Shopsmith Forums

I want to make some handles for my files. I've thought of sandwiching the tangs between two halves of wood. Hollowing out both pieces to accept the tang or milling pieces the same width as the tangs' thickness to fit along the sides. I'd use epoxy to hold the tang in the handle.
I have no lathe tools but I can get round stock via other means, but I'd rather just start with square stock and carve the shape before or after it's installed on the file.

What do you all think? Any ideas? Am I on the right track or should I just buy handles?

Thanks,

Gene Howe wrote:I want to make some handles for my files. I've thought of sandwiching the tangs between two halves of wood. Hollowing out both pieces to accept the tang or milling pieces the same width as the tangs' thickness to fit along the sides. I'd use epoxy to hold the tang in the handle.
I have no lathe tools but I can get round stock via other means, but I'd rather just start with square stock and carve the shape before or after it's installed on the file.

What do you all think? Any ideas? Am I on the right track or should I just buy handles?

Thanks,

Perfect excuse to buy a set of lathe tools....

Gene Howe wrote:but I'd rather just start with square stock and carve the shape before or after it's installed on the file.


Thanks,

Rough shape the square stock to rough shape with the bandsaw, leaving about 1/4" square ends.

I made some last winter from wood scraps. I turned them on my Shopsmith using my Shopsmith lathe tools.
Look around for some used lathe tools. They make the job easy.

I was up north not long ago and did a project where I drilled a large glass platter to use as a light diffuser over a dinning room table. The drilling went fine but I needed to do a little touch up of the hole to get it to fit.

Went to the hardware store to get a round file and handle to do the job. A really nice #1 handle was only $2.49 with metal ferrule and all. Of course the price goes up the bigger the # but that sounded pretty reasonable to me.

So before going to far with the project I'd check out a local hardware store for a price on the size you need.

Ed

Do you have a small spoke shave?
Bill V

Not a spoke shave, but a bunch of files and rasps.

wa2crk wrote:Do you have a small spoke shave?
Bill V

Much can be said for the 'purchased' handles that screw onto the tang(and unscrew if needed).

Ed, you and JPG are probably right about the purchased handles but, where's the fun in that?
Saw a Youtube video where a guy stuck a golf ball on the tang. Another showed a guy heating up the tang and pushing it in to a drilled hole in a chunk of walnut.

Both look like fun.
Anybody seen my file card?

Gene Howe wrote:Ed, you and JPG are probably right about the purchased handles but, where's the fun in that?
Saw a Youtube video where a guy stuck a golf ball on the tang. Another showed a guy heating up the tang and pushing it in to a drilled hole in a chunk of walnut.

Both look like fun.
Anybody seen my file card?

Atta boy, Gene!!!