Shopsmith Forums

I'm making some chisel handles from almond (from my firewood pile). It sands up to a very hard fine finish. It needs color, Almond is kind of pink. I have Varathane Dark Walnut. Then it needs some protection from my grubby hands. Does anyone think Varathane stain is enough or should I put something on top of that to protect the wood. Tung oil? BLO? Shellac? I'm not really sure how well Varathane stain will seal the wood.

IMO it depends on your personal taste and possibly the environment it will be used , jmo all of the above would work or a good coat varnish or poly once you have the color picked out . One person I knew dipped his in a coat of that rubber stuff they dip tool handles in . I have no idea how well it held up I haven't talked with this guy in many years.

Hobbyman2 wrote: ↑Sat Aug 27, 2022 9:20 am IMO it depends on your personal taste and possibly the environment it will be used , jmo all of the above would work or a good coat varnish or poly once you have the color picked out . One person I knew dipped his in a coat of that rubber stuff they dip tool handles in . I have no idea how well it held up I haven't talked with this guy in many years.

I would not talk to him either!

I use shellac on my hand plane knobs and totes and it is both durable and looks good. I have a friend that says when his hands sweat the shellac gets sticky so he uses tung oil. I use BLO on outdoor tools and do a half hearted application of daily for a week, weekly for a month, monthly for a year and yearly forever.

My chisels and turning tools all have non-wood handles. I suppose I should be shunned.

Just use whatever you like. Chisel handles won't likely get such hard use that the finish will be all that important. I made some lathe chisels a couple of years ago. I used hickory for the handles and simply put a couple of coats of clear urethane on them. They work just fine.

Well, I sort of ruined the 1st one so I will experiment with it. I think I'll try the tung oil 1st.