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Hollowing Tool Handle Insert Options

Kirk Amidon

Kirk Amidon

Joined
Jan 8, 2021
Messages
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Location
Wrentham, MA
My google-fu is weak today apparently. I'm planning to purchase a set of Bosch hollowing tools in 3/4" size. Looking for a handle. My shop is in garage, and is unheated, so I don't want a metal handle. I'd like a wooden handle, and ideally find a 3/4" insert like a Hosaluk style, but they don't seem to show themselves readily. Anyone have a source? An insert would theoretically allow me to make and store one single handle, rather than one for each hollowing tool.
 
Kirk Amidon said:
I'd like a wooden handle, and ideally find a 3/4" insert
Click to expand...

I have no idea if this would be useful to you since I’m not familiar with the type of “insert” you mentioned, but in case someone is interested I tried uploading a PDF file to the Tutorials and Tips section on how I make tool handles with aluminum inserts using a woodturning lathe. I also make them from steel but use my metal-turning lathe for those.

(This is my first try at uploading a file so I don’t know if I did it right, but if not, I suspect someone will let me know!)

I wrote this doc as a handout for a demo I did for our turning club. I’ve made a bunch of this type of handle from various metals. They are quite strong, with the strength, of course, depending on the wood and the section epoxied into the handle. I usually use two set screws to hold the tool. Been making these for a bunch of years.

Turning metal on a wood lathe

I wrote this PFD document for a demo I did on turning metals, primarily aluminum and brass, on a wood lathe with woodturning tools. Relativity easy to do! For an example I show how I make inserts for lathe tools. The one I show is fairly small but the method is the same for any size. JKJ
www.aawforum.org www.aawforum.org

JKJ
 
The one handle idea is nice, but know the first time you need 2 or more tools, you'll want individual handles.
If you can turn the handles and an aluminum cap, doing a few will be good to have and low cost.
Alternatively, Jimmy Clewes has both wood handles with a 3/4" insert, or the inserts alone. I have them along with Trent's hollowing bars but haven't tried them together. I really like the Clewes insert with the notable shortcoming of the amount of tool that slides into handle.

There is also a guy selling Carter inserts in the For Sale forum that will adapt your 3/4" handle for smaller tools.
 
I have the handle and tools from Trent Bosch and though the handles are metal, they have a coating on them that is very comfortable and not cold like bare metal. I usually like to have a handle for every tool but when hollowing, I don’t change tools often so having just one handle for the different 3/4 inch tools works well for me.
 
Lance Mirrer said:
The one handle idea is nice, but know the first time you need 2 or more tools, you'll want individual handles.
Click to expand...
While I’m by no means an expert at hollowing, I have been using the Trent Bosch tools and find that whenever I remove a tool from the stabilizer I do it from the bottom, removing the handle first and then backing out the tool end. I’m not even sure all the tools would fit cutting edge end through the stabilizer.
 
I’m not familiar with some of the handle/adapters mentioned but a couple of cautions.

One, I’ve seen some that only allowed gripping the last few inches of the tool shaft. I dislike this since it puts the sharpened end a longer way from the handle, sometimes making it harder to control detailed cuts. In addition, as the tool is sharpened the length extending from the handle gradually changes. I make my handles with deep holes so the tool shafts can be embedded as far into the handle as I want, leaving a shorter length exposed giving more control in some situations. And as the tool length is decreased by sharpening, I can adjust it in the insert to keep the cutting edge extension constant. I describe this in the document I posted. (I do have a few of Doug Thompson’s handles which allow embedding the tool deep into the handle.)

Two, at the time I started making handles, the insert adapters I found for sale were machined from cylinders far larger in diameter than needed. I started making my own inserts at a time when all those I could buy were 1” in diameter regardless of the diameter of the tool shaft. I didn’t like using a 1” diameter insert to awkwardly hold a 1/4” diameter tool shaft, when a much smaller diameter insert was more comfortable and easier to control. However, I admit to not following everything that’s available today.

It’s also a lot cheaper to make the inserts and handles from scratch! However, it does take a little time and the way I make them requires having a few sizes of long drill bits.

JKJ
 
Chris Hoehle said:
This might work:

Oneway 2964 Sure-Grip Tool Handle Adapter 3/4 in. | Hartville Hardware

To accommodate turning tool blades other than than the two sizes built into their Sure-Grip Handles (1/2 & 5/8) Oneway offers Handle Adapters.
www.hartvillehardware.com
Click to expand...
This is interesting. I have many adapters going from large to small. This is the first I've seen going from small to large.

with all things turning, strength and balance are important. The strength needed to finesse a finial, is far less than hollowing the bottom of a 10" deep vase. Since this is about 3/4" hollowing tools, I wonder about the loss of strength from this adapter.

Am I viewing this correctly?
 
Stan Pressner said:
Thanks Bill, I love the cork idea.
Click to expand...
It used to be possible to buy cork tape, used for taping 'racing bike' style or dropped handle bars. IIRC, the cork rings used to build fishing rod grips come in 1.25" diameter, which might not be large enough for a 3/4" insert.
 
Thanks to all for the thoughts and ideas. More options than I would have guessed.

The bike handlebar wrap was a great idea - I have used it to wrap my lawnmower handles, and it makes a huge difference in comfort. Imagine that it might work ok on turning tools too.
 
I bought a couple of rolls of handlebar wrap intending to try it on some tool handles. Looking at some others who have used it though it looks to get pretty grubby so I didn’t bother. Reinforced *hose adds surprisingly good grip and is used by some commercial manufacturers of tool handles. It stays clean as well.

*Handles 3, 4, 5, 6 & 7 in my picture.
 
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