I bought a Lost Art Press engraving tool a while back. The short metal handle works fine for putting it into a compass, but for freehand use, it’s not very comfortable for me.
So I grabbed a piece of red gum burl I had sitting around (on sale from Cook Woods, I think), and turned a handle to fit the cutter that the engraving tool uses.
It’s a 13/64 hole in the end to hold the cutter. I may need to make a stopper-shaped 3/16 diameter wooden plug to put inside the cutter to press it more tightly against the wood (we’ll see after some use), but this is already a ton more comfortable to hold. Plus, with LAP out of stock on their engraving tools, this is available today. You just need to buy an 2-pack of Excel Large Round Carving Routers, Small Round Carving Routers, or triangular routers (the small round is what I used here) and make yourself a handle.
The small round is about 3/16 inch. The large round is maybe 5/16 or 3/8? It’s bigger than a quarter inch, for sure. But I kind of mash them around making them more oval than round, so once I’ve used it, it’s hard to be sure what the original size was.
I also sharpen the back side first time I have to sharpen the front, so then I’ve got a cutter that lasts twice as long. ;-) The cutter is just a thin strip of O-1 that’s been bent to shape, I think. It’s decent tool steel, but doesn’t last forever.
I know what you mean Dave about the small metal handle being uncomfortable, now you've got something you can grip tight and control it. Nice handle, fine looking wood, nice turning shape, and very nice finish.
A hoof knife was one of the things they tried before settling on the vinyl cutters, Duck.
The finish was my homemade friction finish. Three or four drops of 50-50 tung oil and citrus oil, and three or four drops of 1.5# cut of platina shellac on a piece of t-shirt, and apply to the piece going around pretty dang fast on the lathe. Repeat if needed.
Nathan, the “American Peasant” book from LAP has the ideas the Schwarz came up with.
