Fitting a Chisel Handle | Paul Sellers 

james duncan The unknown substance was probably hide glue (concentrated collagen from boiling down rawhides). It's been used as a glue for woodworking for ages. Still used today in some of the finer things, like high quality violins.

There’s an old knifemaker’s “cement” made from pine pitch mixed with brick dust or some form of mineral aggregate to help make it resilient. It was used as both glue and filler before there was epoxy. Shellac is another old timey, reversible glue/filler. To fill checks with it, slowly melt some flakes in an old tin can over a candle. Then use a preheated heavy nail or steel rod to apply it to the wood, and immediately trowel into the crack with a wooden spatula type tool. The hot nail works like an antique soldering iron, storing enough heat to keep the shellac liquid while you transfer it.

same here :)

Addendum - 4th time lucky. Second handle was too tight again. Tried different timber and had a skew chisel catch just as I was finishing the third, damaging it irreparably. The fourth one came out great, it uses the original brass ferrule and leather washer (at least 50 years old) and I machined and fitted a mild steel striker ferrule at the back, as Dad had lost the original. A genuine learning experience. I took the opportunity to polish up the old blade and put a good edge on it, and I'm looking forward to showing it to Dad in a couple of weeks. It's ready for another 50 years of service. Thanks again, Paul. :-)

I also have the same question Paul. How about it?

Socket chisels, they're called. I'm currently replacing some and finding it very fiddly work. I wouldn't mind seeing Mr Sellers take a crack at it myself to pick up a few tips.

+Alfredo Isaac that style of chisel allows you to use a mallet (hammer, ...). using a mallet on a through-tang would eventually split the handle. so, a through-tang chisel is meant for hand work. i think the little bolster on this chisel (between the tang and the blade),along with the collar on the handle, would serve the same function as a socket.

For those like me with out a lathe and just using chunks of wood or maybe scraps, this is great to see this method.

What is a simple set of tools a new wood worker would need I.e. gouges chisels plane ...

Nothing. I just got used to Paul Sellers using just hand tools for everything and doing it great.

@@1pcfred you fit a jacobs chuck using a taper, it's easy.

I'm glad he didn't, because I'm one of the many people watching who doesn't have access to a lathe.

It’s easy if you have a hole through your tailstock. Otherwise you have a very precarious hold on your handle without it held between centers. It’s likely to go flying unless you turned it down from stock that was oversized enough that you have a decent shoulder cut to support it in the chuck. My advice for people lacking tools is to whittle and rasp your handles from well seasoned hardwood branches, slightly oversized. Drill the hole and shape and finish the end grain at the tang end. Then mount your tool and see what you’ve got as far as straightness. Now whittle your handle down to size and correct any crookedness.

You're welcome!

Just find a piece of rigid copper pipe of a diameter that is to your liking. Saw off around 13-15mm. That's your ferrule. Use a disk sander to bring it to finished length, then de-burr and polish it. Fit the handle to the ferrule. The inside diameter is what it is. Make the wood fit the metal, not the other way around. (Note, too, that you may be able to obtain some free off-cuts of rigid copper water pipe from a plumbing company's scrap bin.

Yes

And u can burn 🔥 yourself

I was wondering the same thing.

May compromise the hardness? Doubt it tho

And maybe that was before the cordless drill

It was a quick efficient way of doing it and its still done but we were not very scientific in those days. I would imagine if you heated it to the point it loses its magnetic properties, it would be very hard, brittle and could snap the tang off, whicb woild be dangerous.

The main problem with burning in is that the iron can over burn the wood and cause the fit to be sloppy, it wasn't too much of a problem for people who did it a lot as they knew just how far to push the red hot tang in, but it takes experience, so this method shown in the video is more certain of a good fit. The tang would not be hardened, so heat would not have a detrimental effect on it.

Not really but you want to make certain not to take out to much surrounding solid wood in the burn by singeing. Stop before fully seated, douse wood and tang and then drive on.

I think it's a 2 faced chisel hammer/mallet Don. I think they are made from a type of rubber. Readily available in hardware shops.

Those of us who do not have access to a lathe appreciate how to drill a handle blank that comes without hole from the store.

If you have to buy special chucks just to drill a pilot hole dead centred in your handle, (purely for aesthetics,) then it's not a cheap and simple technique any more. If you already have the appropriate chucks, by all means, go ahead, but know that your chisel is not going to work any better.

There's nothing special about a chuck the one in the pillar drill would work fine.

+seafax wood turning is very specialized field and i suspect most woodworkers aren't familiar with your techniques. i for one cannot figure out how you can drill a hole on a lathe, but i am going to think over it for a day then start searching online for the correct answer.. always fun to learn new things

you need to clamp the handle, not your wood.

A little different but similar. Usually the points of the tangs come all the way through and the a washer is added and the point of the tang bent to secure all together.

How would one replace the handle? Would I need to forge the metal back to a point then pien it over again?

I'm asking because I've passed a lot of then up at flee makets and would really like to repair a few to use.

@@nicholassmerk It's old, and you've probably already found out on your own... BUT (just in case)... You actually have a couple options... First, you're just going to need to straighten the end out enough to get that washer out of there... The rest of the handle is wood (if anything's left of it) so that can be chipped or split off relatively easily. Obviously, you CAN heat the end a bit to pry it out straight, and a small propane torch (BernzOMatic type) will do the job... BUT most of the time it's not hardened so you don't really need to. It's only a bit gentler on tools and your hands (wear gloves to avoid burns though?) if you did heat it. Don't freak out if the tip breaks off. It happens... On particularly rusty / deteriorated tangs, you'll want to de-scale and clean them. I've found a great deal of mileage out of an electric drill and wire wheels... Steel wheels are aggressive as hell, BUT Brass wheels (while less aggressive generally) won't destroy the metal... so balance how quickly you need work accomplished with how precious the remaining metal is to you... SO you've got the tang clean and relatively straight... "Cold" forging also tempers ferrous metal (iron-based)... but a reasonably hefty hammer and a fairly flat surface will "true it up" as much as you need. Most of us just eyeball the thing(s) so they're straight enough to stick into the holes we drill... After that... here are your options. 1. IF you have enough tang(s) left, you can go back to that washer and piening it over... just the same as the old days... In this case, you'll drill all the way through the handle with your smallest bit, and then size up in increments (similar to the vid') and finish by setting the handle tight, adding the washer, and beating the tip that sticks out flush as you can without breaking anything... 2. IF you're unsure about the piening, OR there just isn't enough tang(s) left... OR you have enormous paws instead of ordinary human hands and just want a better fit to handles.. Follow pretty much the method in the video... and mix enough epoxy to glob some down the hole and then slather the tang... jam it home and clamp it. In this case, you'll want to address each tang as it's own project...There's just no good to come of rushing forward. I avoid 5-minute epoxy on handles like a plague. It's too easy to over-work and it can cook right off, let go... and generally cause more trouble than help. Most "cures over night" types of epoxy are fine... JB Weld has some excellent products... AND Marine Grade epoxies are just about as dependably useful as you can ask for. ...Okay... I don't usually admit to it, but in a pinch, you can use Gorilla Glue, too... You absolutely MUST remember to moisten the hole, though... before any gluing takes place. AND you absolutely MUST create a solid method of clamping the thing while it's glued. Gorilla Glue expands as it "dries and cures"... upwards of 10 TIMES it's original volume, so if it's confined in a socket (for a handle) and you don't secure that fitting tightly in clamps... it's GOING to push it right back apart and make a mess... Once dried, however, the exposed "foamy over-run" is readily removed with a knife and sanded away. I have several kitchen knives, and a couple outdoors utensils that were "re-handled" some eight or ten years ago with Gorilla Glue, and they're just as tight now as ever. I'm not polite to equipment either... so in a pinch, it's not a terrible solution. Hope this helps. ;o)

@@gnarthdarkanen7464 Lol, I use Gorilla Glue on my (axe and hammer) handle wedges with very good results. It fills any voids and keeps the wedges nice and stuck in, in addition to the steel wedge. Guess I need to get to work on restoring some draw knifes!

WHY? You've just seen how easy it is using a drill. Must gave taken P.S. all of 15 minutes