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How to Make an Octagonal Handle, Shell Auger and Straight Drilling Guide

I will warn you, this walk-through is a big one!  The results, however, will let a woodworker without a lathe or mad shaping skills to have a reasonably high chance of turning a small chunk of wood into a lovely handle that can be held with comfort and pride!

I have been researching and experimenting with tool grips for quite some time. Recently I have begun to solidify my research and decided it was time to figure out how to make the perfect tool handle, make it well and make it consistently. Part of my goal here is to provide a handle form that does not need a lathe to turn. I wanted to make this something that would inspire and allow budding craftsmen to use, make and repair hand tools.

Lots of handle blanks

Continue reading How to Make an Octagonal Handle, Shell Auger and Straight Drilling Guide

February 27th, 2011 | Category: Metalworking, Sharpening, Tool Making, Tutorials, Woodworking | 9 comments

Pencil Shave

I have been wanting one of these for about three years.  I finally made one!

This was made from one of the cutters in an old broken pencil sharpener.  It was a bit dull so I sharpened the cutter using the ancient method of soaking it in vinegar.  Now it is nice and [...]

July 27th, 2009 | Category: Hand Tools, Sharpening, Tool Making | 8 comments

A Comparison of Diamond Grit Vs Green Rouge

Derek Cohen has done a Comparison of Diamond Grit vs Green Rouge. It is great to see interest in diamond spreading, even though this review does not come out positive for diamond grit.

For some background, Derek Cohen is in my opinion one of the great woodworkers on the net.  He shares his methods [...]

February 13th, 2009 | Category: Sharpening | 8 comments

Sharpening Tools, Part 5

A few odd points to clear up some common misunderstanding on tools and sharpness.

The first point is, that unless you are changing the actual angle of the blade to make it a lower degree angle, you are more specifically making the blade keen.

Making a blade keen does not make a weaker [...]

October 16th, 2008 | Category: Hand Tools, Sharpening, Tool Making, Tutorials, Woodworking | 4 comments

Sharpening Tools, Part 4

Dubbing.

We are not perfect in our methods.

An  ideal edge might be perfectly keen.  Sadly we will rock a bit as we sharpen.  at the very end we tend to rock just a smidgeon, and cause a fine dub.

Now we have a bit of an issue.

When we rock it [...]

October 15th, 2008 | Category: Hand Tools, Sharpening, Tools, Tutorials, Woodworking | Leave a comment
 
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