muskiedaze Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Well, I've tried a 1/4 in. twist bit and a self feed auger bit on hickory, osage, and maple. I made a jig to try and keep the drill running true. I tried drilling from both ends. I haven't been able to make it work. I'm stumped. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkrankow Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Try pecking. Feed a little, back out and clear your chip, repeat. If the bit gets a little crooked the next peck may straighten it out. Feeding in one go will guarantee that the drill stays on the easiest path, which may not be the one you want. Drilling a very very deep hole is tough even in a nice homogeneous piece of steel, wood is not very homogeneous, so you have hard spots and soft spots the bit will want to follow. I have never drilled a pipe stem for a hawk or a pipe. Honestly the length of hole is intimidating. I have had poor results with my attempts at making a fire piston because the inside of the hole ends up too rough, which won't be a problem for you. Phil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woody Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 take two pieces of wood put a small gruve down the center of each with a router, then glue them together and shape it into a handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brian.pierson Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Years ago when I was young, my father built a lamp out of a wooden spindle that he got at a hardware store. He took an iron pipe that was the same size as the intended hole. He used a propane torch to heat it cherry red and then pushed it into the spindle. The smoke and heat went up the tube like a chimney. He locked the spindle into a vise so it was solid. The pipe would cool off during the burn so he would have to reheat. But the action with it was like the pecking that Phil mentioned. The pipe would also help get the charred/burnt wood out. The spindle was pine so the burning was easier than a hard wood. Brian Pierson Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don A Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 John, If you enjoy the quest for doing this yourself, that is great. Plenty of good advice given so far. However, if you find that your time, material, and trouble are worth more than $20, you can order 'em pre-drilled from Dunlap:http://www.dunlapwoodcrafts.com/TomahawkHandles.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasPowers Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Traditionally were they not made from limbs using the pith for the smoke channel as it would serve as a guide for the tooling? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
longhunter Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Im wondering if you could get a brad point wood bit long enough to try, the point of bit and the way it cuts may workhttp://www.traditionalwoodworker.com/3_16-Extra-Extra-Long-Quality-Brad-Point-Bit-Germany_US/productinfo/888-0707/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattBower Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 You're right, Thomas, burning out the pith with a piece of hot wire was the traditional method. Frankly, period hawks were much smaller and in many cases much cruder than most of the hawks you see today. Many of them didn't even use the friction fit, tapered eye that's pretty much a defining characteristic of hawks today. Some of the heads were just glued on. American Indian Tomahawks by Peterson is very enlightening. I second the nomination for Dunlap Woodcrafts, unless you really want to drill the handles yourself. Dunlap is only about five miles from where I sit as I type this. It's great fun to walk in and pick through box after box of handles. Nice guy. Lots of beautiful wood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
macbruce Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I drilled a 1/4'' hole theough a finished fiddleback maple haft once using a bit that was welded to extention. the holes still weren't deep enough so I burned clear through.....How they managed to meet up is a mystery to me, but dang it, I needed that pipe online!...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MLMartin Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 I have watched Richard Guthrie use a 3/16" or 1/4" round iron rod to burn the hole down the handle. I think he used 2 rods and was heating one up while burning with the other. As soon as the one used for burning the hole cooled he swapped it out with the one in the fire. Ive been told this was pretty common thing to do by the Indians that bought these pipe axes. Also you see a huge number of antiques that are bashed all the bits. Even if they were bought for smoking, at some point in there life people actually used them as hatchet/axes. Many of the bowls are crushed on old ones Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 split your handle stock, nice straight grained stock is going to be the strongest anyway. Carve a groove, glue the handle back together. I'm always struck by how the labor was the cheapest element of jobs in past. Hours and hours of time in the pre industrial society where materials were the largest cost item. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muskiedaze Posted March 15, 2012 Author Share Posted March 15, 2012 Gentlemen, Thank you all for the advice. I've already succeded with laminated handles with 2 shallow saw kerfs glued together and drilled, but it messes up the appearance of curly grain patterns, with the thickness of the saw kerf plus the wood lost by jointing both halves. Dunlap does have very nicely made handles, but the drilled ones are kind of pricey, and sometimes his wood selection is limited. I suspect they are made with a stationary drill and rotating stock , as gun barrels are made. Thanks again for the help. If I come up with a way to do it , I will post. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenylittlemetalguy Posted March 15, 2012 Share Posted March 15, 2012 Not sure if this is the issue here or not, but I do know that if the drill bit is dulled even a little on one side it will wander more than it should. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.Willis Posted March 16, 2012 Share Posted March 16, 2012 I have tried ever possible way in the world to drill by hand with consistency. Given you have a sharp and straight bit. It still tries to wonder around because of the chips and the heat. I have lucked up on a few, but ruined alot of nice hawk handles. The best way, if you are set upon doing it yourself is the laminated way like has been mentioned. Or buy from Dunlap. I do drill my own. But I do it on the lathe with handle in the chuck and turning , and the drill bit in the tail stock. I use a 1/4 gun drill which has a hole down the middle that I blow air thru. There is a groove down one side to evacuate the chips and I still have to go slow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muskiedaze Posted March 16, 2012 Author Share Posted March 16, 2012 Mr. Willis, Is the drill bit you described called a "Deep Bore Bit?" (single flute, I believe). I have read about them, but did not think they were available in 1/4 inch. Would you know of a supplier? Thanks, John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S.Willis Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 I got mine off ebay. There're usually tons of them on there. Just do a searh for gun drill in the industrial and metalworking catagory. Here's a picture of what they look like. Stuart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIGGUNDOCTOR Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 Here is what I would do if I didn't have my lathe. Locate a drill press. Get two drill bits, one jobber length, and one extension bit that will reach just past half way. Mark the center on both ends of the haft . Mount a point to the drill press table, and align it with the drill point. Put the haft on the point, and drill the top end with the shorter jobber drill first. Flip, and repeat. Switch to the extension drill bit, and repeat. This is how a buttstock is drilled for the attaching bolt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dimenickel Posted March 17, 2012 Share Posted March 17, 2012 i've done them with a " d " bit... you make it out of small precision drill rod and harden the end .... same bits you use to make bag pipes http://www.bagpipeworld.co.uk/bagpipe/making/drill.html get the small drill rod at fastenal.. the usually have it in a display stand it helps to make a drill guide ... so your feeding the bit in straight to the center of the wood... the more figure your wood has, the more tendency the bit has to wander.. good luck, its not easy to get straight G Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolhand Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 Get a piece of wood about 3"x3" square and just drill through it. then layOut your handle from the the entrance and exit holes. Who cares if it's A crooked or curved hole. You can't miss Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muskiedaze Posted March 18, 2012 Author Share Posted March 18, 2012 You guys are really smart. Thanks for all the good ideas. BigGun, That is brilliant. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jacques Posted March 18, 2012 Share Posted March 18, 2012 http://www.lindsaybks.com/bks5/deep/index.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick maxen Posted March 20, 2012 Share Posted March 20, 2012 John, This might interest you, scroll down to post 53. It is how I managed to do it using a jig.http://www.britishblades.com/forums/showthread.php?90077-A-Pipe-Hawk-work-in-progress/page4 Mick. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teenylittlemetalguy Posted March 21, 2012 Share Posted March 21, 2012 Good idea Mick, thanks for sharing it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironclad Posted April 3, 2012 Share Posted April 3, 2012 if you could make your own handle, you could drill your hole first, then it wouldn't matter if you went off with the hole if you start off with a square blank of wood, then put on the lathe, or finish by hand. just my thought on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
muskiedaze Posted April 5, 2012 Author Share Posted April 5, 2012 Thanks again. Mick, I've tried a similiar jig to no avail. I'm going to try the drillpress method the next time I have access to a floor mounted drillpress, but Dunlap's handles are looking better all the time, but even some of those don't have perfectly centered holes, but the wood is nicer than most of the stuff I come across. John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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