Question on a sledge handle

[petere76]

Gents,

I came across an old sledge (head 4 LBS) . Nicely done but without a handle. The hole for the handle is not oval or square but round. I have seen old wooden mallets with this type fitting but never anything made from iron. The hole is done right with a 1/2 inch center and a taper out to 5/8, in a modifed hourglass shape. I want to put a shaft on this thing but I'm not sure of how to shape the handle so it resists splintering. I can turn it down to a round but that leaves a shoulder and will not last long in service. I can easily forge a new hole in any number of more conventional sizes but I'd like to keep the same lines on the sledge head.

Anyone have any experience or suggestions with this type handle configuration? Thanks,
Peter

[dkunkler]

That sounds like way too small of a hole for a 4 pound sledge. I think you need to open it up some to fit a decent sized handle.

[Mainely,Bob]

You may want to look for a name on it and do a spark test.Most of the hammerheads I have come across with a round hole and were factory made were made out of cast iron and meant to be used for masonry or stone work.
If there`s no maker`s mark then all bets are off as there`s no rules for home made.

[arftist]

I have a few of those...they are definitely shaped like stone working tools.

I would drift them out to a reasonable size and shape. I reworked one into a good straight peen.

[HWooldridge]

Whether cast iron or steel, every smith needs at least one big hammer for swatting things you would otherwise have to strike with a good forging hammer (and risk a mark on the face that would subsequently show up in the work). Chisels, punches, swages and blacksmith helper jigs fall into this category. I would sand a generous transition into a standard handle, wedge it and be done. If it doesn't hold up, then go ahead with drifting the eye into an oval - otherwise, don't make extra work where none may be needed...

BTW, you may already know this but if the head is cast, you'll have to machine to size as it will not hold up to forging.

[petere76]

Gents.

Thanks for your replies.

I am sure ths is not cast, most certainly its forged. I too am leaning toward reforging and drifting to a more conventional eye size. There is a makers mark on the bottom but it is not discernable. That said, the next question will be the (always exciting) treating process. I have forged hammers in the past, but I always knew what the material was. For me, this is basicaly a mystery materal, let the guessing begin. I'll go with, aneal, drift the eye , aneal again, forge to shape, aneal again, dress, file grind etc, aneal again and rest. Heat to non-mag solid color no shades, hold for a short time, quench the ends but not the (eye) middle. Allow the piece to rest overnight. I'm thinking this procedure is longer but more of sure thing. I dont do this all the time so any suggestions...just fire away.

Photo of sledg head attached or review.

Thanks again
Peter

[Mainely,Bob]

Why all the annealing?
I would just heat and forge to whatever stage you decide to end the day on.If the hammer is not completed and heat treatment begun then just normalize rather than anneal.
My understanding is that you just want to reduce stresses in the part not make it as soft as possible.

There seems to be some confusion on this forum between the terms anneal and normalize just like there is between quench and cool.These are two different terms and mean completely different things.

I`d also do a spark test on that hammer head.That looks almost identical to a Trow&Holden stone mason`s hammer I have and mine is made from cast iron.

[petere76]

Bob,

Thanks, I'll do a spark test this morning before I invest too much time in this thing. If it is cast I'll just turn something that fits.

Given and unkown material like we tend to find in yard sales or at the dump, I prefer anealing over normalizing because with normalizing (air cooled) I have had failures in the past. A simple anealing process using a pail of ash or lime, is more consistent but obviously takes longer. I don't have a control temp oven so the bucket method is my next best thing.

Peter

[Mainely,Bob]

When you say failures could you explain a little?
Were these failures possibly caused by stresses left in the piece?

I`m just wondering if your aim is to relieve stress in the piece or to make it as soft as possible in order to do work such as filing or machining or doing other cold work to it.

[petere76]

Bob,

I forged out some set tooling out of scrap masons hammers (stanley) . I anealed at the outset, forged and normalized. Left them on the bench to cool. Later I ground and filed to finish the shape and dressed the edges. I heated to a non mag temp (slightly higher) and i made sure it was uniform shade with no dark spots. Then I quenched in brine, drew to a bluish color and plunge cooled the whole piece. In service the tooling end worked fine but the shaft sections would break. It showed a fine grain structure at the fractures. Not sure where I went askew. As I mentioned I don't so this a lot so there is some trial and much error involved.

By comparision, I made some hammers (2 Lb cross peen) out of forklift tines. The stuff was hard to work but easy to heat treat. The hammers have stood the test of time, no problem save for an occasional misguided ding by the this operator.

I was down in BB and Scotty for a few weeks visiting friends, stayed at a place over in Bristol. The strippers were running and the weather was fantastic.

Peter

[Mainely,Bob]

Peter,not saying you were doing anything wrong,please don`t think that for a minute.I was just wondering if maybe I had some info that might save you a few steps and time.
As I`ve said in the past,nothing trumps success.If your approach works for you and you`re happy with it then don`t let me interfere with your program.Pay no attention to this man behind the curtain.

Let me know in advance when you plan to come to the coast again and I`ll give you my phone number so we can meet for coffee in the Ha-ba.
The wife caught a 38 lb striper last time we were out.Big fun,literally!Shame you can`t keep `em,they used to be real good on the grill.

[petere76]

Hey Bob,

No worries brother. We always find the solution; its usually in the last place we all look. Not likely this will be the last time I am on the wrong tack, but its all about the journey, as they say. Will certainly touch base and hopefully splice the main brace when time permits, All the best my friend.

Peter

[arftist]

Peter,not saying you were doing anything wrong,please don`t think that for a minute.I was just wondering if maybe I had some info that might save you a few steps and time.
As I`ve said in the past,nothing trumps success.If your approach works for you and you`re happy with it then don`t let me interfere with your program.Pay no attention to this man behind the curtain.

Let me know in advance when you plan to come to the coast again and I`ll give you my phone number so we can meet for coffee in the Ha-ba.
The wife caught a 38 lb striper last time we were out.Big fun,literally!Shame you can`t keep `em,they used to be real good on the grill.

You can't keep one striper to eat? is that something new? Just in Maine?

[Mainely,Bob]

You can't keep one striper to eat? is that something new? Just in Maine?

With all the pollution in the sediment in the Kenebec and Androscoggin rivers from the paper mills,packing plants and the shipyards you wouldn`t really want to eat more than one and they say not to let young children or pregnant women eat them at all.

[John McPherson]

What you have found is a mason's hand drilling hammer head, or single jack, and they are made soft faced to use with hardened steel tools like punches, chisels, star drills, feathers & wedges, etc. without face chipping. The soft rough face grips the tool better than a hardened, polished face would. Generally the faces are not parallel, but at an angle to facilitate striking a tool head closer to the chest than belt level. I use one as the beater on hot cuts, etc. to save my good hammer faces.

I am thinking of painting the beater hammerheads yellow so that my students will do the same. Nothing ruins the day faster than finding a hammer face that you just polished looking like the moon. ***

Handles should be available, and are only about 12" long. Or you can make one out of a broken regular hammer handle. Seems like every old ball peen I find cheap has the neck chipped from overstrikes. That and broken sections of shovel handles + a drawknife = perfect replacements for handled top tools.


*** Go ahead, ask me how I really feel about students and tools.