Project Tutorials

Gavel

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Using the skew to bring the handle up to the bead for a sharp transition. Do not take too deep a cut with the point or the grain could tear out. The cut in front of my point is a thin rolled continuous ring of wood. I want the point to come up to the bead side and stop, not undercut the bead.

The line of the handle should look like it continues straight through the bead and not higher on one side and lower on the other.

With everything turned the end of the handle can now be finished with the tailstock backed off. Lightly grip the rotating handle in your fingers and shape the end.

Sand the handle and apply a finish.

The fixture for threading the handle, ready to go with the bit height checked on a scrap dowel. I made the die from a piece of boxwood. If the bit is not set deep enough to make the full thread the handle will not turn and the height will need adjusted.

Once the thread has started in the die you need only turn the handle until it bottoms out against the boxwood die.

The fresh cut threads on the walnut. Walnut is not the hardest of woods but with a little clean up they will look fine. The thread area still needs cut to length and the end matched to fit he threads inside the head.

I grip the end of the handle in the chuck with foam for padding. I can now do all the shaping and cut to length. Turn away the threads to match the end of the tap.

Sand the threads with fine sand paper to remove the fuzzed up grain. With the lathe running, sand each side and the tops of the threads.

The finished handle threads.