Stanley 750 fix help

[Phil Mueller]

I'm cleaning up a yard sale 750. Chisel just won't seat tight on the handle...just too loose. Short of a new handle, any tips on getting a tight fit?
Thanks!

[lowell holmes]

IIRC, spray the handle with hairspray and stick it onto the chisel.

You can also make a handle. I made handles for chisels without a lathe.
Bob Smalser has an article on the matter.

[Mike Brady]

Phil, I would coat the taper on the handle with 5-minute epoxy and let dry (not assembled!). Spin the taper in some coarse sandpaper and shape to fit. You may need another coat of epoxy after that to build it up. Ideally the tapered part of the handle should not insert completely into the socket, but should be tight before it reaches that point. Driving the chisel into some soft wood with a mallet should set the handle tightly.

[Ray Selinger]

Check your depth, it could be bottoming out. Handles are not monogamous, that might not it's match.

[Jim Koepke]

I'm cleaning up a yard sale 750. Chisel just won't seat tight on the handle...just too loose. Short of a new handle, any tips on getting a tight fit?
Thanks!

Is there any possibility of pictures. Images can be of great help when trying to troubleshoot such problems.

How well or how close is the handle to fitting as is?

If the handle is a good fit but just doesn't 'grab' the socket, then the hairspray or epoxy methods might be the answer. None of my socket chisels have needed this. I think this mostly applies to Lie-Nielsen chisels. I have not examined one of their chisels, but if the socket is machined on the inside it may be too smooth to trap the wood.

BTW, none of my socket chisels have required hairspray or other adhesives. There are one or two that may loosen a touch when the seasons change from rainy to dry. A quick whack on the handle with a mallet while holding the metal usually is all that is needed to remedy the situation. A couple of my chisels have had major damage to the sockets and are pretty shallow. They still hang in there and are fine users.

This is a subject where there could be many causes.

With a yard sale find there is no guarantee the handle and the chisel were ever meant to be together.

As Ray mentioned the handle may be bottoming out. If that is the case, removing a bit from the tip may be the answer.

Things to check, is the socket deformed? This can be problematic when fitting a handle, but can be overcome.

When I am fitting a new handle to a chisel I will insert the handle into the socket and move it around a bit. If the socket is not deformed and the handle rocks from side to side, this may be an indication of the taper of the handle not matching the taper inside the socket. It can also be the tenon bottoming out in the socket. If there is enough tenon at the top of the taper, some material can be removed all around the tenon. Usually the inside of the socket has enough oxide from age to make marks on the tenon. These end up on the high spots. Carefully pare away the areas where the wood is marked. Use a sharp chisel and remove as little material as possible. Repeat this as needed.

jtk

[Patrick Chase]

Check your depth, it could be bottoming out. Handles are not monogamous, that might not it's match.

This is the first thing that came to my mind as well. It's possible that the taper (the conical part of the handle that mates with the socket) has been sanded/turned/whatever such that the handle bottoms out at the flange (the flared part of the handle immediately behind the taper) instead of engaging along the taper.

[Phil Mueller]

Thanks all! Turns out it was bottoming out and the taper on the handle had slightly mushroomed. The combination of those two things was keeping it from seating. A small amount of sanding fixed it.