Scraper parted company with handle..

[drillbit]

I got a bit of a surprise yesterday when the tool part of my Henry Taylor round side scraper suddenly came out of the handle while I was scraping... I have had a few catches with it over the couple of months I have owned it, but I thought it would take more punishment than it's had.

Anyway, I have pushed the tang back into the handle as hard as I can, but it is a bit loose (side to side movement) so I presume it would not be a good idea to use it like that.

What can I do to make it secure and useable again? Glue it..what with? Or just ram it in harder..but if so..how?

Thanks for any help.

 

[CHJ]

Coat hole and tang with Epoxy.

Place working end of tool on a scrap piece of wood on a firm surface and give the handle a firm thump with a wooden or plastic mallet.

Turn tool and handle with blade uppermost and prop up or clamp in wood vice, wipe off any unsightly surplus, that way epoxy stays in any cavity until set and should take care of any sideways play that has developed due to wood compression.

 

[drillbit]

Thanks Chas you are a lifesaver. Will the epoxy last a decent amount of time?

 

[CHJ]

Will the epoxy last a decent amount of time?

Any reasonable quality Epoxy should last as long as the tool.

Watch out regarding Epoxy setting time.
Dependant on brand and type setting times can be quotes as anything from a couple of minutes to 30 mins.

Don't be fooled into thinking you have all that time to work.

A 30min setting Zpoxy for instance has about 10 min max working time.
A 5 min. setting one needs applying and finishing in short order so get organised before mixing it.

 

[chipmunk]

Hi Toby,
I've sometimes had problems with hydraulic pressure pushing the tool back out of the hole when using epoxy resin to hold tools into handles. It seems to be caused by trapped air under pressure in the bottom of the hole slowly forcing the tool out because of the air-tight seal formed by the epoxy. It's usually a particular problem with round tools in round holes ;-)

Just by accident I found a neat way to stop it happening.

If you put a small piece of thin wire down the side of the hole in the handle first (even a strip of paper will do), then coat the hole and tool with epoxy as normal, push in the tool and then withdraw the wire slowly, any air trapped in there can escape without forcing out the tool. Then if you want to you can hit is with a hammer/mallet to seat it more firmly.

Epoxy is also best cleaned off with meths on a rag.

HTH
Jon

 

[drillbit]

Thanks Chas and John. Epoxy bought yesterday and hoping to get time to fix it this week, small children permitting. I will definitely try the wire / paper trick.
Thanks

 

[robo hippy]

It might be a good time to make a new handle for your scraper. Most stock ones have a hole drilled into it, and then the scraper is pounded into place. I make a sandwich type handle. The meat and cheese part is a strip that is the same thickness as the tang and scraper. I mark and cut out with the bandsaw, the exact size I need to fit the tang into. Then take 2 more pieces and sandwich them to the outside of the center strip (the bread part of the handle). This is a much more secure hold than a drilled hole. No epoxy needed.

robo hippy