Making A Wood Tool Handle For A
Half Inch Sorby Spindle Gouge

A couple of years ago I didn’t have a clue as to how to build or make a woodturning tool. And….I didn’t know why I would want to make a woodturning tool, except for the fact that I did not have enough money to go out and purchase a whole bunch of woodturning tools !

Now, I really enjoy making different tools …almost as much as I enjoy turning wood. You save a bunch of money by making your own woodturning tools, you solve your own problems by making your own turning tools and you learn how the tool best operates when you make your own woodturning tools.

Quick Method For
Building Woodturning Tools

I really didn’t want to make this a post on how to make your own woodturning tools but it really is simple.
-turn a tool handle
-use a piece of copper pipe as a ferrule when the tool inserts into the wood handle.
-either buy a tool blank or make your own and insert and glue into the handle.

There are a lot of videos of guys showing how they make their own tools, watch them and you will get some good ideas ….then perfect a process that matches your needs and abilities. Just go to Google and type in something like “DIY Woodturning Tools” and you will start your journey down the rabbit hole. Or check out some of the articles on this site regarding making your own woodturing tools.

Making A Sorby 1/2″ Spindle Gouge

I just made this spindle gouge from a Sorby 1/2″ spindle gouge (steel only) and turned a handle from an oak branch I had laying around. I purchased the spindle gouge blank from Amazon https://amzn.to/2pBdNjK .

Today there are many different types and quality of woodturning tools. Some of us have to start with the cheapests tools, for instance, mine came from Harbor Freight …which came from China! I had a hard time getting started and I soon learned it was because of the poor quality of tools I had and …….not knowing what I was doing. After some research I found out that you can spend up to $200 for a high quality steel woodturning tool. I guess the price comes from the advanced and high quality steel that is used to make the woodturning tool.

I really did not understand that until someone bought me a Sorby bowl 1/2″ bowl gouge. This woodturing tool would cut through wood like butter and it stayed sharp at least 5x longer than the cheaper tools. So my goal is to replace the cheap tools I have with expensive tools ……and at times you can cut the cost by purchasing just the steel, that is, the tool blank. If you have the tool blank, you turn a handle and drill a hole in the end and glue the tool into the handle with some epoxy. You can make it more complicated if you wish, but that’s it in a nutshell.

I Had An Oak Wood Handle Blank Ready to Turn

I already had a round oak wood blank ready to shape into a handle, it had some cracks in it so I used some Stabond CA and glued it, the cracks were pretty large in size and I wasn’t sure if the Starbond CA would hold it ….as it turned out, there was no problem. Finally, I was really trying to figure out how I wanted to make my tool, how long the handle would be and if I would glue the tool blank in the handle or make it removable.

Finishing The Tool Handle
With Thin Stabond CA

Finally, I got everything done, finished the tool handle and I decided I would try to do a CA finish using some of the Thin Starbond CA glue, I don’t think I have ever done one before….this was kind of large, I did not know how much it would take and I felt like giving it a go. I’ve avoided using CA glue as a finsh because I assumed it would take a lot of product and me, being cheap, didn’t want to use up all my Starbond CA glue on one handle …..but I decided I would live on the wild side and give it a go 🙂

I ended up putting about 5 coats of Starbond Thin CA on the oak handle. It took a lot of sanding and I was surprised that it really did not use a lot of CA to get the job done, in fact, I hardly noticed the level of CA go down in the bottle and that was for 5 coats of CA on a 24″ handle. As I already mentioned, I used Starbond thin CA and you can hardly notice any missing from the bottle ….I was happly about that because I thought it would take a lot of CA to finish something this big.

Trying to Remember How Pen Turners
Applied CA and Finished The CA

I watched a lot of pen making videos that used  Starbond CA glue as a finish. There was some beaufiful luster and thick gloss, but I needed to understand the sanding sequence and the method of application. I won’t go into it now but I must have gotten it right because that handle started looking like a high gloss 24″ pen 🙂 …in fact it looked like glass!

I can’t remember but I think it was something like 8000 grit that I finish sanding the tool handle and then cleaned it and buffed it. It really looked great, felt good in my hand. Even though it had a high gloss finish the tool felt good in my hand, I could grip it strongly, no slipping and the shape felt good. I guess you can say I impressed myself 🙂

You Must Know This Big Mistake When Making Tool Handles!

I’ve been studying different finishing techniques for woodturning projects. Different types of finishes, such as a CA finish in this case and how to bring out further luster to the project. So I was trying to recall what else I might be able to do to make this the “slickest” tool handle I have made to date!

Then I remembered watching a video on finishing and buffing. One guy recommended applying some car or boat wax to the piece after the finish was applied. Just so happened I had some car or boat wax laying around that I used on my cast iron bandsaw and tablesaw tables. So, I thought I would give it a whirl.

Think Twice Before Applying A Car Wax Finish to a Wood Handle!

Since one of my son’s left a can of car wax, I applied a little to the handle while it was on the lathe, used the applicator pad and applied while turning. After it dried,  I buffed the tool a soft cloth and buffed out the wax and WOW, the shine came through and it looked awesome! If you have been paying attention, you must realize I broke the rules ….I used a soft cloth to polish the wax …..Capn’ Eddie says, “Never use a rag or cloth anything when on the lathe ….paper towels only”

Insert Sorby Spindle Gouge Tool Into The Handle

Next, I temporarily put the steel tool portion into the wooden handle, I did not glue or CA the steel blank in yet so I shimmed it tight with some small slivers of wood….I made it tight enough that the steel tool could not be pulled out and then I tried it out.

The Sorby Steel cuts just great, you really notice the difference between Sorby and a cheap tool. I can tell you how different it is when using good steel versus cheap steel tools but there is nothing like experiencing the difference. The best analogy I can think of is using a dull butter knife vs. a sharp steak knife to cut a nice big steak. You suddenly feel like you are a real woodturner and you’ve come into your own!

Oops! One Small Finishing Problem

I’m telling this story because I screwed up majorly. I suppose I could have said the same in 2 or 3 paragraphs but then you would miss all the drama in between, the products you might want to buy and my brilliant writing 🙂 I’m kidding of course, but I do like to write, I do like to explain and I hope when I take the time to document a process, procedure or tool you might find it interesting, helpful and informative. I also share my failures along with successes ….I am a humble man!

I made a major faux pas though. I screwed up royally. The handle is so slick it slips out of my hands. The wax on a handle is a bad, bad, bad idea …..don’t do it! If I would have thought about it, I might have realized that wax on an already slick finish will make it more slippery 🙂

I did like the Starbond CA finish, it was glossy, it was thick …really showed off the wood ….even though the piece I used wasn’t anything spectacular ….after applying the Starbond CA and going through the finishing grits ….the handle felt good in my hand, no slippage at all. I guess maybe the wax is for bowls or other woodturning projects that doesn’t require you to hold on for dear life 🙂

Duh!!!

The tool looks nice, still have not decided how to mount the tool blank in the handle and I’m going to have to take off the wax or wrap some duct tape on it or something. I guess I could just mount it on the wall as a trophy type thing ….or a reminder of my igornance!

Actually I am going to try to remount the handle and burnish it with sawdust and shavings. Basically that means I’ll hold a handful of shavings and sawdust up against the handle as it turns to see if I can remove some of the finish and allow my hand to hold it securely while using the new Sorby Spindle Gouge!

One More Thing

I guess there are a bunch of lessons to be learned from this project. But the most important one is for anyone who works with wood ……learn to fix your mistakes. Don’t throw out your bowl because it has some cracks …apply some Starbond CA glue or epoxy. Did your bowl explode? Find the pieces, glue them together with CA or Epoxy ….Starbond CA with Acellerator is my favorite….and the bowl, paint it and put a crackle finish on it. This saying is no longer politically correct, but “there is more than one way to skin a cat” 🙂 Once you learn to start fixing your mistakes you will advance on the woodturners/woodworkers latter of success!