Hello from Brisbane

[bobban]

Hi Everybody

I have never done any woodworking and am looking to undertake what I think would be a pretty simple woodworking task. I am hoping to get some advice on how I should go about it.

What I want to do is make a wooden handle for my coffee machine's portafilter. Basically I want to replicate what this person did (http://www.instructables.com/id/Wooden-Handle-for-Espresso-Portafilter/?ALLSTEPS). In fact I have the exact same coffee machine and handle. My plastic one broke after some years of use leaving me with just the metal part. The screw which holds the plastic handle on to the portafilter rusted out (otherwise the portafilter is fine) so buying the $20 replacement plastic handle was not an option and to replace the entire portafilter would be about $100.

I figured I could have a bit more fun and make a nice wooden handle for about that money.

What I have is a vice, hammer, chisel, handheld drill, angle grinder and orbital sander.

What I think I need is some wood, a knife, varnish and epoxy. Epoxy is easy enough but I don't know where I can get a nice piece of small wood ready to carve as a one off. The handle target size is roughly 130mm long and 45mm diameter, so I guess I need something quite a bit longer to make working it easier etc. Can anyone suggest how I can acquire that and what type of wood I should use? Pretty would be good and it needs to be fairly strong. I guess the varnish would match the wood? A cheap'ish knife and I am on my way into the unknown.. :)

Who knows where this could take me. Help from this wonderful community muchly appreciated. :)

[crowie]

G'Day & Welcome to a top forum "Bob".
There are a stack of members in Brisbane and across S.E. Queensland plus the rest of the country.....
You'll find a heap of helpful & knowledgeable blokes & ladies on the forum and for most very willing to assist.
Make sure you show off your handiwork as everyone loves a photo, especially WIP [Work In Progress] photos with build notes.
Enjoy the forum.
Enjoy your woodwork...
Cheers crowie

May I suggest to add a new thread with your creation and questions in a more relevant subsection to gain a wider audience and thus helpful responses, sorry that I can't help more....

[tree lopper]

Hi Bobban.

Crowie's right. Using an accurate title about your post will get you a much better response. Welcome, though.

I have bits of timber in the rough from Eucalyptus that might be ok for you to use if you're interested. They're only about 50mm diameter. You can probably find that size wood walking in a park as well.

[old1955]

Welcome to the forum Bob.

[skot]

Hi bobban,

Where abouts in Brisbane are you. I would have some timber that would do the job.

If you are keen to carve a handle ..more strength to you and you should enjoy the experience.

I could knock one out on my lathe pretty quick but that would rob you of the fun.

[Xanthorrhoeas]

Hi bobban,

Welcome to the forum. What you are looking to do should be pretty simple with hand carving and sanding. The example that you linked to looks good but there may be some issues doing a similar look here. One thing to be careful of is that with many timbers the sapwood (lighter coloured on the outside of a tree or branch) is not very hard wearing nor long lasting. In addition it is often susceptible to timber borers like pinhole borer. Those risks are lessened if you have a really good coat of impervious finish but this is still an issue to be aware of. Most heartwood from Australian timbers is reasonably hard wearing but it would be a good idea to look up the species in a reference like Keith Bootle "Wood in Australia" (or similar title, I'm not near my bookcase just now). The BCC library should have it.

Depending where you are in Brisbane and what success you have in carving you might even like to try out wood turning to turn your own handle. The Woodturners hut at Pine St Greenslopes provides a good meeting place and expert teachers and others who could give you useful advice. The president of the club used to be (and probably still is) Rob McKee - there is a phone number on the clubhouse I think or if you PM me I can give it to you.

For wood supply there are many members selling timber on the forums and depending on where you are there may even be a local forums member with a scrap pile. Commercial suppliers now include Carbatec (Wakerley) and others like Watts Wood (Salisbury I believe). TG Creations in Northgate are forum members with a wonderful range of interesting timbers - very helpful too.

Regards

David

[Christos]

Welcome to the forum.

With the tools that you have, carving it would be the way I would do it. Just need a sharp knife(and something to sharpen it) and a vise. Once you have the initial shape and it feels good in your hand blend the edges in with sandpaper.

[JJF]

welcome aboard