Repair old wooden handles with glue and clamps.
Wood handles on items such as rakes, shovels, gardening utensils or even hammers take a real beating. Over time they invariably split. But you don't need to discard them. You can repair a split handle with wood glue and clamps. Modern wood glue is strong enough to permanently repair almost any split. Glue seams are actually stronger than the wood itself and once you glue a seam, it won't ever come apart in the same place again.
Instructions
1. Insert the tip of a putty knife into the split handle. Force it down as far as it will go. If it penetrates through the other side, that's fine.
2. Pry sideways on the handle of the putty knife to open the split. Insert the tip of a glue bottle into the split as far as you can and squeeze the bottle to inject glue along the length of the split.
3. Slide the putty knife up and down inside the split as far as you can to smear the glue. Add more glue if needed to completely saturate the crack with glue.
4. Place clamps on opposing sides of the split, 2 inches apart, along the length of the split. Tighten the clamps until glue oozes out the length of the split. Wipe off the wet glue with a damp cloth. Wait 24 hours for the glue to dry.
5. Remove the clamps. Wrap the handle with 80 grit sandpaper and slide it up and down until all the residual glue is gone and the handle is smooth. Wipe the handle down with a cloth saturated in linseed oil.
Tags: length split, putty knife, along length, along length split, glue clamps, handle with
