Help turning a handle

AceByTerror said:

Here's some info I sent to JaxJim a while back - might be useful here:

A couple recommendations to make your life easier.


1. A fixed tailstock drill chuck. I mount my blanks on the headstock using a jaw chuck and then using a fixed tailstock drill chuck and a Foerstner bit of the size i want my knot hole to be. I then bore out my knot holes and then drill my pilot holes for my brush mandrels right on the lathe. Stupid easy! Perfect center boring and easy to use. Bore at your slowest speed on the lathe and take your time to avoid heat/burned wood. Better grade bits can really help with this too. Bore it to the depth you want for the loft you're looking to achieve.
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/TM32.html?prodpage=1TM


2. A thread fit headstock drill chuck. Without this, turning and managing multiple brush projects was a real pain. For $30 it's a lifesaver! Threaded onto the spindle rather than a morse taper means you don't have to worry about a draw bolt for safety. Just put it on to your headstock spindle and you're set. I turn all my handles with this chuck and the mandrels listed below. Make sure your lathe is a 1x8tpi. Also, make sure you use a live center in your tailstock for support until you're almost finished and working the bottom. Reduces chatter and gives you strength/support.
http://www.pennstateind.com/store/TM42.html?prodpage=1TM


Brush mandrels:
These have been difficult to find locally, so my only options were online. The Golden Nib has the ones I prefer here:
http://thegoldennib.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=36_41&products_id=216


These work perfectly for shaving brushes. The only other place I've seen them is William Woodrite here in Canada:
http://www.penblanks.ca/Classic-Mandrel/


If you like to work on multiple brushes at once, you only need a few of these, but depending on what you finish with it's nice to leave wood on them for a day or more at a time to dry - which limits access to the mandrel. So what I did is bought a dozen 1/4 x 20 tpi bolts (same size and thread as the mandrel) and using a dremel I ground off the tops! So what I do is I turn and sand the handles to completion on the solid mandrels, then I take them off and screw them onto the bolts. This lets me spin them on the lathe at lower speeds for finishing and polish sanding while leaving my solid turning mandrels accessible for another blank to turn. I wouldn't trust the steel in those bolts for high speed turning, but they are more than strong enough for 1200-1500 rpm in my experience. Safety first


I usually finish rub and sand at 250-500 rpm max anyways.

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