Handled some Old Hammers

[bobasaurus]

I bought these old heads off ebay and made handles for them out of ash.  I also dressed the faces and edges using an 80 grit belt.  Finished with boiled linseed oil.  They have an oval cross section to avoid twisting in my hand.  I've been using the right two a lot recently and noticed the wedges don't like to stay in place.  I might have to make thicker wedges, or glue them in place then use a metal cross wedge.  

[ThomasPowers]

Checked to see if one side of the eye was wider than the other?

[bobasaurus]

The eyes seemed pretty even.  I have the kerfs running 2/3 through the eyes, and they seemed very tight as I hammered them in.  It's a bit of a mystery.  

[ThomasPowers]

Dryness of the handle stock?  I had to reset over 100 handled tools when I moved from Ohio to NM and the desert had it's way with them.  Most I just reset trimmed the excess off the top of the handle and soaked in linseed oil till it wicked above the head.  Some required new handles.  Only a few needed a second go.

[bobasaurus]

They were kiln-dried boards bought from a reputable hardwood dealer near me.  I even tried removing the wedges, trimming them shorter so they would penetrate farther, then hammering them about 1/4" deeper than my last attempt (to the point where I didn't think it was possible to move them deeper).  It's like the vibration from hammering gradually jostles them out of place.  

I did oil the ends with BLO, maybe they could use a soak though.  

I also wonder if the cross wedging is working against me.  Maybe just a single kerf following the grain works better.  

[ThomasPowers]

In my area the relative humidity can get *below* that of kiln dried wood from other places.  I let my hammer handles "soak" for a year on my rack before I use them, (I stock up when I go through the Ozarks and then store them on a 2 wire rack so I always have some when I need one.)  Also back when I worked in the wood shop in AR we would test each semi load of wood coming in to make sure it was as low as claimed too. (We bought red oak, walnut and tulip poplar by the semi load---not a cheap process! Only had to refuse a load or two as out of spec before we generally got good ones.)  Soaking is generally better; I'm familiar with two suggested ones: linseed oil and antifreeze as antifreeze is an attractive poison for bets and other animals I won't have a tray of it left in the shop---usually when I handle  several tools I check the rack and deal with any others that have not stayed tight and soak them as well

I have run into a couple of tools that just would not stay tight---probably good ones to use the handle setting gunk on.  I'm tooled up enough that I can generally add them to the "scrap metal" bucket to be reforged into something else---including redrifting the eye...

[VaughnT]

Gotta say that's some mighty nice work.  I like the shape of the handles and how they bring out the lines of the heads.  

 

I always have problems with handles coming a little loose after awhile.  I have tried every wedging technique imaginable, as well as using carpenter's glue and epoxy to fill any gaps between the head and handle.  To date, no luck in keeping the heads on rock solid.

[bigfootnampa]

Here's what I do, and it works pretty well.  I put in a wood wedge that is glued as well... then cross wedge with two hand forged metal wedges.  I usually make the metal wedges from 1/4" mild steel rod flattened... sometimes I use small rebar instead.  I hammer the wedges in then use a 4 1/2" grinder with cut-off wheel to trim them flush.  The final and CRITICAL step is to slightly dampen the 1/4" of protruding handle and pound the wedges on in as I mushroom the wooden handle end!  This way the handle is compressed in the socket and the mushrooming prevents any backing of the wedges and retains the head even if there is slight loosening.  A strong and durable system... but I still check and retighten every year or so.  Black smithing is an extreme test of handle joints and vigilance is advisable!

BTW... this system precludes the neat looking sanded flush factory appearance, BUT it keeps the handles quite secure for actual users!

[ThomasPowers]

I like to use the tag ends of pattern welded billets to make wedges from; just for the crogglement value when you tell folks...

[SLAG]

Have you tried tapping (or chiseling), some tiny barbs along the long axis of the metal wedge. The barbs should be pointing down toward  the base of the hammer handle?

Yes it's a pain, but it might just be useful where a particular hammer head refuses to stay set.   SLAG.

[bobasaurus]

Slag, my wedges are all wooden right now (walnut).  I could try making barbed metal wedges.  It would be good forging practice too, as I'm new at this.  

Bigfoot, I like your plan... might give it a try.  

[Nobody Special]

I've done well using homade round wedges set into the wooden ones. Take a small piece of black iron pipe or nipple, sharpen one end (single bevel on the outside grinds in pretty easy). Cut to length, clean with a file (using a grinder on something that short and sharpened can be ugly). Tried copper, but although it works, it folds over too easily, making it look kind of ugly.

[bobasaurus]

Round wedges from pipe is clever, I could give that a go.  I've made lots of small hammer handles and never had this kind of wedge trouble before.  These hammers do go through a lot, though.  

[arkie]

I don't know if this solution has been mentioned on IFI or not, but I ran across it somewhere on a smithing site...

The smith found a good fix for handles that loosen frequently, a product called Wonderlock 'Em or some spelling like that.  Basically, it is a type of cyanoacrylate like super glue, but penetrates.  Primary use is for rungs and staves on chairs and other furniture that become loose.  He tried it on hammer handles and it apparently worked fine.  I tried it on three hammers and they are still "tight as Dick's hatband".  I tapped the wedges (both metal and wood) snug beforehand.  You need to use it on a dry hammer handle, not one that has been treated with glycol, antifreeze, oil, epoxy, etc. so that the thin liquid will penetrate as far as possible.

[JHCC]

1 hour ago, arkie said:

I don't know if this solution has been mentioned on IFI or not, but I ran across it somewhere on a smithing site...

The smith found a good fix for handles that loosen frequently, a product called Wonderlock 'Em or some spelling like that.  Basically, it is a type of cyanoacrylate like super glue, but penetrates.  Primary use is for rungs and staves on chairs and other furniture that become loose.  He tried it on hammer handles and it apparently worked fine.  I tried it on three hammers and they are still "tight as Dick's hatband".  I tapped the wedges (both metal and wood) snug beforehand.  You need to use it on a dry hammer handle, not one that has been treated with glycol, antifreeze, oil, epoxy, etc. so that the thin liquid will penetrate as far as possible.

WonderLok 'Em is what Brent Bailey uses in his video about setting hammer handles. Swel-Lock is another fairly common brand.

[arkie]

That's the video I had seen.  Thanks for posting the link, JHCC.

I also like his technique of setting the handle, that is, hammering the butt end of the hammer rather than pounding the butt on a hard surface such as an anvil face.  I have used that method and it seems to work better for me.

[JHCC]

And here are some handle blanks from an ash tree we took down in the front yard, split and stacked to dry.

[arkie]

I just cut down a tall, straight 8" ash next to the house.  I need to split it up soon and cure it like you're doing.