Which epoxy to use to set tool steel into wood handles?

[Mark Goulais]

I wish to make wooden handles for hand tools. I need a way to set the tool steel into the handles. There are SOOOO many adhesives out there to choose from, it makes my head spin!
So I've come to the association for a solution that works well for others here. I appreciate recommendations!

 

[Matt Friedman]

In my experience, very few tools that you buy use any kind of adhesive, it's just friction fit. When I make tools, if I feel epoxy is needed, I just use basic 5 minute. I've used both of these and they work very well. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0C5CLHXW..._k0_1_6&=&crid=3UHNE5OC5H8A2&=&sprefix=starbo & https://www.amazon.com/Bob-Smith-In...012507&rdc=1&sprefix=bob+smith+,aps,95&sr=8-4

 

[hockenbery]

Like @Matt Friedman
On turning tools I just hit the bottom of the handle on a bench a few times this seats the tool for the life of the tool about 95% of the time. If a Tool gets loose it usually happens soon. I’ll tap again with a half dozen drops of thick CA.

 

[John Whitley]

I generally agree with Matt. That said, if you have a more challenging disparate material bond, perhaps where you're not able to get a really tight friction fit, then my go-to is West System's G-Flex. This is an epoxy designed for flexibility, and with a longer open and full cure time. The flexibility is specifically so that the bond can withstand materials which move differently: wood which moves with humidity (and not so much with temperature) and metal (which moves with temperature but not with humidity). I've successfully (with appropriate part prep) used this to create durable bonds between wood and Delrin, the latter a notoriously hard to bond plastic ("low surface energy"). I'll note that there are similar epoxies from other brands (e.g. System Three) and flexible adhesives in other chemistries (ala flexible CA glues). So feel free to look within your familiar product lines.

As a concrete example relevant to your question, I prefer G-Flex as extra insurance when assembling modular tool handles, for example when making custom handles using Robust's or other similar systems.

 

[Richard Coers]

Every epoxy adhesive will do the job. The forces are low that try to remove the steel from the wood. I’d wager to say that no adhesive is needed if you have a good fit on the wood that resists rotation.

 

[Sam Fleisher]

I don't make wooden handles but I do use this for my canes.

Epoxy Glue C-Tough | CECCORP - CECCORP

Epoxy Glue C-Tough | CECCORP is an industrial strength 2 part epoxy adhesive which is extremely tough. It's used for metal, glass, fiberglass, wood, etc.

ceccorp.ca

 

[John Tisdale]

Try G-Flex 655 from WEST - formulated for extreme tasks - cures in 24-hours at 40-degree
Fahrenheit. While it sets to machinability and feels dry, it maintains flexibility.
When you're in the WEST site, check our "Repairing the bottom of your boat while in the water",
An inexpensive jeweler scale is a good idea with this stuff.
And, as it's not the clear, pretty stuff, mixing in a little black pigment would make your tool more attractive.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

I use 5-min epoxy. Since epoxy is a gap filling glue, I also rough the surface of the steel with course grit paper (or a Dremel sanding bit, or bump it on a grinding wheel here and there...) to give the steel some tooth to hold the epoxy. If you have a snug hole, you could drill a perpendicular hole, 1/16" is all that's needed, through the side of the handle at the bottom of the tool hole, to allow air to escape while shoving the tool into the handle. This will make it easier to insert the tool. The epoxy will probably fill the hole, too, as you finish.

Here is what Richard Raffan does to hold a tool in a handle, no glue. This is an 11 minute video where he preps a couple new gouges for wood handles. Also explains his asymmetric bevel grind.

View: https://youtu.be/jg0i27WuPXQ?si=sr_lJch24_22w8TO

 

[John Tisdale]

Just read John Whitley post above - he's "spot-on"

 

[Doug Freeman]

I’ve made a lot of wood turning tool handles. Sometimes I use epoxy, sometimes not, depends on the fit. When I do the 5 min type works just fine.

For some tools the handle can get in the way and make resharpening more difficult. I use these tool handle adapters from Cindy Drozda (there are various other styles)

Cindy Drozda - Tool Handle Adapters

Elegant, Exquisite, Museum Quality Lidded Finial Vessels and Urns hand made by Woodturner and Artist, Cindy Drozda. Woodturning instruction, Demonstrations and Instructional DVDs.

www.cindydrozda.com

I use them for 5/8” bowl gouges and larger scrapers. I do use 5 min epoxy to keep the adapter in the handle.

 

[Don Stephan]

The fit is so tight I have to drive the handle onto the tool. Stopped using epoxy several handles ago, no problem. And the handle is SO much easier to drive off when it is time to replace the tool.

 

[Dave Hulett]

I wish to make wooden handles for hand tools. I need a way to set the tool steel into the handles. There are SOOOO many adhesives out there to choose from, it makes my head spin!
So I've come to the association for a solution that works well for others here. I appreciate recommendations!

a simple 5 minute epoxy will do. I've used both Locite and JB Weld. both work fine.

 

[Roger Wiegand]

I've got a lifetime supply of West systems epoxy left over from a boat building project my son never finished. Works great for this and every other application I've tried! It does take a few hours to set up even with the "fast" catalyst, so go with JB Weld 5 minute if you're impatient.

Removal is trivial with a little heat applied to the tool for pretty much any epoxy.

 

[John K Jordan]

I rarely fasten a tool permanently into a handle. The last time was in making a piano tuning "hammer" for a friend.
When I do, I use some epoxy, any kind seems fine. The forces and vectors are such that I don't think the type matters.



However, I do epoxy inserts into handles so the tool can be removed and replaced with another tool. Easy to make an insert from aluminum on the wood lathe (or from steel with the right lathe), epoxy it into the handle, hold the tool with set screws. I make nearly all handles this way now. Can keep more tools in less space.



One advantage is a deep hole allows setting the tool to a different extension depending on what I'm turning, or keep the same extension as a tool gets shorter with sharpening. Some tool makers are making handles with this feature now. IMO, these are far better than the quick-connect handles that hold the tool by the very end of the shaft.



The inserts I make, of course, are well epoxied into the handle. Grooves cut into the metal give the epoxy something to grab.
I've made dozens of handles this way. And uploaded the doc to this forum.


JKJ