Rob Keeble
Member
- Messages
- 12,633
- Location
- GTA Ontario Canada
Well my finger cuticles are tired of being beaten up each time i go to open a draw in my shop especially in winter when your hands dry out. I made the sets of draws but never got round to handles.
Was going to put inserts in to hold them and did make a couple that way but having now been there done that and got the T shirt i decided Dons advice was the best. Screw them on. Besides inserts are expensive and these are meant to be cheap handles.
Here is a shot of the first prototype. After my experience with the red oak i decided to use cherry scraps i had lying around.
So i had made the prototype last night then got to thinking while in bed this is no way to go. All i had been doing is cutting on the bandsaw and using round drill mounted sander to smooth it all out. Did not look good and too much dust.
So this morning i woke up with a bee in my bonnet and got out to the shop with a sketch i had done on a piece of paper to make a jig to rout out the inner and outer edge on a template to get consistency and make it unneccessary to cut so carefully on the bandsaw.
Here is the jig and the process i used. Lots to change if i did it again but hey this was meant to be quick and nasty and on the fly.
The first wake up call i had was that the router bit i had with the bearing on had the bearing at the top rather than the bottom. I found that out after cleaning up and moving my grinder which sits on the router table normally.
Thought of a quick trip to the store to get one but then decided that would be half my day wasted. Instead i decided on a patter jig but doing it as a flush cut with the router in my hand.
So here is the improvised jig
What i did was layout the handle and cut the template side of the jig
Designed the jig to hold the block of wood.
Used the jig to mark out the cut then cut it out on the bandsaw and place the block back in the jig.
Use the jig now to rout the cut side smooth as a flush cut with the bearing running on the bottom of the template.
Then reverse the jig and insert the block now with the cut out resting in the jig.
Then first use the jig again to mark out and then cut out on the bandsaw.
At this stage if forgot to get a picture of the cut handle in the jig for routing the outer edge so i put a finished handle in to show how i did it.
This was not the greatest method since i had to use a small clamp on one edge to hold the handle there and could only route one side. Then loosen and flip. and router the other half.
After all that i rounded over the edges with a roundover bit mounted in the router table and used the edge of the handle for the bearing to run on. Worked very well and much safer.
Next time i go and get a straight bit with a bearing to be able to use the router table.
After i had done with rounding over the edges i took a sheet of sandpaper and used spray adhesive and mounted it to a scrap piece of mdf. Then clamped it on the jointer table and flattened out the ends of the handles which had quiet a bit of tear out to clean up.
Here is all finished and sanded 16 handles.
Have fitted 8 so far then called it a day.
Made lots of noise and sawdust just to aggravate the NN ran the planner, jointer drill, router, radio and air cleaner. I hope they were standing outside in the cold listening
Bottom line is I had fun in my shop for a change and its nice and warm in there with my heater.
Was going to put inserts in to hold them and did make a couple that way but having now been there done that and got the T shirt i decided Dons advice was the best. Screw them on. Besides inserts are expensive and these are meant to be cheap handles.
Here is a shot of the first prototype. After my experience with the red oak i decided to use cherry scraps i had lying around.
So i had made the prototype last night then got to thinking while in bed this is no way to go. All i had been doing is cutting on the bandsaw and using round drill mounted sander to smooth it all out. Did not look good and too much dust.
So this morning i woke up with a bee in my bonnet and got out to the shop with a sketch i had done on a piece of paper to make a jig to rout out the inner and outer edge on a template to get consistency and make it unneccessary to cut so carefully on the bandsaw.
Here is the jig and the process i used. Lots to change if i did it again but hey this was meant to be quick and nasty and on the fly.
The first wake up call i had was that the router bit i had with the bearing on had the bearing at the top rather than the bottom. I found that out after cleaning up and moving my grinder which sits on the router table normally.
Thought of a quick trip to the store to get one but then decided that would be half my day wasted. Instead i decided on a patter jig but doing it as a flush cut with the router in my hand.
So here is the improvised jig
What i did was layout the handle and cut the template side of the jig
Designed the jig to hold the block of wood.
Used the jig to mark out the cut then cut it out on the bandsaw and place the block back in the jig.
Use the jig now to rout the cut side smooth as a flush cut with the bearing running on the bottom of the template.
Then reverse the jig and insert the block now with the cut out resting in the jig.
Then first use the jig again to mark out and then cut out on the bandsaw.
At this stage if forgot to get a picture of the cut handle in the jig for routing the outer edge so i put a finished handle in to show how i did it.
This was not the greatest method since i had to use a small clamp on one edge to hold the handle there and could only route one side. Then loosen and flip. and router the other half.
After all that i rounded over the edges with a roundover bit mounted in the router table and used the edge of the handle for the bearing to run on. Worked very well and much safer.
Next time i go and get a straight bit with a bearing to be able to use the router table.
After i had done with rounding over the edges i took a sheet of sandpaper and used spray adhesive and mounted it to a scrap piece of mdf. Then clamped it on the jointer table and flattened out the ends of the handles which had quiet a bit of tear out to clean up.
Here is all finished and sanded 16 handles.
Have fitted 8 so far then called it a day.
Made lots of noise and sawdust just to aggravate the NN ran the planner, jointer drill, router, radio and air cleaner. I hope they were standing outside in the cold listening
Bottom line is I had fun in my shop for a change and its nice and warm in there with my heater.