Handles to be

[lovetohaft]

Clearing out some trees to make more room for the white oaks to increase mast production (yeah I'm a deer hunter). Thought I would put some of the hickory to use for future handle projects. Hope the pics come through okay.

Steve

http://www.flickr.com/photos/92175288@N08/11361944883/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/92175288@N08/11361834096/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/92175288@N08/11361763875/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/92175288@N08/11362105405/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/92175288@N08/11361915803/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/92175288@N08/11361828495/

 

[CedarEater]

Drooling all over myself!

 

[lovetohaft]

Drooling all over myself!

I sure enjoyed working with green wood for a change, amazing how easy hickory is to work when it's fresh cut. Picture number 5 gives you an idea of just how strong a good piece of hickory really is. The front end loader on the 4740 is rated at 2,700 lbs and it barely managed bending the handle stock (this piece was about a 4"x4") in the pic. For my bent handles I normally use the very center section (heartwood) of a small hickory or a piece of a long straight branch squared off to fit tight back in the plunge cut section of stump. All the hickory I cut has grown slowly under some large oak and beech trees which makes for some nice tight grained wood.

Steve

 

[jpeeler]

That's excellent that you actually bent the wood while green to avoid run-out. Can't say I've ever seen that before, but then again I don't have any heavy equipment. Kudos!

 

[lovetohaft]

That's excellent that you actually bent the wood while green to avoid run-out. Can't say I've ever seen that before, but then again I don't have any heavy equipment. Kudos!

As a child I remember my grandfather bending green wood for the curved section of wood that is used in a mule harness . He used very long pieces of wood so he had a leverage advantage and then usually placed one end in the split of a double tree and used a block and tackle to tension the other end. I think it's worth the extra effort if you want an extra strong piece of wood for a special project. Outside of poor technique (over strikes, etc.) most handle failures I've seen can be attributed to "grain run out"