# How to prep (bore) new handle for old tang chisel?



## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

That's the question. The tang is square in section, and has a few little barbs on it.

I can get the hole in the center, but what kind of clearances and allowances for the shape and taper of the tang? The material is alder. And I thank you.

Lee

Hi my name is Lee and I am becoming addicted to vintage chisels.


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## BigYin (Oct 14, 2011)

Don't know if I am using an approved method, but I turn the handle, drill the hole undersized and slightly deeper than the tang is long. I then hold the chisel in the vice and tap the handle onto the tang with my hand and rotate the handle one full turn forward and then back again. remove handle and clean out hole and clean off tang. repeat as required. when there is 1/4 to 3/8 inch left I will tap the handle gently fully on to tang. Please note I said gently tap, you can snap tang or blade if too aggressive.


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## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

Veeeeeerrrrrry helpful. I would not have envisioned that process without your help, BigYin.

So, oversize. The tang is 1/4" square at its largest.

Would your hole be the diameter of the section half way? I could try that, anyway, and I don't think it would be too large.

Kindly,

Lee


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## wooddon (Jul 11, 2007)

Heat the tang untill its red hot and tap it in. It will burn a good fit in the handle


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## BigYin (Oct 14, 2011)

Lee - 1/8th inch to full depth, 3/16 to 1/3 depth and 5 minutes of effort.

Don - < Heat the tang until its red hot >
err no thanks most of my chisels are pre-war (both WW1 & WW2) some are Victorian, I am not comfortable about heat anywhere near them. Ive used this technique for rough work but never on fine steel.


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## killerb (Nov 1, 2011)

Bigyin is right on . Alder may not be the best choice for handle stock though. It is awful soft and I am not sure how it will work when you hit it. Hickory, beech, ironwood are all good handle material.bob


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## lwllms (Jun 1, 2009)

Don't heat the tang. Drill a stepped hole to sort of match the taper of the tang which is square in cross-section. Use the tang as a reamer to get the handle within about 3/16 of the bolster and then drive the handle home. Charred wood and ash don't make for a very secure way to lock the handle in place.


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## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

Okey doke.

It's done, and thanks. I would not have thought of the reamer step on my own. That worked great. I did everything right except my hole wasn't quite centered so I dismantled it, bored it out to 1/4 and glued in a dowel to keep my drill bit on track. Resquared it in the drill press vise and lined a blue darter to center field.

The handle is in fact ash. It was a socket handle, so I cut off the cone end and drilled it and inserted a 5/8 alder dowel. The tang is mostly in the alder.

I used a copper plumbing coupling for the ferrule. With a little dressing down, it slips right over the dowel, snug.

Any impact from pounding is borne by the entire handle.

This is part of my intentionally random set of bench chisels that are right there for minor paring and stuff like that.

Two of the handles I started with were too short for my hand; in the coming picture you'll see how I added length with a piece of rosewood.

Thanks again for the help.

Kindly,

Lee


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## LeeBarker (Aug 6, 2010)

Here's the chisel in question, the middle size one. All three have length added to the handle. It's a piece of rosewood, actually flat grain, mortised onto the stub that held the leather washers on.

It appears that I like the heft when there's more handle inside my palm.

The finish is dipped polyurethane, gloss. For all my love of wood and its tactile qualities, for some reason I like the feel of varnish on my tool handles.

Visually the ferrule on the 3/4 seems long but the blade itself seems a little on the short side. But enough of this tedious analysis. What I want is a chisel with a little cachet, an edge that holds, and handy at my bench.

But come to think of it, I have only four….hmmm, I wonder if there's a 5/8 vintage tang chisel on ebay….


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