Handle for socket chisel

[Richard Hutchings]

What's the best way to find the angles and other dimensions for a chisel with a missing handle? I was thinking some kind of clay or plaster. How do you do it?

[Rafael Herrera]

Try aluminum foil.

[Richard Hutchings]

Sounds reasonable

[John C Cox]

Playdoh works too.

Another semi-cheaty way is to fit a piece of wood by hand - get it started, then just keep shaving the parts that make contact till it's correctly seated. It helps to pick something that carves easily for the first one, then you can match it on the lathe..

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I do it Johns way, trial and error. I have tried chalking the wood during trials to help identify high and low spots. I suspect there is a standard or set of standards. Most of mine were mushroomed and far from their original shape.

[John Keeton]

I would take a piece of card stock and cut a wedge shape by eyeballing it. Then sneak up on a good fit with light cuts on the paper. Once you have the angle you can either turn a handle or carve it with a spokeshave to match. Then you can tweak that fit with a scraper or 80 grit sandpaper.

[Richard Hutchings]

As a guitar/mandolin builder, I have some choice woods to make handles from. I've had a lathe for years but never took the time to make a tool handle. I'm going to do this little project when I finish my tail vise rebuild, hopefully be done this weekend. Thanks for all the tips

[Jim Koepke]

A member from the past had a solution for this > https://sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?112339 < Harry Strasil Jr (R.I.P) was very resourceful in getting things done.

Being able to easily make a handle for a socket chisel is my main reason for preferring them over the years. Mine are usually made by eye.

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Of course any wood debris should be removed from the socket but do not clean out the oxidation or other dirt. It helps to mark the taper when fitting it to the socket.

A few of my socket chisel would occasionally fall off of their handles. It was always the same few. For the last few years this seems to have been corrected by taking a bit more care in fitting the handle to the socket.

It is like a Morse Taper with wood.

jtk

[Edward Weber]

Like Jim, I make mine by eye.
I turn them down close on the lathe then test fit. Turn, repeat until a reasonable fit is achieved. Sometimes there is a bit of hand tool work needed to finesse the fit. Most all of the chisels I make handles for are in the 100 year old range so no two are exactly alike.

To the OP's question, the best way IMO is to just do a little trial and error. If you can mount or hold the chisel where you can reference it when you're turning helps some people.
Also you can measure the top diameter, the bottom diameter and the length. it's not hard to transfer those measurements to a spindle on the lathe.
just a suggestion

[Jim Koepke]

Also you can measure the top diameter, the bottom diameter and the length. it's not hard to transfer those measurements to a spindle on the lathe.

With various sizes of dowel stock in the shop it is easy to figure how big around the end should be and the socket depth. Another dowel or a careful measurement will show how big to make the top. Make the top continue to taper for good measure when adjusting the fit.

Notice all but one of the handles in my previous post have extra head room. The one that doesn't is on a shortened socket a previous owner beat on and mushroomed terribly.

jtk

[Derek Cohen]

Over a decade ago I fell in love with the look of a set of LN chisels which had been re-handled by Blue Spruce. These were not copies of the BS dovetail chisel handles, but elongated versions. A photo of these is below. I decided to make something similar. The main factor in this post is that it is a pictorial of how I made handles for socket chisels at that time. There is an article on my website (http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel.html). The information below is a copy of the relevant parts ...

Essentially these handles are lengthened versions of the standard BS dovetail chisel handle. The original BS handle is longer than the LN handle, and these are longer still ..

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_3a1e105f.jpg


I wanted to recreate these handles for the Stanley 750s (which are the same shape as the LNs). In my experience it is very difficult to accurately copy the design of another turner. I have seen many attempts to copy the design of my marking knife, for example, and no one has been able to do so. The results are not so much variations of my design, but a difficulty in recognising the structure and the sequence of how I worked. There is a little bit of muscle memory and a little bit of individual flare that combines to create the personality that is expressed in a turning. In the end I made less of a curve for the "neck"/transition/the thumb position, and combined the lines of a Marples Boxwood handle.

These are handles for socketed blades. Unlike a tang chisel handle, these handles have a tenon, and this needs to mate perfectly with the chisel socket. And each one is a different size/dimension.



Measurements required

There are three important measurements to take. The first is to obtain the internal diameter of the top of the socket. This will provide the dimension for the base of the tenon …

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_m7d3183fc.jpg



The second is to measure the diameter at the bottom of the socket, which will provide the dimension for the top of the tenon …

I used a drill bit of known diameter (in this case a 5/16”), which was inserted into the socket …

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_6d6b2991.jpg



Record the depth of the tenon, and transfer this diameter to a calliper …

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_f1f1c1f.jpg



The last measurement that you will require is the diameter of the “transition” (my term – the section between the socket and the handle. This will enable multiple handles to have the same dimension. Measurement was taken from a handle that I had already turned …

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_76f3582d.jpg



Wood used for the handles is West Australian She-oak.

After marking the body and tenon lengths, begin by creating the tenon. Remember to add a 1/16” for the gap between the socket and the shoulder of the handle. This is to take up any length lost as a result of the wood shrinking over time.

In the picture below I have created the base of the tenon. The tip of the tenon is turned next. This is pretty standard stuff so far.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_345ee55.jpg



Below is the completed tenon. The shape of the transition is created by following the fine of the tenon and leaving the thickness of the steel.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_m644d0d5c.jpg



Now remove the waste so that the handle is the same diameter as the transition.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_m55887cd2.jpg



Shape the curve at the base of the transition.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_7410f9e8.jpg



Square off the end of the handle. This end will have a curve added.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_25c7805e.jpg



Using a curved skew, shape the handle working from the hollow back.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_m78ccfc50.jpg



Here is the final shape with a finish added.

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_m724741ec.jpg



Finish used is Shellawax (a favourite among Aussie turners).

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_1584ff9.jpg



The final tuning of the tenon-socket fit is achieved by pushing them together and twisting. If there are any high spots that cause binding these will show up as black marks. Remove these with a chisel and/or sandpaper ..

http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_m3573bc2f.jpg



Final results ..



http://www.inthewoodshop.com/ShopMadeTools/Soyouwanttomakeadovetailchisel_html_66d74a0d.jpg

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Thanks Jim Koepke for sharing Harry Strasil Jr,s neat jigs. I will be copying those. I have found some of my handles and dowels growing on trees.

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[Jim Koepke]

Thanks Jim Koepke for sharing Harry Strasil Jr,s neat jigs. I will be copying those. I have found some of my handles and dowels growing on trees.



You are welcome Maurice, Junior had a lot of posts worth searching through to garner good information.

Some of my tools have handles made with chunks of wood from trees on my property. Usually it is a pretty chunk of wood that was in the firewood pile then turned on the lathe.

One of my neighbors had an apple tree and later a large holly tree. One came down in a storm the other was cut down. He was thrilled that I was willing to haul them away for him. They have been fun to use.

Two of my chisels still have handles made from a broken chair:

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These were made before owning a lathe.

If something needs a handle, make a handle with the tools and material available until something better comes along.

jtk

[Maurice Mcmurry]

[QUOTE=Jim Koepke;3186274]You are welcome Maurice, Junior had a lot of posts worth searching through to garner good information.

Some of my tools have handles made with chunks of wood from trees on my property.

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Wow Jim that is quite a chisel. I am trying to scale the width. Is it a 2 inch?

[Jim Koepke]

Wow Jim that is quite a chisel. I am trying to scale the width. Is it a 2 inch?

Yep, 2" Stanley.

The small chisel in the corner is a 3/8" Swan.

jtk

[Maurice Mcmurry]

I have this one to do next. I am going to up my game and copy one of Derek Cohen's lovely handles. I have the lathe that my father in law bought when he was a teenager. I think it is from Montgomery Wards. It is very basic. I also have the hand made turning chisels that Ralphs grandfather made. He was an Engineer and Machinist for the Northern Railroad and the Boston and Maine railroad.

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Great Grand Dads hand made turning chisels

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[Edward Weber]

Be sure to inspect that socket closely to be sure the mushrooming isn't starting a split. It happens far too often.