Thread: Optimal woodturning handle

Are, another can of worms, how long is a piece of string ?

It depends on what it for, that is if its on a hefty gouge that I am going to lean into it and go crazy like a bull in a china shop. Then the handle is 450mm long or the length of my forearm with fingers extended. This is my longest handle its generally 25mm stainless tube with a foam cover bringing up to around 32mm dia this fits my hand well.

The wooden handles are various lengths all different as I tend to store them tool down and the different handles are for identifying them. Probably around 250-350mm with a few up around 400mm.

The Stainless is my standard handle as mentioned 450 and I have a shorter version 300mm for my internal sanding gear and some scrapers.

It varies, there may well be an optimal for you, but it wouldn't necessarily be for me. So at the end of the day, you must decide what suits you best, but then again it will vary based on the size and use of the chisel.

Originally Posted by hughie

. Then the handle is 450mm long or the length of my forearm with fingers extended. This is my longest handle its generally 25mm stainless tube with a foam cover bringing up to around 32mm dia this fits my hand well.
.

A couple of interesting points Hughie related to grip: 32mm dia fitting your hand well - which accords to my research on optimal handle size being scientifically measured as being between 32mm and 38mm. I also note with interest the use of grooves on your handles - some for decoration and some for grip. Do you find that the grooves add any significant value e.g. less strain on the hand and/or improved handling?

Cheers Phil

As the above have said, depends on you, the chisel and what you want the chisel to do. My 12mm skew has a 100mm slim handle for fine control, 19mm Kelton bowl gouge has a straight handle about 400mm and some of my hollowing chisels have a handle about 500mm, lump of plastic coated steel.

Originally Posted by dai sensei

It varies, there may well be an optimal for you, but it wouldn't necessarily be for me. So at the end of the day, you must decide what suits you best, but then again it will vary based on the size and use of the chisel.

Yep, agreed, but I suspect that there are a few key features that if teased out will aid folk in deciding what is best for them. For example is there a balance point on bowl gouges? Does having a bulbous front to the handle ease grip pressure? I don't know, but am interested in finding out.
Cheers
Phil

Originally Posted by Pat

As the above have said, depends on you, the chisel and what you want the chisel to do. My 12mm skew has a 100mm slim handle for fine control, 19mm Kelton bowl gouge has a straight handle about 400mm and some of my hollowing chisels have a handle about 500mm, lump of plastic coated steel.

Thanks Pat, interesting that you prefer straight handles even for the larger gouges. Do you find that straight handles enable finer control across all size chisels?

Phil, for my larger gouges, the straight handles work well, as no matter where your hands are, the handle is the same, eg roughing , my hand is down on my hip, near the end of the handle and for fine finishing cuts, my hand is forward of middle. some of my gouges have the original P&N handle and they are about 100mm short, but I adjust to them.

Again, it's horses for courses. My tool handles vary from 125mm long for thread chasing up to about 400mm as on the Stewart/Sorby hollowing tool. For the everyday tools the handles are about 275mm long and about 32mm diameter, roughly cigar shaped. Some of the early Sorby tools still have the sorby shaped handle, that does not worry me, niether does the length and diameter of the handle.

Jim

Originally Posted by Pat

Phil, for my larger gouges, the straight handles work well, as no matter where your hands are, the handle is the same, eg roughing , my hand is down on my hip, near the end of the handle and for fine finishing cuts, my hand is forward of middle. some of my gouges have the original P&N handle and they are about 100mm short, but I adjust to them.

I have a few straight handles and don't mind them, but find that more often than not I reach for shaped timber handles so I guess I prefer shaped - in my case I have a bit of a buggered hand so I guess my sub-conscience is telling me to use the handles with easier grip (i.e. have a bulb).

Hi Phily,
What I did some 30 years ago, is I Read Richard Raffan's " Turning Wood ".
So towards the back of the book there is a Handle Shape that really took my fancy.
Copied it on A3 to 13in. - 310mm. went home & I still think they are the best handles there are & to work with. Thickness is up to you.
I only have a small hand so mine wood be no bigger than 30mm.
Being a bit of a cheap skate, I used Allum. Tubing from old Deck Chairs for Ferules.
Almost any wood works.

At home I have a wide range of handles but whilst travelling only 3. A large for roughing/big bowl gouge/big skew/boring bars/large TCT tools, the small for my mini tools, and the medium for everything else. I have 42 chisels in the travelling kit and to be honest now prefer them.

travel chisel handles.jpg

Originally Posted by Phily

A couple of interesting points Hughie related to grip: 32mm dia fitting your hand well - which accords to my research on optimal handle size being scientifically measured as being between 32mm and 38mm. I also note with interest the use of grooves on your handles - some for decoration and some for grip. Do you find that the grooves add any significant value e.g. less strain on the hand and/or improved handling?

Cheers Phil

I arrived at the diameter , by bringing my thumb and second finger together to make a circle and measured it [ the bird finger ].
Beads etc are for grip, as and when I need it. I dont hold my handles in a white knuckle or death grip too tiring. I tend to use a fairly relaxed grip backed up with good reflexes. Also I have my lathe height on my main go to lathe set high [1200 centres]. High so that when the big hollowing tools are on centre and the handle is parallel to the floor. They neatly tuck into the armpit, giving me excellent control. When using this I dont worry about being in the line of fire as I'm out at the tailstock end with handle 450+boring bar anywhere from 300-400 giving me around 750+. The bars are hardened steel 20mm dia, very stiff and I rarely go to 400 deep hover around 300 deep for most things.

The foam is very comfortable for me, hence the bulk of my tool handles have foam and certainly my armpit likes them as well The foam is not always easy to get as it has to fit the tube tightly and its fitted using compressed air to expand it, and certainly the tube is very stiff, yet light. I dont fill with lead shot as the boring bars go inside of the tube and are adjusted for length as I need them.

I'm an old geezer, 77, with big hands with a tendency to cramp, and arthritis. I do mostly bowls so have big, fat, long handles on my gouges.

Some of the tools that are used briefly, parting, making spigots, I leave with the supplied handles.

The big handles and taking breaks away from the lathe every hour or so pretty much eliminated the hand cramping.

The shapes are generally straight or slightly tapering away from front to back. Measuring by Hughie's calculation my circle is 40mm diameter. That is about the diameter of the fat parts of my handles. I never measured, just turned down hunks of dense timber saved from the firewood pile until they felt good when I grabbed them on the lathe.

Originally Posted by issatree

Richard Raffan's " Turning Wood ".
So towards the back of the book there is a Handle Shape that really took my fancy.
Copied it on A3 to 13in. - 310mm. went home & I still think they are the best handles there are & to work with.

I have the Revised & Updated version which has sketches of a handle related to the fitting of tangs but no drawings of a handle as such. Is this the shape that you are referring to or has the revised version omitted that section? Cheers Phil