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Chisel handle Question

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Chisel handle Question

#1

Chisel handle Question

Barry Irby

What's a good wood for a chisel handle?

At the same auction in mentioned below, I acquired two socket handle chisels. One is and 1/8" and the other 3/8". There are no markings. My pinky will slip into the sockets. The sockets are smaller than I expected, mabe 1/2 or 9/16". The previous owner must have pounded directly on one of them because the metal is peened or rolled over a bit. I am assuming the proper thing to do is to file them smooth on the inside?

So, what's a good wood to use for handles? and what's a good thing to use for a ferrell at the top?

Re: Chisel handle Question

#2

Re: Chisel handle Question

Bruce, a MN Galoot

I’ve used live oak, masur birch, beech, elm.

Re: Chisel handle Question

#3

Re: Chisel handle Question

John K Jordan

I am assuming the proper thing to do is to file them smooth on the inside?


A dremel with a stone might be easier than a file, depending.

Any tough wood should be fine if you are going to pound on the handle. I like persimmon, hickory, osage orange, lignum vitae, dogwood.

Re: Chisel handle Question

#4

Depends

Dick Coers

If the socket is small, these may have been intended to be paring chisels. If you use them as paring chisels, any wood will do. If you plan on striking it with a wood mallet, use a hardwood and either use a ring like the Japanese style, or turn a tenon on the top and glue on some leather washers. If you intend to hit it with a steel hammer like the previous owner, a steel button on a really hard wood is better.

Re: Chisel handle Question

#5

Re: Chisel handle Question

Ron in Sterling, CT

Hi Barry,

I have used ash on a lot of chisel handles and it performs well. I prefer to turn a tenon on the end and glue on a piece of leather. My 2 cents.

Ron

Re: Chisel handle Question

#6

Re: Chisel handle Question

William Duffield

When you say ferrule for the top, I assume you mean the striking ring. The choice here depends on what your mallet is made of. I have used mild steel, for example recycled water pipe.

If you choose the right wood for the handle and the right material for the mallet, you don't need a striking ring. The best handle woods you can find in Virginia are hornbeam (Carpinus carolinensis) and hophornbeam (Ostrya virginiana), but you may have a lot of difficulty drying the hornbeam without it splitting or warping. I have also used dogwood, hickory, osage orange and bitter orange.

Lie-Nielsen claims to use hornbeam (Maine ironwood) for their chisel handles, and they beat them with a framing hammer.

Re: Chisel handle Question

#7

Thanks, I made them out of....

Barry Irby

Purple Heart. I had a scrap I won in a club auction years ago and it surfaced at the right moment. I was looking for Osage Orange, but was reluctant to cut up a bowl blank.

I made the handles and Installed a copper ring and also left a tenon for a leather washer. I have some leather but don't like what I have for this application. I looked for the crimp rings that go on PEX pipe. I know I have some somewhere, but they successfully hid from me. I used to have the crimping tool also. That would have been a cool application for them.

Now that the chisels have handles they don look as small as they did without them. I also cleaned them up and sharpened them. I will find some leather and they will be good to go.

Thanks for the help.

Re: Chisel handle Question

#8

Re: Thanks, I made them out of....

Bruce, a MN Galoot

I’ve used copper pipe for ferrules. Someone once suggested a piece of black iron pipe, too.

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