One of the great difficulties of making handles is drilling for the tool after the handle is made and getting the hole on center and straight. This method will get around the problem. Mark your drill bit for the length of the spring, in my case 2 1/2", and drill on center the width of the spring.
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Mount in the lathe a Jacob's chuck holding your drill and slide the handle blank on the end.
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Measure the gap in beween the chuck and the blank.
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Cut and drill a waste block to fit in the gap plus a bit over, say an 18" to 1/4". You need the spacer otherwise the drill bit will do what drills do and keep cutting.
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Now mount in order, (1)Jacob's chuck with drill, (2)spacer, and (3)handle blank. Bring up the (4)tail stock to hold things in place. Let the tail stock find its own center. Tighten everything up to turn.
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Round down with a roughing gouge. What we have made here is a friction drive. It holds the wood in place with the pressure from the tailstock against the spacer block aligned by the drill bit. If you get a catch the wood will simply spin, not hurting you or the wood. Turn a little more gently, riding the bevel and taking light cuts. Snug up the tail stock as necessary.
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