How many tool handles from one board

[Cklett]

Hi, on one of my visits to Ian's shed I admired his tools where he use sheoak for the handles. He then disappeared under his house and came back with a generous board of sheoak. A bit warped and with the words 'Surely you can get a few tool handles from this'.



Challenge accepted! I am planning to make tool handles from it and post the journey here until it is used up. However, I might have redefined the term tool handle a bit. So for this task it is any part of a tool where you hold it and grab it with your hands.

I decided to first use up some scraps of brass when I cut out the profiles of my scrub plane.



Then I also have these ugly plastic sliding bevel gauges and went to reuse the blade to make a nicer one with wood.



Next I used some brass for a small square and a dovetail marker. Used some marks on a piece of ply to dial in the angles and check the square for squareness.




Got it all square within acceptable tolerances.

So here are the first products from this board.



More to come over time. Thinking what's next.

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[BobL]

I really like your squares.
Sounds similar to a board I milled from a small apricot tree in 2007.
2 Japanese saw handles
4 chisel handles
A large turning tool handle
A half dozen tea light holders.
Assorted pate and other knives
and still have some of that board left, and 4 more boards

[IanW]

Oh dear! You are zipping down the slippery slope, Ck!

I would have been thinking about things like file handles when I gave you that board, it was none too pretty, but you've value-added far in excess of what I imagined.

Amazing what a few brass scraps and a bit of pretty wood leads to.....

Well done again

[IanW]

..... Sounds similar to a board I milled from a small apricot tree in 2007.....

Bob, I love the smell of apricot when it's being sawn or turned. Only ever had one small trunk of it. One piece is the handle of my favourite skew, coincidentally, and I used the rest for a couple of small clamp-screws. Took a beautiful thread and has lasted well because the wood seems to have just the right combination of strength & flexibility.

Cheers

[Mountain Ash]

I agree with Ian. CK you are getting some great stuff done in your workshop. Is your makers mark burnt into the timbers? And pardon my lack of understanding of Deutsch, what does "holz" mean? I see it a bit on tools

[Cklett]

I agree with Ian. CK you are getting some great stuff done in your workshop. Is your makers mark burnt into the timbers? And pardon my lack of understanding of Deutsch, what does "holz" mean? I see it a bit on tools

Thanks and yes, it's burned in. I have a small branding iron to stamp it on.

To your other question: Holz means wood

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[BobL]

Bob, I love the smell of apricot when it's being sawn or turned. Only ever had one small trunk of it. One piece is the handle of my favourite skew, coincidentally, and I used the rest for a couple of small clamp-screws. Took a beautiful thread and has lasted well because the wood seems to have just the right combination of strength & flexibility.

Cheers

The tree had just been cut down so smell is awesome - the log I had was this one.
Apri2.jpg
Also managed to find some of the products

The japanese saw handles - these are my commonly used handsaws.
smallpair.jpg
Two of the chisels (top and bottom ones, other is WA red gum, Gavel is sheoak.
Allnoflash.jpg

[Cklett]

Oh dear! You are zipping down the slippery slope, Ck!

I would have been thinking about things like file handles when I gave you that board, it was none too pretty, but you've value-added far in excess of what I imagined.

Amazing what a few brass scraps and a bit of pretty wood leads to.....

Well done again

Ian, I am sure a file handle will show up in the mix one day. I have a few other ideas in my head already....

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[Cklett]

I really like your squares.
Sounds similar to a board I milled from a small apricot tree in 2007.
2 Japanese saw handles
4 chisel handles
A large turning tool handle
A half dozen tea light holders.
Assorted pate and other knives
and still have some of that board left, and 4 more boards

Thanks Bob,
The shape of the square was mainly dictated by the scraps I had.



I could have just cut it off straight, but then the blade would have been either long and thin or short and wide. With the curved end I got a good compromise and a pleasing shape at the same time.

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[BobL]

Thanks Bob,
The shape of the square was mainly dictated by the scraps I had.
I could have just cut it off straight, but then the blade would have been either long and thin or short and wide. With the curved end I got a good compromise and a pleasing shape at the same time.

I really like this approach. ie using what you have available.

Along the same lines here is an ebony making gauge I made in 2007?
The size/shape of the gauge head was that of the piece of ebony I was given by luthier friend who had this left over after cutting out guitar fretboards.

Ebonysmall.jpg

[Bushmiller]

CK

IanW is correct.

You have slipped well and truly down the slope. When you start re-handling tools as well as making completely new tools you are a confirmed and hopeless addict. The trick is not minding you are an addict.

Regards
Paul

PS: Your addiction is a pleasure to admire.

[Cklett]

And the story continues.

After an inspiration from a recent YouTube video I made some simple depth gauges. Used up some of my brass scraps. For the stem I had a length of 4mm key steel left. When I restored my drill I had to buy a 300mm piece of key steel of which I only needed 20mm. So the rest was now used for these two depth gauges. A bigger one and a small one to make most of material.



The current collection from this board is growing.



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[Alkahestic]

Lovely work cklett. That little curve on the square is a nice touch.

[IanW]

Nice, & there's still a goodly chunk of she-oak left!

Looks like more coming........

Cheers,

[Simplicity]

Wow,

You really are a complete loss now Cklett, nice try too with the excuse about the Key steel only being in certain lengths.
I use to tell my self something similar.

Those tools a looking awesome,

Cheers Matt.