Loose chisel ferrule - what's your preferred fix?

[Andrae Covington]

I ordered some new chisels recently, and the ferrule on one of them is loose. It easily slips off and hits the top of the blade (it is a 1" chisel, so the ferrule couldn't slide off completely).

Doing a little reading, it looks like there are two methods people use:

1) epoxy

2) dimpling the ferrule (presumably with a nail set or similar?)

I'm more confident the epoxy can fill the gap and hold than a punched depression or two.

[Jim Koepke]

I am wondering if it is a lot of hassle to exchange this one.

Other than that ask the seller what they recommend.

Most of my chisels are socket chisels and do not have this kind of problem. Though most of my gouges are tanged, they are too old to return to sender.

jtk

[george wilson]

You could try a hypodermic needle with thinned glue in it. Epoxy won't flow through a small needle. I was going to suggest super glue,but it might seize up the syringe instantly.

[John Coloccia]

The problem I see is that if the ferrule is loose, it's really not doing it's job, is it? Even if you get it to stick, will it still provide protection against splitting? I guess it depends how loose it really is how much glue you're able to get in there to fill the voids.

Just a random thought but I was always taught that you should basically have to hammer a ferrule on.

[john brenton]

I'm with John on this one. It may sound like an "uncle bubba" jimmy rig, but I would try a single lap of scotch or electrical tape around the tenon (or whatever it's called on a chisel) and spank the ferrule on. Tape might actually be too thick. I would try either stretching out the electrical tape to thin it out a little, or even teflon tape if that didn't work.


The problem I see is that if the ferrule is loose, it's really not doing it's job, is it? Even if you get it to stick, will it still provide protection against splitting? I guess it depends how loose it really is how much glue you're able to get in there to fill the voids.

Just a random thought but I was always taught that you should basically have to hammer a ferrule on.

[Tony Zaffuto]

Wood shrank, and the ferrule didn't. Can you slip it up enough to get some epoxy under it? I've also tightened rings on Japanese chisels with liberal soaking of boiled linseed oil. They've never loosened since.

[Jim Belair]

Epoxy should fill the void and presumably address John's point.

Jim B

[Dan Andrews]

If the other chisel ferrules were not dimpled on I would not dimple the loose one on. I would use epoxy.
Millers Falls dimpled ferrules on hand drill heads, so when I repair those I dimple them.

[Andrae Covington]

Thanks for all the responses. I can pull the ferrule down enough to expose probably 80%+ of the tenon (at that point it hits the blade where the blade starts to flare out to full width), so it should be easy to paint the tenon with epoxy. I agree that the ferrule being loose calls into question its effectiveness for preventing the wood from splitting. However this will be primarily a paring chisel, and hopefully with the epoxy filling the gap, the ferrule will do its job.

[Tony Zaffuto]

Use JB Weld first (it's a type of epoxy) and try to get some epoxy mix under the end of the ferrule so that it drags it down the tenon. If you just paint it on the tenon, chances are it will be mostly scraped to the bottom of the tenon. Also paint some Vaseline on the chisel handle so any stray epoxy doesn't stick.

[Frank Drew]

I've also tightened rings on Japanese chisels with liberal soaking of boiled linseed oil. They've never loosened since. A good soaking in oil is one of the fixes recommended for loose axe and other tool heads.

[Jack Camillo]

I ordered some new chisels recently, and the ferrule on one of them is loose. It easily slips off and hits the top of the blade (it is a 1" chisel, so the ferrule couldn't slide off completely).

Doing a little reading, it looks like there are two methods people use:

1) epoxy

2) dimpling the ferrule (presumably with a nail set or similar?)

I'm more confident the epoxy can fill the gap and hold than a punched depression or two.
which is a part of the reason I do not buy chisels with ferrules

[Alfred Kraemer]

Here is what I would do - and have done a few times:

1. for a brass ferrule or thin iron ferrule - squeeze it into place with the clamping device I got for PEX tubing.

2. knock out the chisel and replace the ferrule with one that fits/ make the handle fit a ferrule I have.

Again, as someone else pointed out socket chisels don't have that problem. They do come loose too but it's easier to fix - even replacing the handle is easier.

Alfred

[Deane Allinson]

which is a part of the reason I do not buy chisels with ferrules

and part of the reason I don't by socket chisels is because the blade can fall out on to the floor if the wood shrinks a little.
Deane

[Andrae Covington]

Some problems fix themselves... I haven't been able to spend time in the shop lately. Today I was going to fix the ferrule, but in the meantime, the chisel has apparently adapted to my humid basement shop and now the ferrule is snug. Have to wait and see what happens in the summer. I've never had a problem with the other tanged and ferruled chisels I own, including others in the same order. But wood is anything but consistent.