Est. 1998 — 27 years of woodworking knowledge
Is there any species unusable for saw handles?
John in New Mexico
>Like old growth redwood for example? Seems like it might not have the strength needed accross the grain, and I'd hate to waste it.
I had just made a teak handle for a claw hammer, and a couple days later dropped it through a skylight opening. Only 10' down or so to plywood floor, but the handle snapped like a twig right below the head. You'd think it was mesquite or something.
John
I wouldn't use Redwood...
Scott Burr in Ben Lomond CA
>Or other soft woods myself. I'd stay away from porous woods like oak too.
Re: Is there any species unusable for saw handles?
Tom Colligan
>John, you can't be beech due to its tight, fine cross or interlocking grain pattern. But any hardwood would do. I've used
cherry and walnut and they look as nice as can be. But sow would maple or even oak. Just be careful if you were thinking of using a router bit in its construction. Once the bit grabs some dangling end grain, i.e. the upper horn, it will send it across the room and you'll look to see if you still have all of your digits.
Re: Is there any species unusable for saw handles?
mikew
>Beech, Bubinga, Bloodwood, Jatoba, Zebrano, Lyptus, Rosewood, Cocobolo, Mesquite, Ash [curly is nice], hard Maple, even soft Maple for a closed handle style, Alaskan Yellow Cedar, and even more all work well for handles.
In general the softwoods are too fragile and or brittle, especially true of open handle designs. Proper grain orientation is also a consideration, and again, especially for open handles.
White Oak works as well. The Oaks tend to be so open pored that they tend to show dirt and grim after a while. But the wood is fine.
Quartersawn is great for most species, but flat to rift is acceptable or even preferable in others.
Take care, Mike
Ok, thanks for the info...
John in New Mexico
>looks like I'll save the redwood for something else and just use some of the many, many, cherry scraps.
John