Rehandleing a Bow Rake??? Now with Pics

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Squashfan

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Jun 6, 2012
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See post #5 for pictures.

My mother dug an old bow rake out of her basement to rake leaves with. Well more like scrape the leaves off of the lawn. Anyway, the handle broke in two. I bought a US made ash wood handle with metal collar from lowe's but am at a loss as to how to put the head on the handle. The tang of the head looks like a "U" with the sides squished together. I thought that I would put the "U" in the handle then put the metal collar over the handle. However, the metal collar came on the handle. I have no clue what to do. HELP!
 
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Whoa, hold on there, I re-hung one rake a few years back when the handle of pine of fir not sure which, got broken, with some ash wood I had on hand and have regretted it ever since. Far to heavy for raking chores. I was out there today using it and it is a misery. Willow or poplar should make a fine handle for a rake. As for your mounting problem I have no idea what it is you have there.

E.DB.
 
Ernest DuBois said:
Whoa, hold on there, I re-hung one rake a few years back when the handle of pine of fir not sure which, got broken, with some ash wood I had on hand and have regretted it ever since. Far to heavy for raking chores. I was out there today using it and it is a misery. Willow or poplar should make a fine handle for a rake. As for your mounting problem I have no idea what it is you have there.

E.DB.
Click to expand...

Spruce is the prefered material around here, for good reason aparently.
 
What is the issue with ash? I had a rake handle once that would do nothing but splinter. Is ash the same way?

Pictures:

Rake tang. I am going to clean it up with a wire wheel on my grinder before rehandling.
bowrake1.jpg


handle
bowrake2.jpg


bowrake3.jpg


bowrake4.jpg


Thanks for the help!
 
FortyTwoBlades, thank you! So it is called a socket pattern handle.

Anybody else have thoughts on the ash? I am seeing people say ash wood is a good handle material. Am I missing something?
 
Squashfan said:
...So it is called a socket pattern handle...
Click to expand...

I think that yours is not a socket pattern, since the head does not have a socket (like the socket on a shovel). The metal sleeve on your handle keeps the wood from splitting when the handle is installed. Seems like a way to mass produce the tools more cheaply, but it doesn't allow for homemade handles as easily as you can make for socketed tools. It's still possible to find European-made tools with sockets (like rakes, pitchforks, etc.) sold in the USA.
 
The ash wood is just to heavy and overkill for a rake, otherwise it's a fine wood. Some wood species are also prone to splinter like douglas fir. Spruce, as colleague kk mentions, is good along with the two hardwoods I brought up earlier. This mounting would I guess technically be a tang mount. Ok the particular version may not be so ideal and will have to be adapted to the handle, should you decide to go ahead with this ill-suited one, but it is simply a matter of fitting the one to the other with the ferrule left as it is on the handle.
Were you to abandon the handle you have there and go the custom route, it would be best not to use a power driven drill to make the hole for the tang but a brace and bit. A power drill will seek out the soft sections of the wood, especially drilling parallel to the grain, and be drawn in any particular direction, while using a slow moving brace you will have more control.

E.DB.
 
Squashfan said:
FortyTwoBlades, thank you! So it is called a socket pattern handle.

Anybody else have thoughts on the ash? I am seeing people say ash wood is a good handle material. Am I missing something?
Click to expand...

Nope--yours is the tanged style shown in the upper diagram.

Ernest DuBois said:
The ash wood is just to heavy and overkill for a rake, otherwise it's a fine wood. Some wood species are also prone to splinter like douglas fir. Spruce, as colleague kk mentions, is good along with the two hardwoods I brought up earlier. This mounting would I guess technically be a tang mount. Ok the particular version may not be so ideal and will have to be adapted to the handle, should you decide to go ahead with this ill-suited one, but it is simply a matter of fitting the one to the other with the ferrule left as it is on the handle.
Were you to abandon the handle you have there and go the custom route, it would be best not to use a power driven drill to make the hole for the tang but a brace and bit. A power drill will seek out the soft sections of the wood, especially drilling parallel to the grain, and be drawn in any particular direction, while using a slow moving brace you will have more control.

E.DB.
Click to expand...

If going the custom handle route I would drill a pilot hole the same diameter as the tang thickness then heat the tang with a torch and press fit it. You'll end up with the wood burned perfectly to the shape of the tang. :)
 
OK but you have to know what you are doing using this technique and stop short of fully seating it while hot, leaving a good bit of space to drive in the tang home after cooling. If it's fully driven in hot it will continue to scorch the wood and the hole will become oversized and there will be no grip.

E.DB.
 
Yes, indeed. There are ways to do it right and ways to do it wrong. Gotta' make sure you still have that room to tap it in, for sure. I find that for the final burning if you heat it to a bit shy of red it'll still burn its way in but will cool quickly enough to minimize the chances of over-burning.
 
I usually just hammer in wood shims on both sides of the two part tang. Next time I'd like to try burning it in just because it will be fun.
 
It IS fun! Had a blast burning the handle onto my British billhook blade a while back. :D
 
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