Drilling tomahawk handle

[fatboy]

hey has anyone drilled their own pipe hawk handles what size hole would be proper ?

 

[omarick1948]

I'm not dead sure on tomahawk pipe handles, but the so-called peace pipe stems were usually made of two pieces with a small,(maybe 1/8") groove cut down the middle and both halves glued together to form the smoking hole. I've also heard some say, that with certain woods. The maker could burn a hole down through the center core of the wood with a straight hot wire. But I couldn't say it is a fact or not!

Rick

 

[tg]

Willow can be burnt thru with a hot wire, I have made a couple of dozen pipestone pipes with willow stems, also i have heard but not been able to confirm the use of wood boring grubs that are put in a shallow hole in one end which is placed near fire and the heat will drive the grub to bore thru the stem supposedly, the grub follows the pithy core as does the hot wire, go slow or the wire can emerge out the side and cause a nasty burn on the hand..this I can confirm. Some tribes in S.America make blow guns by splitting and carving the hole then glueing/tying the halves together as well.I question where the average NA would find the suitable wire for using this method, the split/carve/glue method was likely the most common.a coat hanger straightened out works well.

 

[anvil1231]

I drill 1/4" hole in mine. I have tried ever way under the sun to drill a hawk handle and keep it straight with the bit turning. I could not make it happen and had a pile of scrapped handles to show for it. I finally burned them this past winter
I use my lathe to turn the handle instead of the bit. I use a 12 inch long gun drill with an air hose hooked to it to remove the chips and stay straight. I have to drill as far I can one way then turn the handle around and go from the other end.

 

[Brasilikilt]

Hey there

Here's a quick and dirty method that works well, If you have access to a table saw:

acquire some slats of good hardwood such as oak ash or hickory which are around 1/2" to 3/4" thick and about 1.5 to 2" wide.

Mark center lengthwise on your 2 halves and adjust the fence of the table saw for this. Lower the saw blade so that it cuts about 1/8" or less into your slats.
The next step is to take your 2 halves, glue and clamp them together..it helps if you have something metal such as a coat hanger in the channel to prevent glue from getting in.

After the glue has dried, you have a workable handle blank to rasp, carve and sand into a pipe hawk handle.

If you want to make a pipe hawk stem from a solid piece, it REALLY helps if you start with a chunk of wood which is perfectly square. This way you can mark your center points with accuracy, and the wood is held perfectly straight in a vise for when you drill pilot holes on either end.

After your pilot holes are drilled you can either burn out the channel on either end (a length of 1/4" mild steel rod flattened like a screw driver on the end and heated red hot works great!) or you can use a long drill bit to bore into the hole alternately from either side.
Remember that if the holes on either end are center, it doesn't matter so much if your holes don't meet up exactly in the middle of the handle.

I really hope this helps

Take care

Iain

 

[fatboy]

I thought 1/4 to be to big but hey I will try it sometime. I may just buy already drilled costly I know but maybe worth me saving some aggravation.

 

[LRB]

In my opinion, yes, that is the best way to go. A few more dollars saves a lot of time and agravation, and a possibly ruined handle.