Marples chisels, replace plastic for wood handles...

[Dale Sautter]

Hi all,
Sure this must have been done before... removing the plastic handles from Marples chisels. I would like to replace them with wood handles once I get my lathe tuned up. Any tips/ideas?

[Jeff Burks]

Popular Woodworking (http://www.popularwoodworking.com/article/Making_Your_Own_Chisel_Handles/) to the rescue.

Woodwork Forum (http://www.woodworkforums.com/f111/chisel-handle-replacement-78470/) thread on handle replacement.

Joel's guide to setting hoops on Japanese chisels (http://www.toolsforworkingwood.com/Merchant/merchant.mvc?Screen=NEXT&StoreCode=toolstore&nextpage=/extra/setting_hoop_guide.html) might be helpful too.

[Dale Sautter]

Ahh perfect Jeff, thanks a bunch!

[Ron Church]

Dale,

I think that this is what your looking for: http://www.johnshortell.com/?page_id=279

[Dale Sautter]

Thanks Ron, another good link. This has me wishing that I had one of those dental drills that spays water when it cuts. Prolly a bit easier on the nose... :)

[Leigh Betsch]

I've always held the blade in a vise and cut the plastic handle off right above the tang with a hacksaw. Then twisted the remaining plastic off with a plier. I don't think it has to be more complicated than that.

[Richard Niemiec]

Hate to be contrarian here but the amount of work involved in re-handling what is at best an average chisel (I have a set, and they are good journeyman chisels) exceeds the return. Don't get me wrong, I've made many chisel handles for socket and tang vintage chisels and while somewhat time consuming, it can be worth it, but IMHO you're not really adding any value to this set. Scrounge up some Witherbys, Swans, Union or even older Craftsman socket chisels and go to town.

[Zach England]

Hate to be contrarian here but the amount of work involved in re-handling what is at best an average chisel (I have a set, and they are good journeyman chisels) exceeds the return. Don't get me wrong, I've made many chisel handles for socket and tang vintage chisels and while somewhat time consuming, it can be worth it, but IMHO you're not really adding any value to this set. Scrounge up some Witherbys, Swans, Union or even older Craftsman socket chisels and go to town.


I agree, but didn't want to be a spoil sport. These were my first chisels and I gave them away.

There are, however, some other marples chisels that have rubber handles and steel striking caps that I like OK. Lee Valley had them on clearance a while ago and I got a few others off ebay to make something constituting a set. They are much better.

But then again, it probably all depends on the QC or variants in the steel in any particular manufacturing run.

[Ron Church]

The blue handled Marples chisels have been a main stay of many woodworkers. They are seen in Hack's and Andy Rae's hand tool books. You see them in pictures laying on workbenches and in use in all the wood working magazines. They are great everyday chisels. At least the handles are always there when you need them. I have a box of socket type chisels that need handles. I always find them at sales missing their handles. I guess in these modern times you can epoxy the handle into the socket. Blasphemy.

[James Scheffler]

The blue handled Marples chisels have been a main stay of many woodworkers. They are seen in Hack's and Andy Rae's hand tool books. You see them in pictures laying on workbenches and in use in all the wood working magazines. They are great everyday chisels. At least the handles are always there when you need them. I have a box of socket type chisels that need handles. I always find them at sales missing their handles. I guess in these modern times you can epoxy the handle into the socket. Blasphemy.

There was a discussion about these on this forum a couple of months back, and it sounds as if the quality slipped in the last few years. I bought a set shortly after they began to be labeled Irwin instead of Marples, but they were still made in Sheffield at that point. Mine weren't ground very accurately and they don't hold an edge very well. Someone reported that they are now made in China and I think they were rather unhappy with them.

I still use mine and they generally do what I need them to do, but I'm thinking about upgrading.

Jim

[Leigh Betsch]

I read someplace (here?) that the best chisel was the junk one that you used instead of you good one for all the stuff you shouldn't be using a good chisel for anyway, opening paint cans, chopping thru metal, cutting off a nail.... I thought it was some pretty good advise, so I re-handled a few junkers, so they don't look quite so out of place, gave them the Tormek sharpen and use them for all my non-chisel chisel work!:rolleyes:

[Dale Sautter]

I bought this set back in '98, made a dovetailed bookcase with them and have only recently taken them out of retirement. Kinda got out of woodworking for close to ten years... and now alot is the same, and alot has changed...:cool: Anyway, I'll be sure to gradually add more to my arsenal. Picked up a couple Two Cherries recently and after cleaning them up a bit, like their performance. The wood handles for the Marples is a dual purpose project in that it gives me something to learn using a lathe. I really like the original shape of the handles, they don't roll around, and can't see them losing any value by replacing them. :D

Thanks again for all the advice... love this place!

[Richard Niemiec]

I bought this set back in '98,

That's "vintage" blue chip from Sheffield, they are better than the current crop now being retailed.