Chisel handle material.

[Dave Shepard]

I've got a couple of framing chisels that need new handles. Some I bought that way, and one I've beaten more or less senseless lately. My 2" I think has a witchhazel handle. It is being driven over the socket and the ring on the end is being driven into the handle. Looking for the best wood to take the abuse. Thanks.

[Al_Smith]

Ironwood might work good .

[dukndog]

I've used maple, walnut, hickory, and Bois D'arc or Osage orange. The Osage is the toughest so far but will dent your mallet unless it is hard also. I've heard Dogwood is a good wood to use for handles if dried properly.
I use a Osage mallet turned from one solid piece.

[Jay C. White Cloud]

In your area, like mine, the best I have come across is Hope horn beam or dogwood, (also called dagger wood because it can be fire hardened to a point of taking a cutting edge.)  I have used both successfully all my life.  Now I keep good chucks out of the fire wood pile, pop them in the oven for a few hours at 200 degrees and that drives all the moisture out and really makes them hard.  You can rough the shape in first, then bake.  I then finish them and while still warm, drop them in some oil.

Regards,

jay

[S.Hyland]

I'm using elm that I had on some chisels right now. It seems to be working well, but it hasn't been too long. I've had a mind to try hornbeam for quite a while, it's made some good axe handles for me.
To change the topic slightly, what is the ideal mallet material? I have been using carving style mallets like Chappell uses. Right now I'm using some out of elm, and going to try making a couple of locust ones. I'm thinking the ideal would be some sort of root wood? I'm keeping my eye out for some maple roots or something like that.

[Jay C. White Cloud]

I either use a 1.5 kg (~3 lb) stone carvers hammer for heavy work, (my favorite daily hammer) or a 750 gram (~26 oz) Japanese hand forged chisel mallet for detail work.

[dukndog]

As you can see in my above photo, the mallet on the right is a "Chappell" design made from Osage Orange. It weighs roughly 4 lbs, has a handle that doesn't hurt your hand (too small) and works very well. The difference in the dark to light wood is I re-turned it last summer to get the big "dings" out of it.
I love working with Osage orange!!

[Al_Smith]

I'm pretty certain hornbeam and iron wood are one in the same .

Beech is pretty sturdy stuff too for that matter. Mulberry I'd imagine would be about as hard as Osage orange.

They use some exotic from Africa, India or Antarctica (joke). Starts with the letter B, balbonc, balboa, baloney, don't really know. I guess it's hard as a rock. You'd probably have to chuck it in a metal lathe and use carbide . ;)

Actually I have a mallet I turned from iron wood on a wood lathe. I had to drive the thing on the points with a dead blow hammer, hard stuff.

[Dave Shepard]

I was wondering about lignum vitae, I can get small turning blanks near here. I don't know what is ideal mallet material, but was told that the Garland rawhide mallets wouldn't chew up chisel handles. I guess under normal use, but this one chisel I use everyday is slowly failing. I don't used turned mallets for framing, I think they are better suited to carving, but that's just my experience.

[Brad_bb]

Chisel handles - just about any hardwood.  Don't have the be exotic or super hard.  Mine are Ash.  My mallet is lignam vitae -Chappell mallet.

[purple otter]

I like black locust, but I want to try some hornbeam. I used hornbeam for mallets and it holds up well.

[mesquite buckeye]

I have an old lignum vitae mallet, used now for 40 years. A bit chewed up, but still working. I thought the cross grain in eucalyptus would be good for whacking, but it seems to fracture under repeated heavy lateral blows. Don't know if anybody else has used it.

Have used hickory for handles, but hard to keep it from curving around when drying. Pretty stable when dry.

Hard to beat a good piece of hickory. Clint Eastwood

[Jim_Rogers]

Can you show me a picture of the witch hazel handle that's all beat up?

Jim Rogers

[Dave Shepard]

I'll try to get a pic tomorrow Jim.

[Dave Shepard]

This was the best I could do without good light. I can try again in full sunlight sometime. Jim, this handle would have been very white when I bought it from you back at Heartwood in '11. It's taken a lot of pounding since then. Maybe I should just expect to replace the handle every couple of years. The ring and socket are each driven in about a 1/4".

[Jim_Rogers]

Thanks for posting, I'll pass those on to Tom, I'm sure he'd like to see what that handle looks like after use.

Jim Rogers

[mesquite buckeye]

I'm thinking if the wood adjacent to the socket and ring were trimmed occasionally before the step/shoulder contacted the steel, the handle would still be good. :-\

[Al_Smith]

A little off topic perhaps but I've seen old wooden handled chisels wrapped with piano wire .

[Jay C. White Cloud]

Hi Al_Smith,

Not off topic at all, and a good addition.  I doubt there is anyone that pounds a chisel worse than I do.  I hit them like my stone carving tools, and having that back ground I won't even use somebody else's chisel on a job just because I have destroyed so many in less than one joint.  ( :D that's what happens when you use a 3lb rock carving hammer on the average framing chisel :D :D)  I use the hardest wood I can get, (hope-horn is my favorite domestic) wrap the top with wire, (with room for the striking ferrule) then cover in cloth tap, then a layer of wool yarn twining, then more cloth tap, then I sinnet the handle in leather.  It give a great grip, warm in the winter, tight grip in the summer.

Regards,

jay

[Jim_Rogers]

Dave:
Is it possible for you to save that old handle so I can take it and show Tom?
He'd like to see it in his hand to figure out how to make them better.

Jim Rogers

[villarri]

I have been making my chisel handles out of old baseball bats. they seem to hold up well so far. I make my rings with a 5 degree per side taper on the ID. The end of the handle has a matching taper and no shoulder. the steel ring has a generous radius on the large ID, the idea being that it would continue to tighten on the wood without splitting as it is forced down

  

  

  

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[Dave Shepard]

Interesting approach. I think that would solve some of the splitting I'm getting as the ring is bottoming out on my handles. Thanks for posting. Looks like you have some good old chisels too.

[Al_Smith]

Ball bats most likely are white ash .

Say a thought here. On another thread they talk of American elm which as we all know is some tough stuff. It still grows just seldom gets any size to it like the massive trees of the 50's and 60's.

What the hey if you have a wood lathe just turn out a slew of them of different stuff and see what works best.

[Rooster]

This was the best I could do without good light. I can try again in full sunlight sometime. Jim, this handle would have been very white when I bought it from you back at Heartwood in '11. It's taken a lot of pounding since then. Maybe I should just expect to replace the handle every couple of years. The ring and socket are each driven in about a 1/4".

I have the twin to Dave's chisel.

A few years ago, I sent a few chisels to Jim's partner Tom Perkins to have them sharpened and handles custom fitted to the sockets.  This one is my 2" Woodcraft framing chisel which I use as my "sacrificial" chisel when cutting into re-claimed beams with embedded or hidden nails.  It sees a lot of abuse so I had Tom make me a couple replacement handles for future use.  This is what I started with. (Which is one of the backup handles that hasn't been used yet.)


 

After the top started to crush and split, I just cut off the damaged top with the ferrule and then rounded over the handle to get some more life out of it.


  

 

Handles are replaceable...and I am happy with the amount of work I got out of the handles that Tom made for me...definitely worth the money invested.

I will have to try the baseball bat idea, since I already have a small collection to be used as commander handles.

I also have been known to you use old shovel handles as slick handles...cut them to length, shape the end to fit the socket and "Bam!"...never know that it wasn't original.

I often use offset socket chisels as slicks.  I like the control and ease of use on the inside faces of mortises especially when shaving down a dry/hard knot.  This one is a 1 1/2 in. Barton, with a offset socket and an old shovel handle.


  

  

  

  

 

For anyone who hasn't tried a narrow (2 in. or smaller) chisel with a longer slick handle on it, I say give it a try...it's fun to experiment.

Peace,

Rooster

[Al_Smith]

I'd think most likely a shovel handle would be hickory, might be ash though.