handle for record long hole boring auger

[Keithie]

Away from the lathe for the Christmas break now ...so I'm reflecting on the 'best' way to make a handle for my long hole boring auger.

Having had a chat to the folk at Yandles the auger is easy enough to sharpen (and I found it very easy to use, just amatter of taking it slow and emptying every inch or so).. but the sharpening will only, probably, be doable a limited number of times then the auger will need to be replaced (there isnt too much metal there)

So, its easy enough to make a big hole in a stick and glue the flat diamond tang in place and then replace both auger and handle together when required. Also fairly easy to grind off the flanges of the tang and fix it into a regular handle and ferrule.

After some reseach I found this thread from the forums here ...

handle-for-long-hole-boring-auger-t79584-30.html

and I also found an interesting style of handle here ...

http://dans-woodshop.blogspot.co.uk/201 ... ndles.html

I quite like the idea of a permanent handle to swap from auger to auger ...but my metal work skills arentup to making a nice clamping mechanism like the miller falls one in the pic. Easy enough to just buy one from ebay or wherever...but nicer to make one.

Has anyone come up with any other approaches for a lathe made handle for the record long hole boring auger bit ? I'd be interested to hear/see !

cheers
Keith

 

[Dalboy]

The handle in the second link is a NO NO in my books as it is designed for a hand auger and not used anywhere near a machine

 

[duncanh]

Do they really need sharpening that often that you ned to consider the lengevity of the handle? Make a wood and brass ferrule one for now and if/when you need to replace the auger you may be able to extract the auger and reuse the handle. If not then it's 10 minutes of a job to make a new one.

 

[kevinlightfoot]

I can't believe folks are still using auger to bore long holes on the lathe.Most workshops now have compressors couple this to a gun drill and you can bore 20 holes on centre every time in the same time you can bore one with an auger.Look into buying a 5/16 gun drill 24 inches long from Stirling gun drills and you will never look back.If you are making for a living it will pay for itself over and over again.

 

[selectortone]

Buy a keyless chuck (less than a tenner on ebay) and make a handle for it. Very useful.

 

[Keithie]

Thanks everyone for the feedback and ideas.

I used long nose molegrips in the absence of anything closer tohand for the first few holes but frankly there werent ay forces strong enough for me not to have held the barrel of the auger by hand (in glove) anyway.

Dalboy ...recognising you have vastly more experience than me I'm happy to believe you and I dont want to damage my machine, auger or me !.. but I dont really understand the nature of the problem with the pics from the second link ?

Duncanh... its by no means a 'need' thing, I've bored 4 12" holes and honed the edge once (possibly unnecessarily) ... I doubt I'll need to change the auger within 20 holes but maybe within 50 (if I ever do that many).. but the auger is a cheap one (£20). I also agree that its almost no time/effort/cost to make a new handle for the once every few years that I might actually need to replace the auger. I'm just curious as to what other folk do and whether anyone has a handle they keep.

Kevin... I hadnt even heard of Sterling gun drills till now. I'm just a hobbyist tho ...so not commercially minded. They might provide a solution for helping make the wooden wind chimes I have on my 'to do' list. Thanks.

Selectortone .. thanks...thats a good idea for lots of purposes ...will do!

cheers all
Keith

 

[Dalboy]

Dalboy ...recognising you have vastly more experience than me I'm happy to believe you and I dont want to damage my machine, auger or me !.. but I dont really understand the nature of the problem with the pics from the second link ?

If the auger catches and starts to spin with the work, the handle will act like a propeller and can cause you some injury where as a handle that is in line with the bit will just spin in your hand.