How to remove a tool from its handle

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

I made a longer handle for my heavy duty bowl scrapers. I wanted one long enough to tuck under my arm. I am having a most difficult time removing the tool from it's present handle. Since it is a scraper it has a tang. Am I going to have to saw it off or does someone have a trick? Thanks.
faust

[David Reed]

I would try suspending in a narrow gap in a vice with the tool pointing downward, lift then drop repeatedly impacting on the ferule and allow the mass/momentum of the tool to draw it out of the socket. Of course, some way to protect the cutting edge if it comes out unexpectedly.

[Steve Vaughan]

Or, you might try to somehow secure the scraper in a vise, and take a wrench equal to the thickness of the scraper or maybe an adjustable wrench because it can have a deeper jaw, and fit it over the scraper and slide it up against the handle, take a hammer and tap (beat?) toward the handle, knocking it right off.

[Tom Wilson66]

Have removed handles by clamping the blade in wooden jaw vise, then using a steel rod laid along the blade to butt up to the end of the handle. A couple of firm hits on the end of the rod with a hammer will take the handle right off. Keep the rod as close to parallel to the blade as possible to keep from possibly bending the tang.

[David DeCristoforo]

What... no torch?

[Bernie Weishapl]

I did the same as Tom and Steve suggested except I cut a slot the width of the scraper in a piece of oak. I clamped it down in the vise. I slipped oak piece over the scraper and give it a couple of good raps. Came right off.

[Tom Giacomo]

I had some handles that just would not come off by beating on them, so I took a carpenders cheisl and at the center of the handle in line with the blade just split the handle off.

[Fred Perreault]

Faust, do you want to retrieve the tool and save the handle? Trying to do both is ususlly more than the time and energy would be worth. I usually epoxy the tool into a new handle, and gently heating the tool end softens the glue and I can remove the tool end by twisting and turning. I have done this to several new handles or when dissatisfied with the feel of a handle. With the round shafted gouges, I also grind a couple of small, shallow notches into the side of the inserted end to act as a key for the epoxy.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

I did try some of the above but not the torch. I was trying to save the old handle but for the life of me I don'[t know why. I believe I will slot the ferrule and be done with it. If I sense the use of any epoxy, I will try heating the blade a bit. Thanks to all.
faust

[Reed Gray]

I am curious about wanting to 'tuck the handle under your arm' part. I use heavy scrapers a lot. Mostly, I keep the handle under my fore arm up to the elbow. Good leverage that way, and a good shock absorber as well. My handles are in the 16 to 18 inch range. Do you want the handle to go all the way to your armpit? I don't hang out as far off the tool rest as I do with a good gouge because there usually is a lot more steel in contact with the wood when using a scraper, and although the steel can handle it, leverage becomes a problem no matter how long the handle is.

robo hippy

[Scott Hackler]

Well not only that, but I ALWAYS run my scrapers with the tool rest well above center and the scraper is presented to the wood in a downward angle just above the center line of the wood.

[Faust M. Ruggiero]

Thanks Guys,
My large bowl scraper has a handle that is only 14". When I use it down the side of a deep bowl, I cannot always see where it is touching without bending down to look. As the scraper transitions from the side to the bottom of the bowl it has a tendency to catch. Since I am usually leveraged badly (too little handle and too much scraper over the rest) I can occasionally get a nasty catch. I do have the rest high and the tool presented in a downward angle. A couple weeks ago, I bent down to look for the bottom of the bowl, the tip of the scraper touched the bottom and caught enough to kick up the handle and I took one in the chin. I just want a bit more handle to hang onto.
Is there a better way? By the way, I recently bought a Monster hand held system that includes a Scraper. I have been using that more than the bowl scraper lately.
Faust

[Reed Gray]

The transition area is always a problem. If you have done boxes, you will notice that the square nosed scrapers that are used are not 90 degrees from side to nose, but relieved (usually on the side) so the angle is more like 100 degrees. This is so that when you sweep across the bottom towards the sides, you do not end up with with the nose of the scraper and the side of the scraper contacting the wood at the same time. You would end up with twice the steel into the wood at the same time, which can over power your grip.

Take that to a bowl. If you sweep across the bottom of the bowl to the sides (transition area) you can end up with the whole nose and side of the scraper coming into contact with the wood at the same time. This is more of a problem with steeper bowls where the transition is more pronounced, and less of a problem on more open bowls. There are two things you can do to prevent this. One is use a scraper with a smaller radius on the nose so that when you move from the bottom to the sides, the cutting edge also leaves the bottom of the bowl and gradually contacts the sides. Another way to do the same thing is to have your scraper at a shear/45 degree angle. This does the same thing as using a smaller radius scraper.

For me, I will do the side to the transition, then the bottom, then very carefully blend the two surfaces together.

Another thing, if you are having to bend over to see inside your bowl, your lathe might need to be raised up a bit.

robo hippy

[Dave Ogren]

I always hold the handle of my scraper under my arm pit. And like Scott says I also position the tool rest way above center and get the scraper to be right on the center. I have a 12" tool rest and I position it inside the bowl so that the scraper over hangs about 2 to 3 inches, then I can sweep as far as I want to (waiting for the chatter to tell me enough)
I have never had a catch, like I have read about. I was afraid to use my scraper, reading about big carches and all until I read on this forum about the arm pit and raising the tool rest. I could be wrong but I think that it was in an old post from Reed Gray, I could be wrong, maybe it was Leo Van Der Loo. Anyway it works great, and it is not my idea.

Good Luck,

Dave

[Jim Underwood]

Guess you could always burn it off...:D

I usually just held the tool shaft in hand and hit the ferrule with a hammer till it came off. :eek: Figgered the dang handle was junk anyway...:cool: