# Square hole in a round thing?



## mijunkin (Jan 22, 2012)

So I've seen people making handles for their own tools (like RusDemka's carbide tools) and many of them seem to have square shafts. How do you make the square shaft stay firmly in the (what I assume is) a round hole in the handle? Is this the function of the metal collar where the wood meets the shaft, or is there another secret of which I am unaware?


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## robert421960 (Dec 9, 2010)

i used epoxy and put it in the round hole then inserted the square shaft till it bottomed out and epoxy oozed out the top


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I have made two tool handles so far.

The tool steels in my case were round, but the method of installing is likely the same.

I use the brass collars. This reinforces the thinner wood portion and prevents splitting.

If the tool were square, then either a larger hole than the steel width would be used so that only the corners were being forced or the tool steel is rounded for the portion going into the handle. I have both examples in my purchased tools.

The tool steel is normally a tight fit in the handle and is also normally glued in. I used 2 part epoxy.


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## RusDemka (Jun 9, 2012)

My very first tool I made for myself I put it on my lathe and used my grinder to round off the corners, and the second tool I left them square and used a two part epoxy, both tools work perfect, the first one was more work and pointless...

Got wood? Turn it.....


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## NCPaladin (Aug 7, 2010)

The metal collar (ferrell) is to keep the wood from splitting and typically has nothing to do with holding the tool in the handle
When I made one I used a square hole collet and tapped for a set screw. The collet is about 3” long. 
I assume you are grinding the end to accept the cutter? With a 4” side grinder it would be quick work to round over 3” at the tang to fit into a round hole, does not need to be perfect. This would leave more wood since the diameter would be less.
Or… make a handle with a chuck (I have a ¼” and a ½” chuck on a stick). Round over the last 1 ½” and chuck it up.
Or…get some square tubing to fit, make a handle blank and split, cut a dado for the tubing and epoxy back together, turn to your desired shape. You would probably need access to a wire welder or brazing to add a small length (1/2”) at the tip to support the set screw. 
Can you tell I am not a fan of having 20 handles when 3 will do?


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## RusDemka (Jun 9, 2012)

NCPaladin said:


> The metal collar (ferrell) is to keep the wood from splitting and typically has nothing to do with holding the tool in the handle
> When I made one I used a square hole collet and tapped for a set screw. The collet is about 3 long.
> I assume you are grinding the end to accept the cutter? With a 4 side grinder it would be quick work to round over 3 at the tang to fit into a round hole, does not need to be perfect. This would leave more wood since the diameter would be less.
> Or make a handle with a chuck (I have a ¼ and a ½ chuck on a stick). Round over the last 1 ½ and chuck it up.
> ...


I don't grind the ends to accept the cutter, I mill them in my machine shop with a special bit. That's a good idea on making one handle to take multiple tools, the only problem I see is changing it out when I use them all on one project...

Got wood? Turn it.....


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## mijunkin (Jan 22, 2012)

I was thinking to just do the 2 part epoxy trick, but wanted to see how others did it before I tried and regretted it for some unforeseen reason.

For the metal collar do you guys buy them and shape your handle to fit, or do you all have access to fancy machine shops?


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

mijunkin said:


> For the metal collar do you guys buy them and shape your handle to fit, or do you all have access to fancy machine shops?


Some people purchase the brass ferrules, like this link. Note price is per 5 pieces.

http://www.packardwoodworks.com/Mer..._Code=packard&Category_Code=tools-hand-brafer

Some people cut a piece of copper pipe.

Some people use copper end cap fittings and drill a hole. This is done to get the slightly rounded appearance vs straight pipe.

Some people use brass nuts and turn them on the lathe. Brass is soft and will turn with normal turning tools.

Forgot the Lee Valley ferrules.
http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=30021&cat=1,41504


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## RusDemka (Jun 9, 2012)

mijunkin said:


> I was thinking to just do the 2 part epoxy trick, but wanted to see how others did it before I tried and regretted it for some unforeseen reason.
> 
> For the metal collar do you guys buy them and shape your handle to fit, or do you all have access to fancy machine shops?


I have access to a fancy machine shop, but I still make copper ferrels as Dave explained, menards have them at .34-1.25 each depending on size you want, I ussually do 3/4 for small tools and 1" for the large roughing carbide tools..

Got wood? Turn it.....


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

I turn brass ferrule's out of large compression nuts that you can get from the hardware. They are hex shaped and have threads. I turn the wood down to just a hair larger than the ID of the threads. Then I thread it on the wood. I back it back off and put some epoxy on and then thread it back on. These will never come loose where a ring ferrule will eventually due to wood movement. If you look close at commercial ferrule's on your tools you will see a dent somewhere. This is where they stamped a dent in to press on the wood and hopefully keep it from falling off when the wood shrinks a lot. You can easily turn the Hex compression nut into a round piece using standard HSS wood lathe tools.
to insert the shaft of the tool into the handle I do several things. one is to simply drill a round hole big enough and put epoxy in. I drill a very tiny hole through the side of the handle near the bottom of the tool hole. This lets epoxy come out when you force the handle in. If you don't do this the epoxy can force the tool back out of the handle due to the compression of air. The little hole realeases this trapped air along with some epoxy which fills the hole of course. I just wipe off the excess that comes out.
For square pieces or tapered pieces I drill round holes just a hair smaller. Then I heat the end of the tool red hot, let it cool until just loses the red and then drive it in the handle. It burn it's own shape in the wood and usually won't come back out. I don't even use glue on these. For the tapered tangs I might drill several different sized holes depending on how the steel is shaped.


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## duncsuss (Aug 21, 2009)

john lucas said:


> I turn brass ferrule's ... heat the end of the tool red hot, let it cool until just loses the red and then drive it in the handle. It burn it's own shape in the wood and usually won't come back out


Thanks John, I followed your advice when I put a handle on my Thompson detail gouge and it worked perfectly for that round tool.

This time it's a square bar -- would you put the ferrule on first then drive the (red-hot) tool into the handle?


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## john lucas (Sep 18, 2007)

I finish the handle completely before inserting the tool. I forgot to mention 2 things. After I insert the hot tool I run cool water over the metal just below the Ferrule to cool the metal down more quickly. The wood acts as in insulator and keeps it quite warm. 
On small tools sometimes I will clamp a pair of vise grips on the tool near the ferrule to act as a heat sink to keep from damaging the temper of the tool. Probably not necessary but easy enough to do.


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## owlelope (Jan 29, 2009)

*tool handle*

I took a piece of wood better than twice the length of the handle I wanted to turn, put a dado blade in the table saw to match the width of the steel and cut a dado half the width of the steel. I cut in half and glued the two pieces together and then added another piece of contrasting wood the same size as the glued up pieces. I then mounted this on the lathe and turned the handle. This worked real well with a little epoxy glue.


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## BassBlaster (Nov 21, 2010)

I just drill an oversize hole to accept the square shaft and use epoxy to fill the voids. Works just like if the shaft was round. For the collet, I use a 1" copper pipe coupling cut to the proper length. you should turn the end of the handle so its a snug fit for the collet but I also rub a little epoxy on that end before putting the collet on just for a bit of extra insurance. I really like Johns idea of the brass nut but I havnt been able to find the nut locally by itself. I found it as part of some type of repair kit but it costs $15 that way. The copper coupling is 90 cents.


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