Importance

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Abstract

In a process for manufacturing a handle for a hand tool, resin-coated fibers are pultruded to form an elongate, substantially hollow fiber-resin composite rod having a first end for attachment to a tool head. A glass filament is wound about a longitudinal axis of the composite rod adjacent to the rod's first end, after which an encasement over the filament is molded onto the rod. For increased strength, the filament may be first coated with a thermo-setting resin and, after wrapping the filament about the rod, the resin is cured prior to the molding step. The resultant tool handle, particularly useful in applications with, for example, lopping shears, may be very lightweight and yet exhibit superior strength characteristics in comparison with standard composite handles manufactured in a pultrusion manufacturing process. Preferably the resultant tool handle includes a substantially hollow core that extends the length of the handle, core includes a lightweight filler extending along a first portion thereof and a relatively strong reinforcing section extending along a second portion. The reinforcing section is located adjacent to the first end of the rod that is intended to withstand greater stress than the remainder of the handle.

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First Claim