Using shaped branches for tool handles

Hi, all,

I'm trying to make a hay rake for use on my farm and ran into an interesting question that I can't quite find an answer to. Namely, is it a good idea to use wood that's already naturally in the shape I want it to be?

Case in point, when looking at the wooden hay rakes that people have made, it's almost always either a straight single handle, or sawn to create a split near the head. I found a branch on my property that's the seemingly perfect size and shape, and has a Y split near where the head would be on a rake. Would this be sturdy enough to serve as a tool handle? Pictures below of my stick. It's about 1" across on the forked bits and a little over 6 feet long.

I appreciate any advice anyone has.

I think this is a splendid idea and your new rake handle will serve its purpose well. Some woods suit certain purposes better than others. Hickory for example is common as hafts for hatchets, hammers, sledges etc. because it is very strong and doesn't split easily. I think hardwoods will last longer than softwoods, and I also think all wooden handled tools can give a lifetime of service when kept out of the rain and stored in the dry.

Why not give it a try?
It might work great.  It might not.
As I see it, the worst thing that could happen is you have a little experience for when you find the next good piece of wood.

I have made handles from curvy wood several times. It can let you keep the grain within the profile and minimize the chance of splitting. One particularly good one was for a brush hook... photo when I get home...

 Ben Reilly asks:
 is it a good idea to use wood that's already naturally in the shape I want it to be?    

Absolutely yes! The strength of wood is in the grain. The grain follows the shape. Wood can be steam bent to the needed shape- a scythe handle for example- but natural curves are still stronger.

I think I’ll take some ash saplings and bend them into tool handle shapes I think it would be stronger be cause the fiber are all there and not carved

Hank Waltner wrote:I think I’ll take some ash saplings and bend them into tool handle shapes I think it would be stronger be cause the fiber are all there and not carved

If you are thinking bend a sapling then let it grow for a few years and take on that shape for later, that works.
I've seen trees that were bent when young that held that shape when mature.
I remember one from a camp I attended as a kid.
Someone had tied two branches in a half knot.
As the tree grew those two branches crossed back to their original sides.
It was this big twist of branches that was great for a kid to climb.

I love this idea.  I have a few tool pieces around my yard (a shovel with no handle, a rake with no handle) and I now think I might look for some wood to make handles.

Check out this guy- a cool idea using coppicing. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/business-33161109/the-man-who-grows-trees-into-chairs

Just wanted to give a quick update. The branch I chose above is too thin to support the rake head I was going to put on it. If anyone is planning on going this route, I probably would pick branches that don't go down to less than an inch think. Mine tapered to maybe 5/8" thick.

I'll just have to try again once the garden settles down briefly. :) Appreciate everyone's replies in here.

Ben Reilly wrote:Just wanted to give a quick update. The branch I chose above is too thin to support the rake head I was going to put on it. If anyone is planning on going this route, I probably would pick branches that don't go down to less than an inch think. Mine tapered to maybe 5/8" thick.

I'll just have to try again once the garden settles down briefly. :) Appreciate everyone's replies in here.

I might suggest that you're planning on an oversized head for your rake ;) 5/8 at the tips going into the head ought to be a pretty good size. You don't want that business end of a wooden rake to be very heavy, it's on the far end of a long lever arm and you'll start feeling every ounce as you work with it ;)

This reminds me of the handle I mentioned before... I have pictures of it now. I used the bends of the sapling, flattening as required to fit the blade and function, while leaving a knob where there was a knot at the end.

Its downfall was due to a fork/knot in the middle of the handle. I used it for decades of clearing brush, but a big hefty friend was helping me clear an area and I let him use it. He apparently tried to use it like an axe to chop a 5" tree in half, and it broke at the knot.

I want to make some hatchet handles and couple other small tools and handles. We have a bunch of buckthorn growing here and hear it’s got hard, beautiful wood. Its “invasive” and grows gnarly, so I’d like to try it for the tools and handles.

It’s winter here though, so the trees are frozen. Do any of you have recommendations for how to cut and dry them without them splitting bad? I have an unheated garage and a heated basement. Or should I work them fresh and then try to dry them without cracking?

It depends partly on how soon you need the handles. If you can wait until spring or summer, storing the cut branches in the garage will let them dry slower and more evenly. If they are large enough that you can make the handles without crossing the pith or center of the branch, you could rip them in half and probably avoid checking or splitting since the wood will be able to dry and shrink without hindrance. Splitting them in half, if the grain allows, will automatically keep the fibers as continuous as possible. If the grain is so gnarly or twisty that you can't get a good handle by splitting, you might want to use a different kind of wood.

Glenn Herbert wrote:It depends partly on how soon you need the handles. If you can wait until spring or summer, storing the cut branches in the garage will let them dry slower and more evenly. If they are large enough that you can make the handles without crossing the pith or center of the branch, you could rip them in half and probably avoid checking or splitting since the wood will be able to dry and shrink without hindrance. Splitting them in half, if the grain allows, will automatically keep the fibers as continuous as possible. If the grain is so gnarly or twisty that you can't get a good handle by splitting, you might want to use a different kind of wood.

Sooner is better, but there’s no big hurry really. Id rather wait for quality than rush for junk. There’s a variety of sizes here. I know most axe and hatchet handles are made from a section of wood and not an entire branch/piece of the trunk. I’m not sure if any of them are big enough to be able to get an axe handle from just a section without the core. And some of the tool handles really dont need super strength, so using a branch wouldn’t worry me. I just dont want it all split apart on me.

An axe handle gets extreme stress and would really be better without any pith. But it can't hurt to try it. I would determine the best orientation as soon as you cut it and slab it to about the final thickness you want, so it doesn't try to check in areas that will leave open cracks where your hands will be sliding. If it is gnarly, I would expect it to twist some in drying, so final shaping while green would probably end up with some warpage you don't want.

Peter Ellis wrote:

Ben Reilly wrote:Just wanted to give a quick update. The branch I chose above is too thin to support the rake head I was going to put on it. If anyone is planning on going this route, I probably would pick branches that don't go down to less than an inch think. Mine tapered to maybe 5/8" thick.

I'll just have to try again once the garden settles down briefly. :) Appreciate everyone's replies in here.

I might suggest that you're planning on an oversized head for your rake ;) 5/8 at the tips going into the head ought to be a pretty good size. You don't want that business end of a wooden rake to be very heavy, it's on the far end of a long lever arm and you'll start feeling every ounce as you work with it ;)

The biggest problem with the original head was that, when I fitted the pieces together, the whole rake would wobble violently with not much effort. It was weird and I figured I would be at greater risk of breaking and also losing useful energy in the rake.

I did find a (hopefully) suitable replacement branch this fall, so hopefully it will work better. Just need it to not be -10F in my garage so I can start working again.