Drill a hole in spear handle

T

Trek Vandecar

Joined
Jan 31, 2020
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11
Hey guys, looking to make another short spear and looking for some advice on drilling handle.

Aside from finding someone with a laythe large enough to accommodate, I'm curious if anyone has any advice on building jig to drill a straight hole down the end of say a dowel. (Or baseball bat/ shovel handle) whatever your using as a short spear handle.

Need to drill in a 1" hole in end about 4" deep and want it to be nice and straight in all directions so that blade will be nice and centered. Link to pic of last build. https://www.instagram.com/p/B7uITTyHRYk/?igshid=1l0dbd7qvpzsu
 
Bill DeShivs said:
Without a lathe, you'll have to eyeball it.
I would think a 1" hole would weaken the wood that is left.
Click to expand...
Thanks for response!
Last time I used a baseball bat and I was left with about 1/2" wall thickness after bringing down the thickness of bat slightly. Also should mention, I'm using a slotted dowel to center the tang in the hole.
 
Trek Vandecar said:
Thanks for response!
Last time I used a baseball bat and I was left with about 1/2" wall thickness after bringing down the thickness of bat slightly. Also should mention, I'm using a slotted dowel to center the tang in the hole.
Click to expand...
maybe this will work .............for that size hole.....BTW why you need to drill one inch hole ????
O5LwAG7.png
 
Thanks for the diagram! I am drilling a 1" hole for the tang which is about 4" long and 1" wide @ 1/8" thick. I use a 1" dowel slotted for tang (1/8") to take up the extra space and keep the blade center in the hole.
 
The dowel will add little, if any, strength to the joint.
I would cut the tang thinner and use a smaller hole.
Using a pipe or tubing bolster as Natlek suggested is also a very good idea.
 
I would split the handle in half, mortice the tang seat, and glue/pin the handle and blade back together. I have made several Japanese naginata and similar spears that way.

I would highly suggest you shoot for a different tang, though. A round tang about 1/2" would be strong and easier to do.
Forging round stock into a spear head is pretty simple. I'm guessing you are just grinding the spear tip from flat stock.

Now, for how to do the hole you asked about - use the same principle as a lathe.
Take a long enough board to accommodate your handle and mount your hand drill on it someway (clamp/strap/tape it down, use a large hose clamp, or make a wooden holder). Draw a line down the center of the board in line with the drill bit. Take a block of wood and slide it up to the drill bit and drill a starter hole in it. Screw a screw through the hole so it sticks out to make the spur. Set the handle dowel centered on the drill bit, set the spur centered on the other end, and push the dowel toward the drill keeping it centered above the line on the board. The hole may not be precisely the size of the drill bit, but it will be centered down the dowel.
 
Trek Vandecar said:
Thanks for the diagram! I am drilling a 1" hole for the tang which is about 4" long and 1" wide @ 1/8" thick. I use a 1" dowel slotted for tang (1/8") to take up the extra space and keep the blade center in the hole.
Click to expand...
Let's meet in the middle then :D Drill 1/2" first and then just open with small saw or file slots for that thin tang :p

FjxhFNF.png
 
If you do use a drill bit I suggest you purchase NEW and sharp, a few good multi spur forstner bit and DO NOT use a spade bit. The multi spur is better for tracking than a regular forstner bit or a spade bit, by far.

Otherwise - follow the program(s) as describe above.

As I understand it the 1" part only needs to be maybe 1/2" deep, then you can reduce to smaller dia. as suggested by N Natlek above and reef out the thin end section with keyhole saw or hooked file.

Still - you will want to use a pre-bored block as a guide. Much more accurate than just commencing going in on your handle. Not that difficult - you aren't boring a 6" hole let alone a shaft log. ;) Just have a good secure set up and a sharp bit.
 
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Look up keel timber drilling in boat-building for installing a propeller shaft (shaft log). It's very similar to the drawing above. Basically, you need to move the axis of the bit far enough away from the handle to bore a true hole. This is done with 2 cheek plates & a block to keep the center aligned. Some long drill extensions (Speed-bore type) can be stacked to get the length you need & then just start drilling. A paddle bit can be used, but it needs to be very sharp & run carefully. A radiator hose clamp & leather strap on the end of the handle will help avoid splitting. Agree that a paddle bit isn't the best type for this work, but it's OK if that's all you have...
 
Re. forging a round bar into a spear, so as to have a round tang, I would think that if a forge and tools available it would be preferable to forge a tapered socket into which the handle would fit.

For morticing out tang space, this would not require splitting round material, just get planed lumber, mortice, then shape to half octagonal, glue up/mount head, and hand finish octagonal shaft to round (spoke shave, rasp, scraper, block plane).

Bill, I think Nalek was just using the pipe as a drill guide. I agree with you that some sort of ferule is required to prevent the shaft breaking if there is ever any side load or leverage applied to the head. Maybe even if it is thrust hard into a target and twists. A metal pipe could be hammered onto the end of the handle before fitting the head. A tang tapered would tighten up nicely if there was a ferule to stop splitting. I have seen tools where the head and ferule are welded together and the whole lot pushed on to the handle. If the ferule is long and strong enough, you could have a flat rectangular tang the full width of your wood. Have the ferule extend beyond the end of the tang so you don't have a weak point. I imagine a piece of tube 4 or 5 inches would do.

The welded ferule is used on this. See Kellam Billhooks
M011_128508


Another way to reinforce is to use wire wrapping. I have seen this used on parangs and used stainless locking wire on some tools that I made.
Billhook comp by Last Scratch, on Flickr

Interesting project! Good luck :)
 
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I have a 2x4 about a foot long that has a v shape cut in it that I use to drill holes in something round , what ever you are drilling sits in the v and wont spin. To do what you want I would turn the drill press table vertical instead of horizontal and clamp the 2x4 to the table.
 
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