How to Fix Garden Tool Handles

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

Rate: (2 Ratings)

Just because the handle has cracked doesn't mean you have to bid good-bye to your favorite rake, hoe or shovel. Substituting a new wooden handle for the old one is easy--and much less expensive than replacing a good tool.

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Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

Replacement Wooden Handle
Wood Rasp
Punch
Bench Vise
Electric Drill
Galvanized Wood Screw
Hammer
Screwdriver
Smooth File

Step1

Take the broken tool to a hardware store or garden center and buy a replacement handle.

Step2

Clamp the tool blade in a bench vise.

Step3

Wriggle the handle out of the hasp or, if necessary, split the wood using an electric drill and pick out the pieces.

Step4

If the handle is fastened to the hasp by a rivet, file off the head. Then drive it through, using a hammer and punch.

Step5

For a wedged-in shovel handle, insert a punch through the hole at the bottom of the hasp and pound with a hammer.

Step6

Insert the new handle. (If necessary, file away some of the wood to make it fit.) Then, holding the tool by the working end, tap the handle on the ground until it slides into the hasp.

Step7

Drill through the rivet hole (if there is one) and into the new handle. Insert a galvanized wood screw that is slightly shorter than the diameter of the hasp.