Marples Blue Chip chisel handle removal and replacement

[Chisteve]

Any one tried this if so how did you go about it

 

[Orraloon]

I have replaced a couple of plastic handle chisels with wood handles. I just smashed the old plastic off with a hammer. The tang will likely be strait not pointed like chisels with wood handles so I epoxied them into the hole in the wood handle.
Regards
John

 

[Chisteve]

That’s what I though to be honest but I’m hoping to replace like with like

 

[Jamesc]

I have done a few and like john replaced them with wooden handles. I used an old blade in my bandsaw and cut the handle away. On mine there is a hole that was longer than the tang. I kept cutting away until I reached the hole than cut along the tang to free the blade. You WILL hit the tang so use an old blade just before it gets binned.

 

[Argus]

Some years ago I discovered some Stanley chisels in an old box - the ones with a black plastic handle - that had survived since the '60s, albeit with murderous damage to the plastic, (mainly burn marks from welding that was too close).
They were really kerbergered in the handle department.
I decided to re-grind the cutting tips and sharpen then up for use as secondary hacking-chisels. That was, if I could rehandle them in the process..... otherwise they'd remain paint-pot-openers.

The old plastic handles came off without too much resistance. This meant that they were not 'hot-moulded' on, as some newer plastic chisels might be.

The shank was secured in a vice, pointing up. With the assistance of other old chisels, a set of large mole grip and a degree of hammer-persuasion they came off clean. . The tangs were circular in cross section, about 2 inches long, with a pronounced bite shape out of each side to prevent rotation.

The next step was to turn some new handles. I retained the same size and shape and recreated it in some old Apple-wood that I had in the odd-and-sods box.
The tang was, if I recall, exactly 3/8 inch diameter, most inpotartly it was an exact size of a drill that I had. The side bits were about 1/8 inch wide and I could cut a slot on the insides with a narrow chisel and I'm glad to say that it was a good, clean and very tight fit.

Somewhere I may have some photos of the whole thing, because I wrote it up, with pictures...... I'm off to have a look.

In short, It can be done....... for some chisels, if it's worth it.

 

[Bedrock22]

Re-made a couple of sets some years' ago. Held the chisel upright in an engineers vice, gripping the lower plastic end of the handle, and used an old chisel to split off the old handle. Turned new handles from elm, which has the benefit of an attractive, interlocking grain, so it resists splitting. Rub with finishing oil and ready to go.
My reasoning was that the plastic handles had raised edge damage when hit with a hammer, and I prefer the look and texture of the wood anyway.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

That’s what I though to be honest but I’m hoping to replace like with like

Where do you propose to get the replacements?

 

[Cheshirechappie]

Might be easier to just buy a new chisel - the M444 range seem to average less than £10 a pop, on Amazon at any rate.

As Phil suggests, about the only source for a replacement like-for-like blue plastic handle is another chisel, and as the procedure for removing same from metalwork is - erm - somewhat destructive, it seems like a non-starter, to be honest.

 

[dannyr]

you might just be lucky -- I came across a number of spare Marples blue chip handles some years ago - so they did sell em at one point (sorry, long since gave em away and ps replaced some others with boxwood)

 

[D_W]

replacing with plastic handles without having identical chisels to rob (without damaging said handles) seems like a tricky proposition. What's the tang shape for the chisels you have and how can you be sure that it will match replacement handles? What if the tang on a replacement handle is much larger? It'll be hard to come up with a way to fill and fit an old chisel into a larger tenon, and if the handles aren't solid and the problem is the other way around, you'll probably blow through the material intended to be strong around the tenon if you drill one out.

 

[D_W]

This is probably something where writing irwn/marples or whatever they're called now may be helpful. I don't know if they have a parts supply, but there may be some chance that they do - and a better one than putting up a saved search on ebay, etc, or waiting for handles to appear from another source. If they have nothing, then you're out no more time than it takes to request info.

 

[TheTiddles]

I did that, smashed the old ones off, then months later replaced them with hornbeam, with hindsight, I should have left the old ones on.

 

[Chisteve]

Thanks all - I have a broken marples chisel that was hoping use to replace a rough looking handle just wondering if the handles were heated might loosen the handle .... but the rough handle has cleaned up quite well only option appears to be turning new handles will do that if I need to.

 

[Orraloon]

Chisel handles are horses for courses. For site/building work then a plastic handle with a through tang and a steel end button to really lay into with a hammer. For bench work using a mallet a good wood handle just looks and feels better. I have to agree with the others that finding replacement plastic handles will likely be hard.
Regards
John

 

[Inspector]

If one really wanted a plastic handle you could first find out what the original material is made of? It might be something you can buy off the shelf and then drill and shape or if an epoxy or polyurethane with similar properties can be found then you could cast your own either around the tang or force it together after. The easier route is to make one from wood. You could make one from aluminium or brass if you like the sting of cold metal in your hand when struck.

Pete