>
>
> Snip
> My experience has been just the opposite, that fitting a handle to a
> socket chisel is much more fuss and work than fitting a tang chisel. The
> inside of the socket is rarely uniformly tapered
>
> I've fitted tang handles by burning in and by reaming with the tang.


 overall I think the tang handles easier to set in place.
>
> Tom Conroy

Snip

Yes fitting truncated cones into sockets can be a pain because you need the
major and minor diameters and the exact length plus the little extra you
need- the allowance for compression into the socket- (depending on which
wood you have to hand to make the handle).  This is only if you mean to use
the shoulder of the socket as support, as the OEM intended on some heavier
chisels with a nice thick rolled lip, designed for mallet use in house or
boat construction.  Shorter, thin socket chisels (some of which have been
ground off to remove ballooning by 'hammer mechanics' beating chisels with
a -gasp- steel hammer rather than an appropriate mallet) sometimes came
from the manufacturer with handle socket cones that extended upwards with
no wood shoulder to rest on the lip. I have a few of those with thick
leather washers fitted on a button of wood left on the end of the handle.
 On modern faux-socket-tang chisels, the kind with synthetic (plastic )
handles of whatever kind typically come with a four sided tang that is not
tapered, and a strong base to support the handle to prevent the handle from
advancing further down the chisel with use (BTW, to remove these, clamp
your chisel blade in a good wood lined vise, vice grip the synthetic
handle, and whack the cheap handle off with a mallet,  ie if the handle is
ugly- i.e. chewed up beyond polishing out with plastic buffing compound).
Old school tangs were tapered to a point and meant to be 'burned in' to a
 wooden handle.  Very old US and some Brit chisels came with simple
octagonal handles, usually with a moderate taper, but I don't find these
too often anymore.  There was often some 'fullering' or flat made at the
bottom of the tang (nearest the chisel shoulder) to prevent the handle from
being split, but not always.  Slender paring chisels often did not have
anything except the tang, whereas 'pig sticker' mortise chisels had huge
bases.  Everything was made 'fit for purpose', wasn't it?
Cheers
Claudio