Just finished my Beetle/Commander-pics

Brad_bb · April 22, 2009, 06:54:56 PM

While making my timber strap wrench handle, I also cut the handle for my Beetle into shape. Today I made the head for the Beetle. It's made of White pine from an old barn beam (visible in the pictures), and it's 8"X8"X14". I drilled a 1.5 inch hole with a new auger bit, which I had to tune first. I used my belt sander with 80 grit to smooth everything out, then I used a 1/2 inch round over bit in my router to round all the edges. My Hickory handle started out at 1.5" square. I then cut it into an octagon on the table saw except for the last 4 inches or so. I used my chisel to chamfer the flats of the octagon up to the square corners (about 30 degrees). I then used my orbital sander on the corners of the octagon and test fit the handle to the head. I had to take quite a bit off the corners to the point that the handle is pretty close to round now. Once I got the handle to be a nice slip fit, I cut the head end to length, and then put 45 degree chamfers on the edges of the end to make a diamond pattern. I eased all those edges with the orbital sander again. The handle wedges to the head on the area where I chamfered the octagon corners to the square portion. The handle can be dislodged by turning the beetle up side down and striking the handle end on the concrete or hitting the handle end with a mallet.

Jim_Rogers · April 23, 2009, 08:17:32 AM

Nice job.... have spare heads on hand when you go to a raising.... but don't drill the holes in the heads until the day before the raising as these holes may distort over time if left empty...
Don't ask me how I know.....

Then if during the raising your softwood head splits, by accident, you just slip a new head on and keep going.....

Heads can split if the operator doesn't use it correctly..... You need to stand in the correct spot and swing the commander just right so that the flat surface of the end of the head hits the timber flat. If you don't you'll have a dent in your timber, and run the rise of splitting the head off.... this is another one of those "don't ask me how I know...." things....

beenthere · April 23, 2009, 11:06:22 AM

Sounds like you are saying that woods that are hard to split, make the best heads?

Jim_Rogers · April 23, 2009, 03:54:34 PM

I was always told that you make the handle out of a hardwood and make the head out of a softwood.

That's so that the softwood head wouldn't dent the timber much if the timber was hardwood or softwood.
I've seen some nasty dents left by commanders. But you never should have to beat the frame together. If you do then you didn't trim your joints enough.

You should only have to use a commander to move a timber as it's too heavy to push together.

If you haven't trimmed your joint right then pounding it together could cause the mortise timber to split as the tenon is too large, and is working like a wedge.

A truck strap or a come-a-long can only do so much. Then the joint may need a bit of a jolt to get it to move just that last little bit, so that your draw bore peg hole can pull it in the finial little amount. That's when a commander may be used to get things together.

At some guild raisings; that I took my commanders to; I was told never hit the timber directly, always use a "pad" block of some other wood between the commander and the timber.

Well, again if this pad block and commander head surfaces didn't meet exactly flush the softwood head could split.

At one raising I attended with my commander, I was told upon arriving, "thanks for coming, and bringing your commander, we broke four of them yesterday putting the bents together!"

I used that commander all day to plumb up posts of the raised bents. And getting them on their correct spot on the floor plan.

The next week I took that same commander to a timber framing school who was having a raising. I loaned it to a student there, and in three whacks he broke it. I wasn't supervising the bent assembly at the time, but the dent on the frame showed me he didn't hit the timber flush and this caused the head to split.
Knowing that I had used that commander all day long the previous weekend, I didn't bring any spare heads..... So they had to use sledge hammers with pad blocks to finish assembling their frame.

Jim Rogers

beenthere · April 23, 2009, 05:07:03 PM

Thanks Jim
That makes a lot of good sense.

Rooster · April 24, 2009, 09:12:10 AM

Nice beetle Brad, almost looks "too pretty" to use on the job. :D

I wanted to chime in for some of the "git-r-done" guys out there. The "soft" head, "hard" stick idea is nice for careful assembly, and I also have been known to go through the pine heads like they were "free"!! I just wanted to point out that they are called "beetles" (heavy on the BEAT), commanders (my way or else), or as I like to call them, "persuaders" or "attitude adjusters". I built my commander out of a chunk of 8x8 white oak beam...and a 2 in. diameter baseball bat. I like to go to the weekly flea market and pick them up for $2 or less. Some new grip tape and I'm "swingin' for the fences"! Total weight is 17 lbs. +/-. I call it my "old man"...because after using it for any length of time I feel like an "old man". I use my commander to move things, dissasemble a frame, position support beams, straighten sills, setting bents into sill mortises, all done because of the large amount of kenetic energy.

I like my "B.F.H."!! How 'bout you?

Brad_bb · April 24, 2009, 04:51:12 PM

Jim, I already put the timber away...Now you tell me! I guess I'll have to pull it back out and make more heads. I can probably get two more heads out of that chunk. Incidentally, the chunk is 8X10 so I had to cut one inch off of each side. I'm using the cut offs to make a couple nesting boxes...Never waste wood.....They look very natural with their old patina. I got the idea when drilling the hole, I used one of the cut offs as a backer and it made a nice centered hole which looked like a bird box hole.

Thanks for the compliment. Making the Beetle was fun and a relatively short project. I wish I had a band saw though. it would have made it easier. but it was a chance to whip out my 2 inch chisel to parr the cut off sides flat and square.

Can any one recommend a finish for the handle and head? Should I finish them in Linseed, or tung oil - I have both? I also have a good poly and Shellac. I'm just getting some experience with finishes.

Jim_Rogers · April 25, 2009, 08:27:56 AM

I wouldn't waste any time on the head, it may not last that long.

You could put something on the handle but make sure when it's dry it doesn't make the handle slippery....

Jim Rogers

PS. mine are all natural, no finishes....