Shopsmith Forums

One of the things that Santa left for me yesterday was a 16-piece BBQ Grill hardware Kit from Rockler. Santa didn't know what kind of wood I would want to use for the handles so he kindly left a gift card to Rocklers to cover that too. My sons informed me that if it turns out there WILL be more sets for me to make.

I was wondering what the brain-trust here thought about for wood species. I really love the look of rosewood handles on the tools I've turned on the lathe and I like Cocobolo too, but I was thinking that Teak would be a better choice for something that would be getting washed regularly. What think you?

tom_k/mo wrote:One of the things that Santa left for me yesterday was a 16-piece BBQ Grill hardware Kit from Rockler. Santa didn't know what kind of wood I would want to use for the handles so he kindly left a gift card to Rocklers to cover that too. My sons informed me that if it turns out there WILL be more sets for me to make.

I was wondering what the brain-trust here thought about for wood species. I really love the look of rosewood handles on the tools I've turned on the lathe and I like Cocobolo too, but I was thinking that Teak would be a better choice for something that would be getting washed regularly. What think you?

Having limited experience turning, I do knot know how easy/difficult these woods are to turn, but I think that Teak is a good choice and you might consider Ironwood. With a protective finish (kept) on it, just about any wood will work, so if there will be due maintenance done on the handles, do knot eliminate the Rosewood from your choices either.

Since they will probably be used outside a lot, I would think redwood would be perfect. However I would favor Mahogany, it's great to turn, easy to work with, and somewhat water and bug resistant, with a good poly finish on the handles, should be no problem, besides I love the look and feel of it for handles on tools.

My major question here is; are you sure you want to turn handles for the larger tools? After looking at the free plans, the non-turned handles looked like they were more securely attached, with the rivets spaced further apart. Maybe you could put a longer slit into a turned handle that would allow a longer strip of metal inserted into the wood.

About the wood species - sorry, no recommendation. This is a personal choice, but it seems they should all be made from the same species.

If the handles were made a little wider, perhaps you could find a wood with contrasting color to slide into the kerf on both sides of the metal. eg: light wood with dark strip, or dark wood with light strip.

charlese wrote:My major question here is]

Charlese, I had not planned on turning these handles at all. I think a couple people mistook my statement in an earlier posting, I loved the look of the handles I turned out of Burmese Rosewood on some screwdriver and awl handles. That was just meant to say that I liked the look of the Rosewood, not that I was planning on turning these too.

a1gutterman wrote:Having limited experience turning, I do knot know how easy/difficult these woods are to turn, but I think that Teak is a good choice and you might consider Ironwood. ...

Tim, I'll have to look into the Ironwood. I've never worked with that before.


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tom_k/mo wrote:...

Originally Posted by a1gutterman
Having limited experience turning, I do knot know how easy/difficult these woods are to turn, but I think that Teak is a good choice and you might consider Ironwood. ...

Tim, I'll have to look into the Ironwood. I've never worked with that before.


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Hi Tom,
Ironwoodis hard, like it's name implies. It is also weather durable, and I think wood last a long time as handles. More info on Ironwood.