large sorby chisels help needed

[mark kosse]

Howdy all,

I don't make it over this way very often but I need help. I bought some unused but older Sorby chisels. A 6102, 6104, 6105 and 6106. I didn't really need them but they were reasonably priced and they looked so good I couldn't pass them up. My Grandfather was a master carver but I have only dabbled in it so far. Maybe these beautiful chisels are what I need to get me going on a large scale. These chisels are also sharper than any I have ever seen "out of the box".

The question is the head side ferrule on several chisels is very loose. Some you would think you could pull the ferrules off they're that loose, but they don't come off. How do I go about tightening them up without altering them too much. Should I soak them in BLO or perhaps just wipe them down regularly until they absorb and tighten? I don't want to discolor or ruin them by making the wood soft.

Thanks for any advise.

[Dimitrije Stamenkovic]

The wood probably shrunk with time while the metal didn't. I would never count on wood swelling for a repair because once wood has shrunk too much there is no way getting it like it was before and all you can do is prevent further shrinking, so soaking the handles in oil won't be a permanent solution. But you won't damage the wood either: it's soaking in water that destroys it.
If you want to go this way you should thin the oil with turpentine or some solvent, so it will soak in better.

Wipe your tools with oil or paste wax regularly, at all times, not only when ferrules come loose. That's basic maintenance that prevents the steel from rusting and the wood from drying out.

You could turn new handles, but I understand you want to keep the original ones.

You can dimple the ferrule, that's common in a lot of chisels; you can do that punching the ferrule with the right tool.
It would alter them a little but it should keep the ferrules in place. Personally I don't mind dimpling at all, aesthetically speaking.

718989087_o.jpgFerrule2.jpg

You can also try to apply epoxy between the ferrule and the wood, if you can manage to do that without taking the tang out. I wouldn't use epoxy, but that's just a personal preference and I am sure it would work fine.

[Mark Yundt]

I have never used it but there is a product called Chair Loc. It comes in a small bottle with a needle type spout that you are supposed to squirt into loose fitting chair parts to tighten them.
Again, I haven't used it and I'm not certain it would work in this situation but it might be worth looking in to.
My go to product is epoxy. I'd stand them on the tips, mix up some epoxy and let it run into the ferrule and wipe excess before it sets.

[mark kosse]

Thanks for the replies guys.

Mark, the chair loc amounts to expensive mineral oil. I bought some way back when and figured that out pronto. Judging by the looseness of two of the ferrules my only solution will probably be epoxy, but I kinda hate to. I guess the golfsmith epoxy would be best.