Thanks for watching and commenting, Gord. I'll soon have the final video out on the termite tool. I used it yesterday and the day before, trying it out to see how it works. And it works a lot better than I expected!
I love all the T shirts you have and your sense of humor. After the first minute of this video, I realized you have the skills to turn a toothpick out of a log :-)
Hi Rick, Great second episode. When you said you were going to drill a hole in the end of the handle I thought you were going to make and extension piece to make it longer. I have never heard of putting lead shot in the end of a handle for balance before. Great tip. Take care rick. Cheers, Huw. PS Now sitting patiently waiting to see it being put to use. Huw
I like the beef of the new handle Rick. Not knowing how the termite tool cuts I think a hefty tool would be in order. Now you have me hooked I will be waiting for part 3! Great video.... Take care, Gary
Very nice. The best thing about your videos is that you always show what is going wrong. Very recognizable to many of us, so nice to see them with you too. I am very curious how well this tool can hollow.
I just used the tool yesterday, and I was amazed at how well it worked. I should have made (or bought) one years ago. I'll have the usage video up shortly. Thanks for watching and commenting, Frank.
Thanks for watching, Chips. I just used the tool yesterday, and it is great! I should have made (or bought) one years ago. I'll have the usage video up soon.
Rick Two comments. First, Mike Peace suggests using ordinary twist drill bits when drilling end grain. I bought an inexpensive set of reduced-shank (Silver and Deming) bits from Amazon that are much easier to use in end-grain than Forstner bits. Second, my experience is that if you do too good a job of matching the hole in the handle with the diameter of the steel tool shank, gluing the steel into the handle is difficult - when you insert the steel, there is no way for the air inside the hole to escape, so it either pushes the steel back out, or it forces the glue out of the hole, or both. It's possible to make the hole a bit oversize, but the problem is finding a drill bit that is slightly larger than the steel rod, but yet not too large. I have found two ways around this dilemma. One is to use the angle grinder to grind a groove or flat on the side of the steel tool shank to allow the air to escape when the steel is forced into the hole. The other is to use a very small drill (I use a #65 bit in a pin vise) to drill a breather hole through the side of the handle near the bottom of the cavity. That hole will allow trapped air to escape, and inserting the steel tool shank will also force some glue into the hole. Any excess glue that comes all the way through the breather hole can be wiped/sanded off before wiping on the finish.
You're right about getting too good a fit on the hole\shaft. In this case, it was a not-too-snug fit, and I didn't have to do anything. I have drilled a relief hole in handle I've made in the past. But I like your idea about the angle grinder - I'll be doing that on my next tool. Thanks for watching and for your comments, Louie.
Great job, Rick. I was sitting here admiring your skew skills and then - the catch. Owell, that happens. BTW, that's the noisiest wood I've ever heard (lol). Stay safe. Bill
LOL! It was definitely noisy wood. I got a great shot of that catch, didn't I? I'd like to say that I did that just for demonstration purposes, but alas, it was for real! Thanks for watching and commenting, Bill.
Have you tried leaving the wood on the end of the tool slightly large and then heating the copper ferrule? The copper will slide right on and as it cools will tighten up.
i feel your pain at making the end too small for the ferrule. My technique for these and for fitting the lid on a box, which usually works quite well, is to, while the overall diameter is still a bit large, taper the end of the piece until it fits inside the ferrule. Then, hold the ferrule or the box lid in place with the lathe running slowly enough so the piece you're holding does not get away from you. This leaves a mark or a burn ring which is the exact size of the inside diameter of the ring. You can then carefully scrape the rest of the stub to the right size. BTW, I have Sorby ring tool which I use rarely, but it does work OK.
I should have done the taper ub thing. I used to do that on tools, but it's been so long since I did one, I forgot about it. Thanks for watching and commenting, Ron.
Hi, Mark. That's a two inch piece of copper pipe. I prefer a large ferrule. I love the Thompson tools. I have three of them, and I'll probably be buying another very soon, as my 5/8" bowl gouge is getting really short.
