Help needed making tool handles

[Larry]

The boss is an avid garage sale person...got her trained to buy chisels and the like whenever she can get em cheap.  So...over the years I've acquired a box of chisels, slicks, drawknives, and lathe tools.  Most either have no handles or ones in desperate need of repair.

First order was to restore a couple of lathe gouges...just so I could turn more handles...with proper tools of the period.




Next to restore is a batch of socket chisels.




This is where I need the help.  After I turn the handle socket, what holds the handle in the chisel socket?  Could it be friction only?  Maybe they used JB Weld? :D  Second question is what kind of glue holds the leather washer on the handle head?

This old stuff is interesting.  Some of the stuff has common names such as Greenlee, Craftsman, and Stanley.  Other chisels have names like Wetworks, Tryon, and Richcon...names I have never heard of.

[Dodgy Loner]

Most socket chisels have handles that are just held by friction.  JB weld (or any other glue or epoxy) would make it difficult to replace the handles down the road, if need be.  I've never used chisels with leather caps, so I wouldn't know what kind of glue Stanley and other companies used to hold on the caps.  Honestly, though, I would be tempted to dispense with the leather caps and just refrain from hitting the handles with metal.

[low_48]

Here's how I turn the tapers for the sockets. I insert a dowel that closely matches the smallest inside diameter and measure how far it goes into the socket. The large dia. is easy to measure. I then turn the taper and with it still on the lathe I slide back the tailstock and slide on the chisel. A little rubbing back and forth (just a few degrees of movement) reveals any high spots. Really old chisels were hand forged and the socket is not a true diameter. If the overall diameter is a little large I turn them a little more. If the depth is good, but some high spots are there, I remove the handle from the chisel and use a cabinet scraper to hit those spots. With a good match, friction will hold them nicely. The first rap with a mallet, or hold the chisel and bring the handle onto the bench with a quick tap, will also set the taper.

Any white or yellow glue will hold the leather. Oh, I love that fresh leather washer on the top. I would sure put that on. I still remember the new Estwig leather washer hammer that my Uncle had when I was a kid. Just a beautiful tool!!!

Really nice work on those turning chisel handles. It sure makes a guy feel good to bring back some old tools on his watch. You know that more hands will use them in the future.

[Dave Shepard]

I am making a new handle for my 4" Buck Bros slick. What should I use for finish on the handle when it is done? Or should I just leave it unfinished?


Dave

[low_48]

I like the unfinished for the feel, but sometimes I just have to add something to a really nice piece of wood. For that I use a coat or two of wipe-on-poly and wipe it pretty dry after each coat.

[Dodgy Loner]

I always put a few coats of linseed oil on my tool handles, and I'll coat that with wax if I want a little bit of shine.  It's easy because you can just melt it onto the handle while it's still on the lathe, and buff off the excess with a cloth or paper towel.

[Don_Papenburg]

When we built a replica of Deere's 1837 plow for the Grand detour historic site.  We built all the tools that we used also .  I got a socket chisel made from a leaf spring .  What I did was turn and fit the handle tightly but not all the way into the socket . Then we heated the socket end ,enough to boil spit . then taped the handle in and quenched it .  That was about six years ago and the handle is still tight .  Hope my explainin' was clearer than mud.       I also put a schlamring on the end of the handle .   We used a piece of pipe with an ID slightly smaller than the handle OD . I then cut the handle end just a bit larger than pipe ID . heated the ring and sliped it over the handle and quenched it .  That keeps the handle from splitting if you use a mallet .

[Dave Shepard]

What kind of wax? I have a bunch of beeswax from my blacksmithing adventures. Thanks.


Dave

[Dodgy Loner]

You're in luck- beeswax was the preferred finish for homesteaders, because it was readily available.  I use paraffin wax, because I haven't been robbing any beehives lately ;D, and many turners use carnuba wax as a finish because it's harder and shinier than paraffin or beeswax.

[Larry]

Thanks for the instructions low_48...should make fitting a handle a lot easier than the method I was contemplating.  Looked at the sockets and some are quite irregular.

The finish on the lathe chisels is what DL described.

[Max sawdust]

Larry,
I will turn the handle on the lathe or I like octagon handles which I make using Arky's timber framing peg jig.  As far as the taper for the socket I find it easiest to do the final fitting on belt or disk sander.  (sand a little, fit it, sand off the high spot fit it and so on.)

IMO leather washers are for tang chisels and steel strike ring is more appropriate for socket chisels.  ;)

max

[SwampDonkey]

Thanks for the instructions low_48...should make fitting a handle a lot easier than the method I was contemplating.  Looked at the sockets and some are quite irregular.

The finish on the lathe chisels is what DL described.

Not speaking from much experience here. Just my thinking or speculating that I know what I'm talking about.  ;D :D :D

Being a little out of round is also what holds the wooden handle in. Also, you can put a fancy soft metal on the collar, like copper. Just punch it on a couple sides so the punched dimple goes into the wood and won't slip.  I think the handle was turned a little fat to account for shrinkage and then knocked onto the handle with a wooden mallet.

On another note: A good scraper is a used flat file that has been heated proper so it's not brittle. I don't know the method, but I know it has been done. Then the file is ground on the end so it scrapes clean.

[SwampDonkey]

Hey Larry!! Is that butternut those tools are sitting on? Sure looks like the top of my desk with all the shades of brown with gray mixed in.  ;D 8)



;)

[Larry]

Being the frugal type (cheapskate), I learned many years ago to heat-treat metals.  To soften a file you would anneal, which is heating to a red heat and letting it cool quite slowly.  To re-harden you heat to red heat and quench in oil or water.  To bring the hardness down a little you temper by heating to a straw color.  I'm just a shade tree blacksmith so I'll defer to anybody that knows what there doing.

As a side note, I saw a demo with a well know woodworker turning on the lathe.  All of his tools were home made, out of old files.  Figured if it was good nuff for a pro it was good nuff for me.  Course I didn't take a picture of my home made tools...cause :-[ :-[ :-[ :-[

The tools are sitting on a red oak tabletop.  The color is a little deceiving in the picture.  When I make flooring, I save the off fall to narrow or with mineral to glue up table or bench tops.  The mineral stain is where the gray and brown tones come from.  Sure wish it were butternut...one species that does not exist in this part of the country.