woodturning chisel toolholders from pipe ?

[Alistair Hosie]

I have made myself a few nice woodturning tools using handles in aluminium or mild steel from a few dumbell connecting pipes .I don't mean the six footers just the hand ones approx 12 inches long by 1.1/4 wide,These turned out great I made a nice tight fitting bush actually two one for each end of the pipe, in different inside dia widths for different sized chisels . These chisels are held in to the bushes by a few well placed grubsrews and easily removed replaced.My son gave me two of the cheap aluminium bars from cheap plastic sand filled york dumbells which he threw away as he got older he bought better ones in steel or cast.I just talked to a guy who made the same thing using ship quality seamless tubing steam pipe.I looked it up wow goes for big money I need more than a 1mm wall thickness maybe 2 to 2.5 to 3mm and wonder if you guys especially in the uk new of a source or anyone here for that matter could think of any pipes that would do.Once you have the handles it's fun to make the tungsten carbide indexing machine tools applying them strategically to some round or square bar for the cutting end at least I enjoyed making mine scrapers and so forth.I also have some Robert Sorby designed bought gouges for these type of pipe applications .Any ideas would be most welcome I don't need scaffold pipe or exhaust pipe as said about 1.1/4 or thereabouts maybe a bit bigger to 1.1/2inch Alistair

[Boucher]

Over here 1 1/4 and 1 1/2" electrical conduit would be close and inexpensive. You said no exhaust pipe but.... the local shop lets me plunder their scrap bin so I do. It is kind of surprising what they throw away and it is free. I sometimes take a box of donuts by as a thank you.

[Black_Moons]

Note that conduit is coated in zinc and it smells up your hands

Cast iron pipe might be a good source, Thick, Should turn niceish...

or seamed tubing, Once turned, you can't see the seam.

[sasquatch]

Wondering, are you refering to "Feurels-?" the band that keeps the handle from splitting? ??

THese i,ve made from heavy wall copper pipe, they turn and polish up nicely, not sure if it would be easy to find though in those diameters.

[Alistair Hosie]

no not ferrules the whole handle.Alistair

[2ManyHobbies]

On this side of the pond, they have black pipe or gas pipe. It gets sold in a variety of lengths and diameters so one could pick something comfy in the hand. Nearly any hardware store or home improvement place would have some.

More or less the pipe that is used here but in non-galvanized form:
http://www.harborfreight.com/2-piece...amp-31255.html

[Alistair Hosie]

Hi if you look down the page here you will see the kind of things I mean not obviously the wood handlesAlistair

http://www.woodturningvideosplus.com/tool-handles.html

[Dan Dubeau]

I clicked on that page, and the first thought that popped into my head was a pool cue. The butt end of a cue would probably be a great extension for a lathe tool, and if you can find a source for some old broken ones (got any rowdy pool halls nearby?) If you find some nice inlaid ones, you'd have the classiest lathe tools around.

I know it's not metal as you requested, but it would be unlike the BBS for someone NOT to give a totally different answer to the question asked by the end of the first page lol

[Alistair Hosie]

Dan when it comes to woodturning I could turn handles and have for many years without too much thought ,that's not the problem. I would like metal tubes/handles maybe even aluminium to add my own hss tools?holders shaped to scrape gouge etc or even add my own indexing tips which I and others are experimenting with great results.They need to be metal as these shanks are inserted into the handles and designed for quick changing/removal etc by unturning a few grubscrews in the shank then handle .This is not practical with wood.Thanks anyway I like alot of the stuff your making myself keep it going my friend thanks again Alistair