This will be a bit of a slow burn thread, but starting early might help with a little feedback and keep my motivation going. I’ve been wanting to do this project for a while but limited time and supplies have been a bit of a challenge. I’ll be turning a replacement handle for one of my GEM Junior Bar lather catchers from bog wood/bog oak/morta wood. According to the supplier this block comes from a mill in Croatia that has dated their stocks to 5500 to 5600 years old. I’ve recently restocked my supply and decided to start with the block pictured below. It’s mostly black with very dark brown highlights, sometimes it’s an even dark, muddy black-brown depending on the light. If you’re not familiar with the wood it’s partially fossilized so it has a relatively high concentration of minerals resulting in an extremely hard, and brittle wood that, for me at least, has proven quite difficult to work with.
My main challenges will be keeping the piece whole throughout the turning process, settling on a suitable finish, and securing the threaded rod. In the past, small pieces with any amount of detail chip out so bad they end up as scrap. I’m not going to aim for a 1:1 recreation of the original handle, but I’d like to keep it in the same ball Park. Beside the tricky material, my sharpening skills are probably not up to par for the needs. I don’t think the pictures show it well but the wood is also quite porous. On the plus side, it is very resistant to rot, but I’m not completely sure how the bare wood will hold up to the water exposure a razor handle sees and all the pores are going to attract soap sum buildup like nothing else. I’m considering a decorative wax with a bronze or silver powder which will look nice and metallic in the pores followed with a light topcoat of some compatible sealer, or simply a non glossy sealant. As far as the threads, I don’t think there’s much I can do besides go slow and steady to drill out the hole for the rod to seat. The thin walls of the wood are going to chip off at the slightest provocation. If I can get at least one usable handle I’ll also attempt to make a decent ferrule on the mini lathe from either brass or aluminum.
I’ll have 4 chances for a handle from this block, I do have a few more if needed, but I also have some other projects slated where I’d like to just keep the losses to one block.
Any suggestions for how to approach this project, especially if they address any of my main concerns, will be appreciated.
Updates to this thread will come as they happen, likely not much movement for a while though as I work from a non heated garage and it’s still uncomfortably cold out with plenty of time for late winter/early spring blizzards to hit.
My main challenges will be keeping the piece whole throughout the turning process, settling on a suitable finish, and securing the threaded rod. In the past, small pieces with any amount of detail chip out so bad they end up as scrap. I’m not going to aim for a 1:1 recreation of the original handle, but I’d like to keep it in the same ball Park. Beside the tricky material, my sharpening skills are probably not up to par for the needs. I don’t think the pictures show it well but the wood is also quite porous. On the plus side, it is very resistant to rot, but I’m not completely sure how the bare wood will hold up to the water exposure a razor handle sees and all the pores are going to attract soap sum buildup like nothing else. I’m considering a decorative wax with a bronze or silver powder which will look nice and metallic in the pores followed with a light topcoat of some compatible sealer, or simply a non glossy sealant. As far as the threads, I don’t think there’s much I can do besides go slow and steady to drill out the hole for the rod to seat. The thin walls of the wood are going to chip off at the slightest provocation. If I can get at least one usable handle I’ll also attempt to make a decent ferrule on the mini lathe from either brass or aluminum.
I’ll have 4 chances for a handle from this block, I do have a few more if needed, but I also have some other projects slated where I’d like to just keep the losses to one block.
Any suggestions for how to approach this project, especially if they address any of my main concerns, will be appreciated.
Updates to this thread will come as they happen, likely not much movement for a while though as I work from a non heated garage and it’s still uncomfortably cold out with plenty of time for late winter/early spring blizzards to hit.
Andy
