Raw wood to handle

Kevin Houtzager said:
thats why i weigh most of the Wood i use. It's important to say the least. The most over the place Wood is meranti: Have found pieces as light as 500kg/m2 and as heavy as 950kg/m2. Meranti is cross grained , so can have cavities. But i havent seen that in straight grained Wood? As for Maple in General: I dont use it anymore since ash is a step up over here. Maple is kind of hit and mis for bigger/heavier axes over here. Elm should be fine either way.
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I'm going to 'call it a day' to further comments about this. Large trees of all stripes fall over all the time in n. America and are considered a nuisance whereas Europeans fawn over every branch that falls to the ground. Comparable heft usually translates to strength, whether green or cured, when you know what species you're dealing with!
 
300Six said:
Elm is wonderfully strong, hard as a rock and difficult to cleave. ..... All of the elms, mind you. are a SOB to split. Turns out the Elm that is most desirable for tool handles, sleigh runners, plough bodies etc is Rock Elm (U. thomasii / also known as Cork Elm).
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It's also great for wooden mallets, mauls and beetles just because it is so hard to split. I have some stashed here for my next wood mallets after I wear out my London Plane mallets. I'll need to be patient, the Plane splits even harder than the Elm.
 
Please do Kevin.

I mainly use three different half-round files. Aggressive rasps like the Farriers' that I have tried leave some pretty deep marks and tear out- might be doing it wrong or expected a different outcome when I use them though.

That new Bahco eats it off, the Simonds is smoother, and the Nicholson is great for detail work - shoulder, palm swell, etc. The Nicholsons made now aren't like they were is the past but this one is great on wood. I try to pick the half rounds up when I find them used.

Half Rounds by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr

Half Rounds by Agent Hierarchy, on Flickr
 
Kevin Houtzager said:
Not according to my sources:

Maple (lots of different species)
Elm (lots of different species)
Black Locust
Walnut
Oak (lots of different species)
Cherry
Ash (2 different species)
Hop Hornbeam
Hickory (lots of different species)
Osage Orange
Sycamore
Hawthorn
Plum
Apple
Pear

So no Yew, no Birch, no Tanoak, no Holly.

But more different species of al lot of good trees including hickory and oak. So your probably better of in Kansas for different species. I don't know anything about quantity though....
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Yeah most of those either don't actually grow here (none of the fruit trees unless they are in someone's yard) or they don't grow straight. Ash, lots of it (and borers to go with it), Elm and Osage - although finding a straight piece of Osage is virtually impossible short of starting your own second growth. I do plan to try Red Elm though - commonly straight and they almost always die at about 15-18 inches across. There is lots of Oak but it's mostly gnarly save for Pin Oak which I've never tried but when you look at one standing, it's nothing but knots up and down the trunk. I've tried to find Black Locust but Honey Locust grows like weeds here and I rarely see Black, at least not in the woods. In people's yards, yeah. The Locust I made some handles out of, that I couldn't identify, but have concluded is some hybrid, had really wide growth rings and though it was moderately straight, it could have been a lot nicer (parking lot trees killed by borers). For interesting looking wood, Kansas is great, but if you want it to be straight, not so much. The far edge of eastern Kansas is more like Missouri and further east where Hickory actually grows, but I very rarely see one in the woods that I could harvest. I have worked with Pecan harvested in Kansas. It's hard as a stone so I'm not sure it's handle material or not though I do have a couple straight ones in my yard. The local Walnut I've seen as lumber is also stone hard and brittle - my parent's house is full of it in trim.

I don't know much about Maple - any particular type that would be handle material? I see lots of Silver Maple but it's total garbage.
 
I don't know, the locust you used was quite outstanding. But everything you spend time on is outstanding COTS. Your CT with your sheath set up is actually a picture I have looked at a lot...

cityofthesouth said:
Since I was just winging it on the handle pattern I ended up getting the swell somewhat forward of the tongue which gives it a closed feel but it's not bad.


counciltool_hudsonbay8 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr


counciltool_hudsonbay2 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr


counciltool_hudsonbay5 by city_ofthe_south, on Flickr
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There is some yet to be identified maple I have drying that is quite hard - It came from helping a friend clear his driveway and didn't have leaves on it for an ID, it seems much denser than what Silver Maple is. An offset hewing handle is what I was going to try with it - that is another unfinished project.

Silver Maple is a beautiful tree live but it doesn't seem to burn with much output and doesn't seem appropriate for tool handles - quite small ones or maybe file handles. That is a shame because they are thick here in behind our house.
 
Agent_H said:
There is some yet to be identified maple I have drying that is quite hard - It came from helping a friend clear his driveway and didn't have leaves on it for an ID, it seems much denser than what Silver Maple is. An offset hewing handle is what I was going to try with it - that is another unfinished project.

Silver Maple is a beautiful tree live but it doesn't seem to burn with much output and doesn't seem appropriate for tool handles - quite small ones or maybe file handles. That is a shame because they are thick here in behind our house.
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Silver Maple is prized as a landscaping feature (usually at new homes) by folks that are lacking in patience. In Ottawa they grow about an inch+ (3 cm) in diameter per year (compared to White Oak, Sugar Maple or other prize hardwoods that'll do around 1/4 - 3/8" per year) and in a matter of 20 years you've got what looks like a majestic mature tree. These things keep on growing though and by the time they're 3 feet across they've become dangerous (blowing down, roots and all) and a nuisance for breaking branches every time there's a strong wind.
 
300Six said:
Silver Maple is prized as a landscaping feature (usually at new homes) by folks that are lacking in patience. In Ottawa they grow about an inch+ (3 cm) in diameter per year (compared to White Oak, Sugar Maple or other prize hardwoods that'll do around 1/4 - 3/8" per year) and in a matter of 20 years you've got what looks like a majestic mature tree. These things keep on growing though and by the time they're 3 feet across they've become dangerous (blowing down, roots and all) and a nuisance for breaking branches every time there's a strong wind.
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300Six, that is my experience as well. The amount of leaf mass that drops in the fall is surprising and smothering for anything under them. They do seem to outgrow their own capacity to support themselves. They will shear of at even the largest lower branches, sometimes pretty much halving the tree. Come spring they will start up again and continue to grow just to do it again. A lot of what comes off is "punky" (if I am using that right).

When we get ice storms I like to sit out back when the snow deadens the sounds around you and listen to them "Talk". They make some noises I haven't heard from evergreen trees in similar weather. I joke that it's "The March of the Ents" and hide my axes.
 
Kevin Houtzager said:
First question that rises in my mind is: Why are you only looking for straight growth? . . .
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Six%20General%20grains.jpg



Bob
 
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