new handles old chisels
Howard Pollack
>I'm interested in putting some new handles on some old tang chisels. I thought I'd buy some boxwood handles from Lee Valley. Can someone tell me how to set the tang in the handle? Thanks.
-Howard
new handles old chisels
Posts
Re: new handles old chisels
#2Heat 'n smack
jim_reed@marietta
>The fit should be tight, but not so tight you split the handle. Accordingly, you may need to gnaw out the hole a little for the sides of the tang. Hold the chisel with a shoprag and heat the tang with a torch (just a little, not CHERRY RED). Put the handle on the tang and smack the handle end on a concrete floor or strong table to seat the chisel. Good luck.
Re: new handles old chisels
#3Re: Heat 'n smack
Dennis Mcdonaugh
>How does heating the tang help it stay in the handle? Seems that heat would expand the metal which would shrink as it cools causing it to loosen in the handle.
Re: new handles old chisels
#4Re: Heat 'n smack
Ted Shuck, Centennial, CO
>Don't just "warm" the tang. Get it hot enough to burn its way into the wood. If the tang hole is made slightly too small, then the tang will burn a hole that is the exact size needed.
I find it easiest to do this with the blade wrapped in a wet rag, to keep the blade cool, then gripped in my bench vise. I heat the tang with a torch and when it seems hot enough, jam the handle down on it. It should produce some smoke and you should be able to see it burn in deeper. You may have to do this a couple of times to get it within 1/8" or so of the bolster. When it is close, I hit it down with a hammer or mallet.
Ted