Replies

1. 
   Jimmbo | Sep 01, 2004 04:07pm | #1

   You asked for opinions, and this is just that ... why not scuff the inside of the socket to encourage mechanical adhesion, and then epoxy the handle in?  Epoxy is a gap filling glue, so it will mechanically fill the void, and would be permanent.  I have a couple of old socket chisels I picked up at garage sales with the same problem, and I'm planning to try this.  Guess I've been planning for several months now ... but I'll get to it this weekend for sure (unless I'm putting up hurricane shutters).  Interested to see other opinions.

2. 
   AlanTurner | Sep 01, 2004 05:31pm | #2

   A quick fix? Take a thin piece of cotton, wet it with BLO, wrap it around the wood, and insert. Then bang the end of the wood on the bench or floor to seat it, and leave it alone for a day or two. Should hold. I do this, and I have seen the cloth in older chisels I have acquired from time to time as well.

   I would stay way from epoxy as it is brittle when dry, and so will give up the bond sometime, and be a mess and a PITA to clean.

   Alan

   http://www.alanturnerfurnituremaker.com

1. 
   dbrown | Sep 01, 2004 05:51pm | #3

   Thanks Alan, that sounds like a good plan.  I like the renewability of that fix.

   Darren

   "Come on guys, what do you need, a refresher course?  It's all ball bearings these days."

3. 
   JohnWW | Sep 01, 2004 07:20pm | #4

   Darren,

   Because of the taper, the chisel handle will self tighten if it can go deeper into the socket.  Two things could prevent it from seating properly: The tip of the handle is bottoming out in the socket or the shoulder of the handle is striking the top edge of the socket.

   The first problem is solved by cutting a fraction of an inch off of the tapered tip of the handle.  The second cause is corrected by cutting back the shoulder of the handle slightly.  You can trim the shoulder fairly easily with a sharp bench knife or chuck the handle in a lathe to do the job.

   John W.   

1. 
   UncleDunc | Sep 02, 2004 05:10am | #5

   >> Two things could prevent it from seating properly:

   Those are the two likeliest problems, but there is a third possibility, which is that the handle and the socket don't have the same taper. Dust the inside of the socket with chalk or graphite and try the handle in it to mark the high spots, then gently pare them off. Repeat until you like the fit. But do check for interference at the tip and shoulder before trying the fit.

1. 
   JohnWW | Sep 02, 2004 05:34pm | #6

   Uncle Dunc,

   You're right about a mismatch in the tapers creating a loose fit. 

   I didn't mention the possibility because I was trying to keep my message short and I was presuming, perhaps incorrectly, that the handle had previously been tight, which would imply that the taper was a good fit.

   John W.

1. 
   UncleDunc | Sep 02, 2004 07:17pm | #7

   >> ... I was presuming, perhaps incorrectly, that the handle had previously been tight ...

   Very likely the correct presumption, given that the original poster didn't say anything about it being a new handle. In my haste to display my little bit of arcane knowledge, I certainly didn't mean to imply that you were negligent to omit that possibility. :o)