Machete handle - fixed!

[amecks]

This is a US Navy machete by Sheffield, I have the canvas sheath somewhere in the garage.  Nothing special just a yard tool I use a lot.  We have 1 3/4 acres to tend.

The handle has been loose since I got it in 1985.  It finally let go.  I don't know exactly how to go about replacing the handle.  I've seen some of the work Tool Talk members do - amazing.  I don't need anything special - just functionality.

What kind of wood (or other material) should I look for?
How does it attach?  The original handle had rivets of steel.  I am not sure how you would rivet them on without breaking the wood.   I found some steel rivets but they are a size too large.

I found a couple pieces of oak in the garage.  Will they work?

Thanks. Al

[john k]

The oak will work, probably other woods would be better but use what you got.  Remove the rivets, epoxy one scale onto the steel.  Drill thru the holes in the steel, then epoxy the other side on.  Drill thru your predrilled side.  Use a rasp, file, spokeshave to shape.    Use soft nails for rivets.   Most people try to peen rivets down by using too hard of blows.  Peening requires many, many softer blows to shape the end without bending the rivet.   When you first put in a nail or rivet, have it extend an 1/8th inch above the wood, it will spread and make it all tight. 

[Papaw]

Brass rod is easy to use for rivets. Get an old toilet tank float rod.

[mvwcnews]

For a user tool, I'd go the low-road & glue the broken handle pieces together with gorilla glue.  I've got dog-eared fence boards, furniture -- you name it -- glued together with the stuff.  It weathers well, holds well & fills gaps.
I'm toying with the idea of using it to make a more secure handle to head attachment on some sledge hammers, picks, etc. that I'll be using in the next couple of years & that currently have broken handles.

[BruceS]

You can guess what happened to mine when it fell handle first into the leaf shredder.  My solution was a very big gob of epoxy putty,   I worked it to make a custom fit grip that exactly fit my hand grip by grabbing the still soft putty and making a perfect fit to my hand.   NO slipping out of sweaty wet hand now.

[amecks]

Good ideas.  John thanks for detailing out the process.  I will give it a try.  I found some rivets at work today that fit properly.
Al.

[HeelSpur]

You can do it the WV way;

[scottg]

I have used, well a lot of kinds of rod for rivets in my life. Nails, various bars, steel, copper and brass one ended rivets.

   But,............ for a first timer..........?   cutlers rivets are not that expensive. Try Lee Valley (.com)  These are 2 part, swat them together one time and they firm right up and lock.

 Just take off the handle and use it for a pattern to rough trace out your new handle.
Just trace it oversized for now.

  DRILL the rivet holes first!!  Mark though the frame and spot your holes. 
 
 Trying to place 3 holes perfectly -after- you cut it out, is............. well,  forget it.
   Your best shot is drilling the holes first and then fudging the pattern to fit. 

 Drill your new wood softly, especially when you are about to break though. The last wood your drill bit finally breaks though, is the side that shows in the end. So easy does it. 
     
  I like to assemble with 5 minute epoxy. From the hobby shop.  It sets fast, but best of all, its a slightly flexible resin.  That means it grips and absorbs shock better.
 The slower the set time, the harder the resin.  But you don't want hard. You want grippy and flexible.     
  5 minute epox is good stuff. 

 rasp, file, scrape, sand and polish as you like.
      yours Scott

[Chillylulu]

You can do it the WV way;

Did your shop teacher show Red Green re-runs?

Chilly

"If the women don't find you handsome, they should at least find you handy."
From the Red Green Show

[Branson]

Quickest fix is clean it well and epoxy everything together.  Better fix is to replace the broken scale (the wood is most likely beech).  Best fix would be to remake both scales of something nice, following Scott's advice.

[amecks]

Started last night and this morning before leaving for work. The scales are cut out (oversize) and I did use 5 minute epoxy, Scott (thank you for the how-to).  When I get home tonight both wood pieces will be set. I'll finish drill the other side and start rasping/filing/sanding.
I'll post a photo when it's done. (Don't expect it to look like Scott's work!).
Thanks.
Al.

Oh yeah. So the machete broke when I was using it this weekend to cut away the brush to get access to the "black caps" - wild black raspberries that grow around our property.  I collected a gallon of berries, added 1 1/2 cups sugar and a cup of water and boiled and strained to get over two quarts of thick raspberry sauce.  Tammy had made a lemon mango pie....

[Chillylulu]

I ate some of those wild blackberries once (3 or 4 times over a period of 2 weeks or so) in Tacoma, Washington in 1987. We were installing a fire sprinkler system on old helicopter hanger at the Army base there. One of the guys that went up there with me had lived in Northern Oregon for a couple of years and knew about them.

In Denver there isn't very much wild food. On its own it is very arid, almost no trees naturally except cottonwoods. We have some wild berries in the mountains west of here, service berrie bushes and wild rasberries. But not much and the bears need those.

I drove to New York 5 years ago with Mrs. Chilly. As we passed through Missouri the landscape became wooded. It was a new thing for us. We called it "brocolli hills"

Your syrup looks great! I want to head to the Northeast and go on a walkabout and maybe pick some of those berries, and pick a few tools up, too. Of course. Need to do it before the economy picks up too much, though

Okay, thats the intermission retrospective from Grandpa Chilly today. Has the glue set up yet? I want to see what you carve! Scott inspired another grease-under-the-nails-guy to carve some lumber. He's like a woodwork missionary.

Chilly ---- (waiting kinda patiently)

[amecks]

So, it's fixed!  I opted for Heelspur's WV method....

OK! OK! Just kidding - don't ban me from Tool Talk!!!



I had to recess the rivets because I made the handle a little thicker. It's still only one inch wide.  I used washers because I thought it would lessen chance of splitting the wood. 
Here's a shot with most of the tools I used.  The little block plane helped me take about an 1/8" off the thickness.  I mostly used the rasps and files and sandpaper. 


This is a mystery tool I found in the back of my toolbox.  It rounded the rivet edges nicely.

Thanks a whole lot for the help with this.  It's no piece of art like Scott's work and others I've seen here.  But it did turn out nice and solid and feels great in your hand.  Now to give it a good sharp edge.
Al.

[Papaw]

Great job! You can be proud of it.

[Chillylulu]

Well done!  Thanks for all the pictures.

Chilly