Wooded Handle for Flip-slop Screwdriver

A lot of people have seen the types of screwdrivers where you can take out the metal bit and you have a philips head on one end and a flat head on the other. This is neat idea, however, you're bound to lose one of those pieces. Can you tell which piece I lost?

Here's a neat little way to make a handle out of a broomstick!

These screwdrivers come in all shapes and sizes. The one I'm using here is a little one. The metal bit is 5 inches long and I need to put at least half of that in the handle. Since 2.5" is going into the handle, I cut it at 3".

Before cutting it, it's a good idea to sand it now. It's much easier handle a larger piece than trying to hold and sand a three inch piece.

Find the center of the dowel. Although it helps, it doesn't have to be the exact center. You can just eyeball it.

It helps to punch an indent with an awl so your drill bit has a place to start without jumping around the surface. Also, add a flag to your bit. Measure how deep you want to drill and add some masking tape so you know where to stop.

It's a good idea to see how it all fits together before moving on.

You'll have to mark out where the notches are and you can cut away the wood with a chisel or a knife.

Just to add a bit extra to this handle, I added a step. Simply mark where you want to begin and start taking away material with a chisel or knife. And then sand it smooth with some sandpaper.

A torch works best for this step. However, if you don't have one, or you're out of gas, you can use a lighter. Make sure you don't burn your handle. You just want to char it and after doing so, give it a light sanding with 200 grit sandpaper.

Time to finish it up. You have a large range of finishes you can use. Here I used boiled linseed oil which really brings out the natural color of the wood and the burn marks.