My first attempt at Mule handles, prototyping with some Birch

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bobartig
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My first attempt at Mule handles, prototyping with some Birch

#1

Post by bobartig »

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First attempt at Mule handles. First, I traced out the Halpern contoured scale, and cross-ripped the board by hand. I don't have a real saw that will do this.

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I traced the handles again onto the blanks, then tried about a dozen things to figure out how to get them down to the right size. I used the trim saw, a japanese hobby saw, and eventually a coping saw. Again, I don't have the right tools at all. Along the way, I used a rotary tool to sand off the edges.

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Don't have a planer or router, so I did a lot of the shaping and contouring by hand using the M398 Mule. Appropriately enough, this Mule needs handles! Also, my hands are *SORE* and also, I cut my thumb once. Need to stop bleeding all over the handles.

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First dry fit. It is very, very tight, but I can address that by slightly modifying one of the holes. Need to add some countersinking for the screw heads, also figure out how to seal them.

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Compared to the handle. I did something weird overall. I started by tracing the handle, but then I traced over that with the actual Mule because I was actually going for a handle that matches the Mule profile, whereas the Halpern scales leave about a 1mm of the Mule exposed all around. Don't really know why. Doesn't affect the functionality, but I was going for full coverage.
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Mule handle doesn't quite cover the heel.

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Also, slightly exceeds the spine.

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Here it is next to the original. Pretty good as a first try! I left out hours of experimentation and wasted attempts at things that didn't work out. I expect the next pair to go a lot smoother. Learning as I go!
TomAiello
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Re: My first attempt at Mule handles, prototyping with some Birch

#2

Post by TomAiello »

Strong work! Those are _great_ for a first attempt, especially with all the hand shaping. That's very impressive!
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standy99
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Re: My first attempt at Mule handles, prototyping with some Birch

#3

Post by standy99 »

Soak the handles, or coat several times every 24 hours with mineral oil will seal them
Im a vegetarian as technically cows are made of grass and water.
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RustyIron
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Re: My first attempt at Mule handles, prototyping with some Birch

#4

Post by RustyIron »

That's very nice work, B.
The grain on the wood is pretty.
bobartig
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Re: My first attempt at Mule handles, prototyping with some Birch

#5

Post by bobartig »

So mineral oil seal? I'm thinking of trying beeswax, or tung oil, not really sure the best way. I don't want them to darken too much because I like the pale features of Birch, but there are some other woods where I would want the deeper colors to come out.
bobartig
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Re: My first attempt at Mule handles, prototyping with some Birch

#6

Post by bobartig »

Thanks for the positive notes! I'm really excited to iterate with another wood, now that I have some stuff figured out to avoid wasted effort. Also, I have some ShadeTree burlap micarta scraps I bought recently, can't wait to start working on them.
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bob-atlatl
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Re: My first attempt at Mule handles, prototyping with some Birch

#7

Post by bob-atlatl »

I use tung oil cut by mineral spirits (1:1) as finishing layers, and buff a lot between layers.
Also may darken light woods (figured maple, etc) with a stain, also cut with mineral spirits, trial and error on that mix.
... rule #9 ...
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standy99
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Re: My first attempt at Mule handles, prototyping with some Birch

#8

Post by standy99 »

bobartig wrote:
Thu Mar 02, 2023 1:17 pm
So mineral oil seal? I'm thinking of trying beeswax, or tung oil, not really sure the best way. I don't want them to darken too much because I like the pale features of Birch, but there are some other woods where I would want the deeper colors to come out.
I soak in mineral oil, or coat for several days as the scales are usually on the knife (epoxy) and then cover with beeswax as a last coat. Mineral oil will soak in and protect. Beeswax will just coat the outside. If you’re doing removable scales soaking would benefit better.

I always coat the knives i sell with beeswax when shipping.
Im a vegetarian as technically cows are made of grass and water.
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sal
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Re: My first attempt at Mule handles, prototyping with some Birch

#9

Post by sal »

Hi Bob,

Very nice work. Thanx much for sharing.

sal
bobartig
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Re: My first attempt at Mule handles, prototyping with some Birch

#10

Post by bobartig »

Updates!

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Hey y'all, nobody said how hard it was to drill counterbore holes for the screws! At first I was like, "well, these are trash," but then I realized I can really mess up one hole per side and still have them work, so long as they're different holes, and the screws will hide that I screwed it up. Also, had to enlarge each hole a bit with an x-acto knife. Alright, 5/16" forstner bit is going on the shopping list...

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Second dry fit! Everything fits pretty well. Not the prettiest drilling here either. Also had to clean up and fix this with the x-acto.

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reprofiled the spine to remove the excess, took off a little too much, but I'm fine with this.

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Following standy99's advice because mineral oil and beewax are things I have! Gonna soak 'em in a bag with oil for a couple days then figure out how to finish with beeswax. Already have a zillion ideas for how to improve on the next pair!
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