Parting Tool Handle

Shortly after starting here I made a parting tool from an old jointer knife. I used a spare handle that was here in the shop and it worked ok for a while, but the hole in the end was cracked and the tool would slip out of it very easily. So, I decided that it was time to make a new handle for it. I had a left over hunk of walnut from the chess set I just finished that was long enough, squared it off, and chucked it in the lathe. After I got it round I drilled a hole in the end to receive the tang I ground on the tool. I also used my tenoning jig on the table saw to allow the tool to fit further into the handle. Using my cone tailstock I was able to place the handle back on the lathe between the centers and first cut the tenon at the end to receive the ferrel, which is just a piece of 3/4 inch copper pipe. I then began to shape the handle. Using a wire I burned the decorative lines on the high points. Sliding the ferrel back on I was able to clean the edge up with a scraper (great thing about copper, like brass it can be turned with lathe tools). I used wipe on poly to finish the handle and epoxy to fix the tool and ferrel to the handle. From start to finish this probably took me about 30 minutes to do, but it was a whole lot of fun.

-- "At its best, life is completely unpredictable." - Christopher Walken