Why Socketed Chisels Turn Loose

For more information on chisels, see our beginner site Common Woodworking.

Several of you have emailed to ask about your socketed chisels made by Stanley and Lie Nielsen, what I feel about them and why the handles come loose from the steel sockets. First of all, the early Stanley models were are good chisels made with good steel and wood. Everything that Lie Nielsen makes is top quality and that really goes without saying. So, there is no question of quality.

With regards to the currently-made Stanley sweetheart 750 range of chisels supposedly made in Sheffield UK, I doubt that they are, but we don’t really know. The last time I contacted Stanley to see if I could see where their, “Stanley of Sheffield UK Making High-end Planes again” planes were made, they said that, “They are not made in the UK, they are made in our plant in Mexico.” When I pointed out the dishonest presentation in the magazine press releases going viral they responded, “Stanley has an office in Sheffield, nothing is made here any more.” Now I don’t know if this still holds true but perhaps if anyone does know they can let me know.

 

Things you should know about socketed chisels regardless of the maker

Socketed chisels didn’t start with Stanley and it doesn’t seem they will end with them. Blacksmiths of old made them back in the 1600’s and on through to the early 1900’s. Here the core essentials:

This socketed chisel was made by Marples

DSC_0015

 

  1. The thing they rely on is that the conical end of the handle that fits into the socket should not bottom out in the bottom of the socket housing it. In other words, the point of the cone shouldn’t reach to far down and thus stop the tapered mating to the walls of the steel socket. If it does, or you suspect it does, take of 2mm or so from the point. DSC_0001
  2. DSC_0008 The tapered fit should be like a morse taper on a drill chuck or lathe drive. Any wobble gives sway to wear and a loose fit will worsen. You can rechuck the handle for corrective work if needed or fare it as best you can with a flat file, carefully.
  3. DSC_0010 It’s important that the shoulder line between the chisel handle and the opening end of the socket remains separated by a margin great or small. 2mm is good but more works too. You can return the handle to the lathe and remove more of the shoulder if needed. Stay away from the cone shaping if it seems to match the inside of the chisel cone.
  4. The cone relies on a good initial whack to ‘seat’ the cone. usually they stay, but they can come loose at times.
  5. Wood is a breathing material and expands with moisture. If the cone is shaped when the wood has higher moisture content it will turn loose as it shrinks. This can a be difficult to control. Ideally moisture content should be low during manufacture, but that still doesn’t stop exchanges taking place after purchase and therein lies the real reason we have an ongoing problem with this chisel type. Buying a set of chisels in Washington state and taking them to west texas and Arizona means the handles will fall loose from the socket. Not much you can do about that, but they should reseat with a good whack if the above criteria are looked at in your analysis.

24 Comments

  1. I’ve heard of glueing the handles to the chisels with epoxy. If a handle needs replacing, gently heat the socket over a flame. This softens the epoxy, being a plastic, and the handle can be twisted from the chisel.

    1. Thanks Ed. I feel better now. I was in two minds whether to post my comment, fearing a reprimand for suggesting glue. Seems like I’m among friends 🙂

  2. I have the new sweetheart chisels and the handles were popping out pretty regularly at first. The slick finish on the cone was the main culprit, I think. I took some 220 grit sand paper and gave each cone a light scuff. Then I replaced the handle, placed the chisel against a 2×4 scrap, and gave the handle a good whack with a mallet. The handles have not shifted since then, two months ago.

    Others have recommended a light spray of hairspray on the cone. I didn’t need to try that.

      1. Actually, I am a bit surprised that they do turn loose because I have great trouble separating the socketed chisels I own. Admittedly they are not LN or Stanley chisels, they are Marples, and a couple of others, but they never part.

  3. Is there a major advantage of the socket style over the tang style as far as the user is concerned? Personally I like the way tang style chisels look but I could see how a chisel that was going to be pounded on would be stronger with a socket style handle.

    1. Mostly speed of production and reduced manufacturing costs. There is no evidence one chisel type lasts particularly longer than another and we have chisels spanning the decades and centuries to prove. Tangs, ferrules, bolsters, leather washers and so on all add in to the complexities. Mass making often dictates. Without tangs, ferrules, bolsters, leather washers and any fitting to unite steel to wood production should be much less not more. It is surprising that these tools don’t come in at a little less than they do. Also, a lot of my chisels have been used for 80 years and much more in some cases and most if not all are tang-types not sockets.

  4. Before the mass-produced American socket chisels of the late C19th and later, most socketed chisels had much larger sockets — why did they suddenly become tiny (as are the expensive modern types)?
    ps – unless closed down very recently, Stanley have a manufacturing operation in Sheffield.

    1. We do need to hear directly from Stanley in Sheffield on this. I will dig until I find out. Planning on calling this week.

      1. Did you find out from Stanley if their new Stanley sweetheart chisels as made in Sheffield?

  5. Paul- The socket/handle is made to be a tight fit. When you apply epoxy, do you firmly attach the handle, as you normally do? That’s what I did, but that means much of the glue is excluded and it will be a thin glue joint. Is that how you do it, or do you try to keep a thicker glue film and let the taper rest in the glue glue film without really trying to seat it firmly?

    West Systems epoxy is _expensive!_

    1. Well you wouldn’t go out and buy WS epoxy just for this. It keeps and has many other uses too, from gap filling inclusions and cavities in hardwoods to gluing hard to glue woods and woods for immersion. I am not telling people to glue them in place really. Just if you are having problems, and you have read my last blog there on why they turn loose, go ahead and glue them in.

  6. Hi Paul. Did you ever get confirmation on where these chisels are made or at least where the steel comes from. I just received a set of the new Stanley 750 Sweethearts and I’m bothered by the fact that there is nothing stamped on the steel saying Sheffield or anything for that matter, which makes me question where they are made. I just spoke with Stanley customer service and they can’t tell me where they are made because they don’t know. The girl said she would try and find out and call me back but I will most likely return the chisels.

  7. I did Wonder if my sweetheart socket chisels were made in England as the box states, or whether they are just finished and assembled here. My set was a goodwill gesture from Stanley for the appalling quality of a #4.1/2 Stanley Bailey plane, and after sending an email to Stanley’s CEO and dealing with the product manager in New Britain, the plane is being replaced with a quality assured one. I spotted the date on the plane box had the abbreviation for the month in Mexican, and the planes no longer have the “made in” lettering on them. getting back to the chisels, I have heard complaint about honing the milling lines out of the backs being tough, but I don’t have any noticeable lines to take out of mine. The quality appears to be much better than my tanged Irwin Marples 373’s, slipped up buying them by not realising that they are running with Sheffield steel and non Sheffield steel. I am going to experiment with making a couple of differing handles to see what will work best for me, and glue sounds the way to go, although turning a couple of the handles in the sockets has shown there is not a very good overall contact with the socket so a little adjustment might cure the problem. The best thing I like about the socketed chisels is should a handle become damaged or even lost, a quick trip to the lathe and it’s all sorted.

    1. No. Many Stanley tools are made for the US market just south of the Rio Grande in Mexico.

  8. I have a Stanley SweetHeart with a loose handle. My first chisel. What type of hammer do I use to whack the handle to set it? A regular like roofing hammer? Or a dead blow hammer? Or should I only use a wooden mallet with a gigantic head?

    1. i would strongly suggest not using a roofing or general carpentry hammer
      a wooden hammer is fine but mr sellers uses a Thor hammer (makers name)
      it has a double head with one side soft plastic the other hard plastic
      the heads screw on or off meaning if they get worn or damaged you can replace them
      if you are a weekend woodworker i would think the thor hammer would last you a few years
      can be purchased on ebay or amazon
      steel hammers would eventually damage the end of the chisel

      1. realized you said gigantic wooden head
        that is not necessary reasonably sized round wooden mallet or square face
        d mallet is sufficient
        i personally feel the large square face mallets are for driving large joints together
        my personal opinion

      2. Actually, I am still using mine after 13 years and with the same heads too. I probably will not go back to a wooden mallet except for some heavier work.

  9. I don’t know if it’s just me or if everybody else experiencing
    issues with your blog. It appears as though some of the written text in your
    content are running off the screen. Can someone else please comment and let me know if this is happening
    to them as well? This could be a issue with my browser because I’ve had
    this happen before. Cheers

  10. There are a few old Sheffield steel tool and cutlery companies with offices still there but manufacturing elsewhere who use unscrupulous marketing in my view. If the chisels don’t say Made in England or Sheffield then they are most certainly not. This isn’t to say that they are not great quality I hasten to add.

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