New socket chisel handles. How attach?

[Jerry Olexa]

I'm planning to make new chisel handles (socket type) for several old but decent chisels...My reading tells me epoxy but I'm thinking that would be permanent (non repairable)...
Would like your advice:

Best method/glue to use?
If epoxy, your best brand reco?
Any pros, cons of different glues, methods?
Do most of these principles apply to non-socket types also?

Thanks in advance, a new glue-er.

[Jim Koepke]

Jerry,

Most of my chisels are old socket chisels and not a single one has any adhesive to hold the handle to the socket.

If you are planning on making new handles my guess is you have a lathe, is that correct?

Once the tenon is cut to a close fit for the socket, the rest is up to fine tuning. Usually there is enough oxidation on the inside to mark the wood when it is inserted and given a twist. Any part of the tenon that has residue from the inside of the socket on it is a high spot and should be trimmed down with a sharp chisel, a file or some sandpaper. You do not want to remove much. You should also be able to feel if the handle is fitting. It shouldn't have and wiggle room. There also needs to be a bit of free space at the bottom of the socket.

When there wasn't enough oxidation on the inside of a socket to mark the wood my pencil pointer was emptied into the socket to coat the inside with pencil dust.

I just took a look at the Neanderthal wisdom/FAQs and didn't see anything on the making of chisel handles.

If you do use an adhesive you may want to start with something light like hair spray or even a coat of shellac or other finish.

jtk

[Andrew Hughes]

I agree with Jim Could not have said it better.

[John Vernier]

I also prefer to use no adhesive on replacement socket handles. If they are fitted properly they will hold after a couple of mallet taps, and the only times I have found handles to loosen up was when the weather was very dry and I hadn't given a chisel a decent whack in a while. The ones which see regular use aren't a problem.

When I turn handles I use an old-fashioned dead center on my lathe tailstock so that I can easily turn the handle's taper down to its final dimension right at the end of the stock, removing the workpiece from the lathe to test fit and refine as necessary, before finishing the shape of the handle.

Somebody once suggested stuffing aluminum foil into a chisel socket in order to create a good model of the taper you are trying to duplicate. That's a pretty clever idea and it saves a lot of fussing with small measuring tools, although I find I often can work pretty fast just by eye and by repeated test fittings.

[Jim Koepke]

I find I often can work pretty fast just by eye and by repeated test fittings.

Same here. Harry Strasil once posted a picture of a socket chisel taper checker he made. It was one dowel inside of another. The small one for the depth and the large one for the top of the socket. This gives the minimum diameter, the maximum diameter and the distance between them.

Found it:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?112339-Chisel-Handle-Socket-Taper-Jig

Here is another thread on the subject:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?80189-How-do-you-fit-a-socket-chisel-handle

jtk

[lowell holmes]

Hairspray worked for me on my Lie Nielsen chisels.

I would never never epoxy the handles in.:)

[Jerry Olexa]

Well it appears you guys are in agreement: No epoxy and in most cases, dry fit.
I realize the STANLEY 750's I have with sockets that have never been glued...and perform well.
Jim, I do have a small lathe suitable for turning the new handles.
My main concern was for several older chisels (one a Witherby) I have which are pretty badly "beat up" where grinding and repair will be needed of the sockets themselves prior to use/new handle.
Thought the epoxy give some new stability to an old overworked chisel...

I feel better knowing you agree that a dry mounting (easily repairable) is the preference,
Thanks for your thoughts. I'll go forward without epoxy...

[Jim Koepke]

Well it appears you guys are in agreement: No epoxy and in most cases, dry fit.
I realize the STANLEY 750's I have with sockets that have never been glued...and perform well.
Jim, I do have a small lathe suitable for turning the new handles.
My main concern was for several older chisels (one a Witherby) I have which are pretty badly "beat up" where grinding and repair will be needed of the sockets themselves prior to use/new handle.
Thought the epoxy give some new stability to an old overworked chisel...

I feel better knowing you agree that a dry mounting (easily repairable) is the preference,
Thanks for your thoughts. I'll go forward without epoxy...

Are your Stanley 750s older chisels or modern? The LN chisels appear to have smooth sockets from what owners have said in a previous thread. They are also the ones most known for the handles slipping off. If your 750s are the newer revival series I would be curious as to the inside of their sockets as to whether they are smooth or rough.

I have delt with a few badly beat up chisels. Here is one that had a mushroomed socket:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?245479-Rehabbing-an-Old-Chisel

It is sad to see a chisel ruined because a user couldn't be bothered to whittle a hunk of wood into a usable handle.

jtk

[Skip Helms]

I might have gotten this advice here. For loose-fitting socket chisels, wrap a piece of cotton cloth once around the taper of the handle and wet it with BLO. Let it dry a day so it holds its shape and refit the chisel. It worked for me and it's not permanent.

Most of my socket chisels are oldies from Ebay. These aren't complicated tools but they do come from areas of different humidity. I keep my shop around 35-42 percent RH so a chisel from a garage in Florida will get a little sloppy after a couple weeks. Usually a good smack with the mallet cures it but if not, the BLO idea works fine. sh

[Glen Canaday]

Per Jim's reply above, I once passed up a $1 3" slick because the socket was so mushroomed and peeled back that I would have needed a smith to fix it. At the time, I didn't know any.

Separate, but related: don't mallet your slicks. They're not meant for that.

[Jerry Olexa]

Jim, my 750's are the newer version....The inside of the sockets are relatively smooth and I've had no problem with handle slippage when using them.(no glue)Thanks for your info on the rehabbing of the beat up sockets....very nice job and results.Thanks, Jim.


Are your Stanley 750s older chisels or modern? The LN chisels appear to have smooth sockets from what owners have said in a previous thread. They are also the ones most known for the handles slipping off. If your 750s are the newer revival series I would be curious as to the inside of their sockets as to whether they are smooth or rough.

I have delt with a few badly beat up chisels. Here is one that had a mushroomed socket:

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?245479-Rehabbing-an-Old-Chisel

It is sad to see a chisel ruined because a user couldn't be bothered to whittle a hunk of wood into a usable handle.

jtk

[Jerry Olexa]

Thank you all for your input....You've steered me to the right course...Thanks

[Ray Bohn]

This may be another reason for not attaching handles permanently.
LN sells a longer handle for its stanley clones. Making one of these could prove useful.
I think the price may have doubled since I bought one.

Long chisel handles are 4" longer than our standard handles. Excellent for paring.

https://www.lie-nielsen.com/product/chisel-handles-long-chisel-handle-

[Thomas Schneider]

I have had a set of the newer Stanley 750's for about two years now. When I first bought them all the handles fell off. Before I put them to my stones, I orientated the handles so the label was in line with the etch on the socket (a personal choice) and hit them very firmly with my mallet across the grain on some scrap wood. None of them have yet to come loose. YMMV

Tom.