ianinsa Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 I trust it's a wrecking tool? I think there are times when you use "horses for courses" Oval bed posts? is that so the restraints don't slip? :D :D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old N Rusty Posted September 7, 2012 Author Share Posted September 7, 2012 Ok,I was busting concrete and had no time to fit a stick . Any way a ten pound sledge is not a regular forging hammer, Wrist and elbow concerns are misapplied, one elevates the brute and HITS one time on two part dies , when it is ever used in the forge. I don't think wood is the best handle material for big sledges. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timothy Miller Posted September 7, 2012 Share Posted September 7, 2012 Sledge hammer handles are $5.50 new from house handle company. cheaper than 36" of pipe. You can set a handle if you have the right one less than 10 min about the same time it takes to weld it right. I keep a stock of extra handles on hand because stuff breaks but then again I'm a tool snob. Ill put out the extra little bit of effort to have my tools just so. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeremyP Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 a neihbor brought his pipe handled sledge over to help me pound some fence posts in at my place. his wife was holding the post as he was pounding, 6 swings into the operation the head of the sledge flew off and missed the wifes head by an inch. make sure u weld it good!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hillbillysmith Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 I have noticed that if you fill the pipe handle with sand and cap the end, it'll take the shock out of you're hands and such.... -Hillbilly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 Well a "REAL MAN" ought to use solid rod instead of pipe... hadn't he? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pault17 Posted October 1, 2012 Share Posted October 1, 2012 If your anvil is located near a post or solid wall, you can make a hinge bracket to secure the sledge in and use it as a quickee Oliver. Then the pipe would add to the mass. CurlyGeorge has a picture of a complicated one at http://www.iforgeiron.com/gallery/image/33441-oliver-hammer-with-electric-motor/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sarge420 Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 Why are we so upset about this? Is it the weight? The ugly? Or is this just a no no? I'm extremely new to the welding world. But I've thought for a long time that my ultimate zombie weapon would be a 4lb wedge head sluggo welded onto a 4-6 ft iron handle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 Welcome from the Ozark Mountains. Wood handles absorb a lot of the shock/vibration when an item is struck. Steel handles seem to amplify the shock/vibration and transmit it to your joints. Long time use can give one tendinitis, ask me how I know that. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s. Semper Paratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 Welcome aboard, Sarge, from 7500' in SE Wyoming. Glad to have you. This thread is 10 years old and almost all the folk who commented are no longer active or have passed on (RIP Thomas and Frank Turley). IMO the reason using a piece of pipe for a sledge handle is that it will transmit the shock of the impact to your hands and arms much better than wood or fiber glass and you will tire much more quickly. Yes, it would be solid and you can whack something with it but it is not good for your body if you use it for more than a few blows. So, IMO, not best practice. BTW, please put your general location in your profile. This is a world wide forum and we can't tell if you are in Kansas, Lapland, or Tasmania. I'm assuming that you are veteran with a handle like "Sarge." There are a pretty fair number of vets here, probably more than the general population. What was your branch, MOS, and time of service? "By hammer and hand all arts do stand." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 Welcome aboard Sarge, glad to have you. If you put your general location in the header you'll have a better chance of meeting up with members living within visiting distance. Lots of things have a strong location component like equipment, fuel, etc. availability, for instance anvils you can find anywhere in Bavaria are as rare as hen's teeth in Arizona. I won't use a hammer with a steel pipe handle or allow one in my shop. As said above they conduct shock forces into your hands that wood or fiberglass don't, the round shape makes it harder to keep the hammer face aligned where you want it and last but not least, steel pipe handle really throws the balance off for a hammer. A hammer should be weight forward, no counterbalance desired or welcome. On the other hand if we're talking zombie apocalypse then the zombie's skull absorbs the impact shock so a steel pipe handle wouldn't be a personal injury hazard. Of course you'd better be in a slow zombie apocalypse or your 4' steel sluggo would be lower than I'd bet my life on. I'm a B'ball bat zombie splasher type myself. The farriers can tell you about hammers with whippy handles. It's a thing, honest. A new welder eh? What type, certifications? What do you want to make at the anvil? Have any smithing gear yet? Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 When I was doing railcar repair work I welded a 1-1/2" (?)× 16" (?) solid steel round bar onto a sledge head for a handle. The electrical maintenance man built up a bunch of heat shrink tubing on part of the handle to absorb a bit of the shock from hammer blows. We did a lot of plate and sheetmetal fitting and I spot welded the handle end to the plate to bring them into alignment through leverage for tacking. The sledge head was used for setting "hot tacks". It sure beat dragging around dogs and wedges, leverage bars, a sledge etc. But it wasn't as repetative as working at the anvil. That hammer is lost somewhere in the past, I wish I still had it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buzzkill Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 We had a 20 pound Monster Maul with an oval hollow steel handle for splitting wood I used quite a bit as a teenager. I think the wood absorbed enough of the shock that it wasn't horrible on the hands. If you did end up missing your mark and caught the wood on the handle it would definitely send a jolt up through the arms. We also had a knock off brand with a round handle that vibrated a bit on the strikes, so they are not all created equal. The chainsaws always bothered my hands more than mauls though. I'd sometimes have to pry my fingers open after using one of the chainsaws without a dampening frame all day long. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
George N. M. Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 Frosty brings up a good point, keeping the hammer aligned in your hands. If you are using a sledge hammer with a "round house" swing, where, after impact you swing it past your leg and up behind your shoulder for a second blow, it would be much harder to keep the head aligned with the plain of the swing with a round pipe handle. With sn oval or faceted (Frosty's favorite) handle the hands naturally realign the head during the swing. There are reasons that particular shapes and materials for tools have evolved as the most optimum over the centuries and millenia thst a paericular type of tool has been in use. I suspect that a Neolithic stone maul with a stone head had its handle carved into an oval shape. "By hammer and hand all arts do stand.' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scott NC Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 19 minutes ago, Buzzkill said: The chainsaws always bothered my hands more than mauls though. I'd sometimes have to pry my fingers open after using one of the chainsaws without a dampening frame all day long. Any time I use a chainsaw, these days, I get the shakes in my arms and hands. Same with a weedeater. I don't know what causes it but it fades away after a few hours. I learn not to do these things before supper. Hard to operate a fork.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irondragon Forge ClayWorks Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 I have the same problem with my fingers locking up. Especially if I become dehydrated, bad about not drinking enough water of Gator Aid while working in the forge or yard. Hydration seems to help me avoid that problem. I can't control the wind, all I can do is adjust my sail’s. Semper Paratus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frosty Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 Hydration is important, very. I started taking a magnesium supplement daily and I don't suffer "trigger finger" or cramps. A bottle of "Theraworx" topical magnesium will ease cramps in seconds. There are lots of topical magnesium ointments, creams, gels, etc. I sure wish I'd known about them decades ago. Learn when to shut strongly vibrating power tools off and take a break. Things like chainsaws or gas powered hot saws can hurt you. . . to death. Frosty The Lucky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bwoollcombe Posted August 23, 2023 Share Posted August 23, 2023 +1 for knowing when to stop. Even at the anvil my hammer can suddenly gain weight and that's when the mis hits happen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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