much extra time or effort over the quick release style to release and re-attach your gouge for sharpening. But, the quick release type are nice to use: they can be operated without having to look at the mechanism while you are stepping towards or away from the grinder.

You can now buy both types of release mechanisms to make your own customised removable handle(s).

I recently purchased a quick release mechanism to make a new light weight handle. I went with the Jimmy Clewes cam lock mechanism (designed by Jimmy and made by Doug Thompson), made of aluminium, so a good start for a light weight option.

Jimmy Clewes cam collet - sm.jpg Jimmy Clewes cam collet - wt - sm.jpg

To this I attached a length of thin round aluminium tube (OD 1”) purchased from my local hardware shop. The walls of aluminium section I purchased was only 1mm thick, so I inserted a light weight plug behind the quick release mechanism and another one in the open end to strengthen it a bit. The internal diameter of the aluminium tube was close to the shaft OD of the Clewes quick release mechanism (which is abt. 7/8” or 22.22mm) …. I few winds of tape made it a tight push fit.

The combined weight of the handle and Clewes quick release mechanism comes in under 200gms. Lovely!

Jimmy Clewes collet plus handle - sm.jpg

It is yet to be seen if the 1mm thickness will bend in use; so far it has held up. I have plenty of spare aluminium tube (as it came in a 3m length) if I need to replace the first prototype and add further strengthening.

On the 1”OD of the handle, I turn with gloves and that size handle is very comfortable for me. I also added some rubber (door/window weather strip) to make it more comfortable in the hand, so that would have added approx. another 8mm to the OD.

Jimmy Clewes + handle with wrap - sm.jpg Jimmy Clewes + handle with wrap detail - sm.jpg

On cost, the Clewes cam quick release is $60USD for the 5/8”and $50USD for the 1/2”. I got mine while they were on special…... to that you need to add the cost of shipping and also the aluminium tube if you go that way. So, not exactly a cheap option when landed here and paid for in A$, but it is a solution that might suit some turners if they have similar preferences to myself.

I will report back if and when I have a failure with the thin aluminium handle.

I use stainless tube 1.6mm wall thickness. This give a fair amount of lightness and strength and it has become my standard handle. The only thing that varies is the length and perhaps now I would have 10-15 of them