File handles

C

Chucketn

Toxic Lunatic & Psychotic
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I want/need to make a few wooden file handles. I want to use some Bradford Pear wood from a tree that was knocked down in my yard a year ago last December.
I cut up several limbs of 1-2" dia. into short lengths, coated the cut ends with paraffin wax, and stored them in my shed to dry. I think they should be ready to turn.
Does anyone have a plan/drawing/description of an easy to make drive spur for turning wood? I have searched the web, but haven't found anything.
I have an idea in my head, but want to refine my info before going to the shop. I want to make a spur first to chuck in the lathe chuck, and if the design works well, I'll put it on a MT3 taper for the headstock.

Chuck in E. TN
 
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Why not just use the 3 jaw? That's what I would do, if I didn't have a spur for turning wood. Either that or purchase one in your local Sears, HF store.
 
Putting paraffin, or canning wax on the ends of green cut wood slows the drying and prevents radial cracks from forming. In firewood, you're really not worried about cracks and splits from drying. But, if you wanted to turn or otherwise make something from green cut wood, you don't want the cracks from drying.

Chuck in E. TN
 
I experimented today with a piece of shafting, my Rotary Table, and a 1/2" end mill, in making another wood turning spur.
I set the RT up with axis horrizontal, and set the cutting edge of the mill cuttrt on center. Milled to center of the round, turned RT 90°. Milled to center, wash, repeat. Had drilled the center of the round to add a 60° center. Worked o.k. Turned another pearwood handle, a little bigger in dia, and a different profile. Nice figure in this one. Haven't decided what to put it on yet. Also added a brass ferrule to this one.
Maybe not much to some, but I made it, and maybe my sons will appreciate it a bit when they inherit it!

DSCF1067.jpg

Chuck in E. TN
 
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I got tired of using files without handles and decided to make some as well. I made them on my Grizzly 9X20 before I upgraded to a SB Heavy 10.

Some are maple, some are Rosewood and some are Walnut.

Can't have a large assortment of nicely handled files without a nice home for them. I designed and built this walnut cabinet to store them. It hangs on a french cleat fastened to the wall.

SDC10713.JPG New handles.JPG SDC10709.JPG SDC10711.JPG SDC10712.JPG
 
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I sometimes forget this is a metalworking forum and not everyone is familiar with woodworking terminology. My main hobby is woodworking and have gotten into metal working as a means to keep my woodworking machinery going.

A french cleat is a pair of wood strips with matching angles cut along one edge of each, usually 45 degrees. One piece is fastened to the cabinet, angled edge down and out and the other is fastened to the wall, angled edge up and in. When the cabinet is dropped over the cleat on the wall, the angles intermesh and the cabinet hangs nicely.
 
Thanks for the compliments!

It doesn't take too many times having the pointy end of a file tang perforate your palm to remind you handles are a good thing! Don't ask me how I know this...

Pat
 
When putting up the first cabinets in my shop, I found myself screwing a ledger board on the wall to set the cabinet on while I was fastening it to the wall. It had to be leveled and straight and I still only had two hands to hold the cabinet and drive the fasteners. My remedy was to build my cabinets without a back and use french cleats at the top of all the boxes and just hang them without having to hold them and drive fasteners. The interior wall surfaces of my shop is unpainted plywood to make fastening things on the wall much easier. I do fasten to the wall studs when hanging something heavy like large cabinets and the storage box for my hand planes in the photos below.

Pat

Sharpn Drawer.JPG Planes.JPG SDC10702.JPG
 
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