5 Attachment(s)
Update - some handles made from Aphananthe wood
It has taken me a while, I had to wait for the sample Bob sent me to dry sufficiently, but I can now give you a brief update on the ‘Axe-handle wood’ (Aphananthe philippensis). It was pretty fresh from the tree when it arrived, so I split the piece in two to speed things up, put them on top of a stack of other wood, and forgot about them until a couple of days ago when I wanted to make some mallets. The date I wrote on it said they’d arrived 04/19, so it’s had more than its “year per inch” drying time, including a particularly dry Spring/Summer. I reckoned it should be ready to use.
It has dried nicely, with no warping or twisting. I calculated the approximate density from the dry weight & dimensions and it worked out at about .74, which is close enough to the 12% MC figure of .72 in the Wood Database: Attachment 475569
I sliced off a handle-sized rectangle and popped it in the lathe (my method for making oval handles was described here so I won't bore you with that). The wood turned very nicely and was easy to sand to a smooth finish – I only sanded to 240 grit, which got it plenty smooth enough for a handle. I made a second handle & put one on a 300g chunk of Black Wattle (don’t know which species of Acacia it is, but it’s a dense, hard bit from a tree that died in our backyard) and the other on a piece of Blue Gum (E.tereticornis). This is the size head I like most for general chisel-tapping. Attachment 475570
So, this wood definitely fulfils most of the criteria I like to find in handle wood; stable, easy to work and takes a very nice, tactile finish. These are handles that invite being held. I won’t be able to comment on its toughness & durability for years to come, but I have little doubt it will be more than adequate in this role. It was considered a good axe-handle wood, and axe-handles have to cop more punishment than a mallet used for tapping chisels.
I am not a wood anatomist, but I was wondering if this would classify as a “ring-porous” or "diffuse-porous" wood? The vessels are very fine & arranged in staggered rows throughout the earlywood : Attachment 475572
It’s a member of the Elm family (Ulmacae), and the grain pattern is very reminiscent of Elm, but in miniature. You need the right cut to show them best, but you may be able to discern what I’m talking about in this pic - the arrow points to the most visible bit: Attachment 475571
A little ritual I go through when assessing woods for handle material is what I call my “snap test”. Not highly scientific, but it does give me an indication of how brittle the wood is. I cut a piece about 3-4mm thick following the grain as much as possible, then take it between fingers & thumbs & break it in the centre. “Good” handle woods are those that bend a long way before breaking, and when they do, they give-in reluctantly splitting into long fibres - in other words, a “greenstick fracture", in dry wood. The Aphanthe passed the test pretty well: Attachment 475568
So there you have it, I would rate this wood as excellent for mallet & hammer handles, and I strongly suspect it will also thread very nicely, though I haven’t got around to that est, yet….
Cheers,