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 Post subject: Chisel Handles
PostPosted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 2:06 pm 
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Location: Cape Cod Massachusetts
So good friend of mine who is a high end cabinet maker here on the Cape asked me if I could make some handles for him.
The chisels were found at a flea market/tool sale and were not much money.
They are a mixture of Swan 720 and 750's (I think).

I was only working on the handles. The steel will be worked by a different friend of his.

We do a lot of projects together and each time we up the ante on each other.
I'm not much of a spindle turner (more of a bowl guy) but I said I would take it on as a personal challenge.

To make matters worse he handed me a 3"x4"x5' long length of Ebony and said "Make them from this"
The timber was probably worth ~$800 alone before I hacked into it.

Needless to say I made the first couple of practice handles from some cherry I had left over.

One interesting thing to note about these socket chisels is that they are hand made. Meaning the sockets are not all the same.
They differ slightly and a pattern could not be made to fit the socket. Each handle had to be "fitted".
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I made the first one and brought it over for him to evaluate. He said to go ahead with the rest. However he threw in a curve ball.
He wanted leather end caps on them. Having never worked with leather I was game to try it.

I used an old Bob Smashler article to give me some direction. Big thank you to Bob for posting that article.
Initially I was going to use some contact adhesive I use at work called pliobond to join the leather veneers and attach the caps. But it proved too soft. I ended up using medium CA glue to stiffen the leather and bond it.

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He also requested of me that he was more interested in function than form. He will be using these daily and wanted them to "feel" good. I hope I got there for him.

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I must say now that they are done I really don't like Ebony for turning. It powders off the blank rather than shavings so cuts are more of a scraping action. And my entire shop/house/skin/dog/etc. are black. I think I need a fire hose to clean the shop. Almost as bad as mahogany dust. :-)

They are sanded to 400# followed buy 4 different Scotch-Brite type pads. And then waxed with Myland's finishing wax. To brighten them up I buffed them for a final look.

He does many favors for me so they will be a Christmas gift for him. I hope to deliver them this afternoon.

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Thanks For Looking,
---Nailer---

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Dec 22, 2010 4:35 pm 
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Location: Hutchinson Ks
Sounds like those cheap "Flea Market" chisels are going to end up a bit pricey!!
Good work, they look great!!

Rog

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tools and beer, the rest I just wasted.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 12:34 am 
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Location: Skagit Co WA
Those are sumptious, NN! They must feel great in hand.

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PostPosted: Thu Dec 23, 2010 12:22 pm 
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Location: Alexandria, VA, USA
Mike they look great, I just hope Ebony is up to the task of a chisel handle. :D :D

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If man made it, I can fix it.
If God made it we can pray for it.

Lessons I have learned:
NEVER MAKE ANYTHING OUT OF TEAK
Always remove the zero clearance insert before you tilt the blade DAMHIKT


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Dec 24, 2010 7:16 pm 
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Location: Tucson, AZ
beautiful job-- I know from experience how hard ebony is to turn-- and finish. It looks like you did a beautiful job on them and as long as the wood was seasoned well there should be no cracking (DAMHIKT... cracked pen blanks..)

That sounds like about 7 bf of ebony he handed over to ya... your figure isn't too far off from what we pay here (retail) for gaboon ebony that is in long pieces-- and that is a LARGE piece

Again, beautiful job,
Lawrence


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