The Armour Archive

My hammer heads all seem to get loose. I use wedges to attach them. How to you keep them on tightly?

Talbot wrote:My hammer heads all seem to get loose. I use wedges to attach them. How to you keep them on tightly?

Wedges, steel and/or wood depending on the size of the hammer, and keep an eye on humidity.

Wood will shrink when the humidity drops, and hickory is no exception. So the wedges shrink, and the handles shrink where they sit in the "eye" and it causes loose heads.

A long wooden wedge front to back with a small metal wedge cross-ways in the center of the handle can help, sometimes.

Talbot wrote:My hammer heads all seem to get loose. I use wedges to attach them. How to you keep them on tightly?

Well, I don't know about armouring hammers...BUT...as a carpenter, when my hammer becomes loose and wedges don't work real well...I soak them overnight in anti-freeze..works better than water and doesn't evaporate that fast...Just a thought....O don't let your dog like them afterwards..might be a bad thing..

Mine get loose in the winter and tight again in the summer. I know that some people soak their hammers in water which causes the wood to swell and get tight but it crushes fiber structures and when they get dry they get even looser as a result. Short of a humidity controlled work shop the best I can think of is maybe linseed oil so the fibers don't dry out.

Personally I'm a hobbiest and I get by with smacking the handle into the anvil to settle the head until that gets to be too big of a pain and then I drive in a new wedge. Some hammers on on their 4th wedge and really need to be re-hafted.

Sean

When I moved from totally damp OH to NM where we have a large number of single digit humidity days all my tool handles became loose (and I moved 150 wooden handled tools!)

So I reset the handles, re-wedged them and then took a small tray and stood them up in it and filled it with linseed oil letting it soak in till I could see it above the handle steel joint; Then I would remove them, wipe down the steel faces and bodies with a rag and wipe the handles with that rag as well to give a thin linseed coating to it as well. Took weeks of cycling them through. Several years later I think I have had to reseat *1* hammer.

I've heard good things about antifreeze but it's so toxic to animals to have a tray of it laying about the place.

WARNING linseed oil impregnated rags should be stored/discared under water to prevent spontaneous combustion---you have been *warned*!

Thomas

Thomas Powers wrote:When I moved from totally damp OH to NM where we have a large number of single digit humidity days all my tool handles became loose (and I moved 150 wooden handled tools!)

So I reset the handles, re-wedged them and then took a small tray and stood them up in it and filled it with linseed oil letting it soak in till I could see it above the handle steel joint; Then I would remove them, wipe down the steel faces and bodies with a rag and wipe the handles with that rag as well to give a thin linseed coating to it as well. Took weeks of cycling them through. Several years later I think I have had to reseat *1* hammer.

I've heard good things about antifreeze but it's so toxic to animals to have a tray of it laying about the place.

WARNING linseed oil impregnated handles should be stored/discared under water to prevent spontaneous combustion---you have been *warned*!

Thomas

I know linseed on a crumpled rag has burned down a number of shops, but _in_ wood? I wouldn't think it would get enough oxygen to combust.

the thing I've always heard was to soak the heads in glycerine, I've never tried it though. I just jamb the head down on the handle a bit more and drive the wedge in further and if necessary add another wedge... do you have a wood wedge in first, running the long way and then 1 or 2 steel wedges across that?

but they do dry out in the winter...

V

I soak in water....

spray WD40 on the actual head...or grease the head up.

Then dunk.

...but honestly, one of these days Im gonna weld on metal handles.

Ive got a hammer with a metal shaft but the handle section is thinned so one can rivet in wooden grips. The metal shaft last virtually forever and the wooden grips absorb a lot of the pounding stresses that would otherwise go into your hand.

Thomas Powers wrote:When I moved from totally damp OH to NM where we have a large number of single digit humidity days all my tool handles became loose (and I moved 150 wooden handled tools!)

So I reset the handles, re-wedged them and then took a small tray and stood them up in it and filled it with linseed oil letting it soak in till I could see it above the handle steel joint; Then I would remove them, wipe down the steel faces and bodies with a rag and wipe the handles with that rag as well to give a thin linseed coating to it as well. Took weeks of cycling them through. Several years later I think I have had to reseat *1* hammer.

I've heard good things about antifreeze but it's so toxic to animals to have a tray of it laying about the place.

WARNING linseed oil impregnated handles should be stored/discared under water to prevent spontaneous combustion---you have been *warned*!

Thomas

mmm... ... .. if you're storing your hammers with their handles in water, how can you tell if the linseed oil has done anything at all about the way the heads fit ?

When my hammer heads get loose I take some thin roofing nails, knock them into the top of the handle halfwayup their length, then bend them out over the hammerhead tightly to keep it in place. Works great.

Thomas Powers wrote:
WARNING linseed oil impregnated handles should be stored/discared under water to prevent spontaneous combustion---you have been *warned*!

Thomas

Isn't linseed oil a common wood treatment. If it is used on furniture why should it be a problem on hammers?

Talbot wrote:

Thomas Powers wrote:
WARNING linseed oil impregnated handles should be stored/discared under water to prevent spontaneous combustion---you have been *warned*!

Thomas

Isn't linseed oil a common wood treatment. If it is used on furniture why should it be a problem on hammers?

Well, wood isn't usually _soaked_ in it.

Boiled linseed oil is used as a finish raw linseed doesn't really dry ( or at least too slowly to matter)

Ever try the tubular hammer wedges Centaur Forge sells ?

Cet wrote:Boiled linseed oil is used as a finish raw linseed doesn't really dry ( or at least too slowly to matter)

Ever try the tubular hammer wedges Centaur Forge sells ?

I've seen them used on a number of throwing axes, and I have heard rave reviews from the throwers.

I suspect most folks who use "raw" linseed oil mix it to produce a drying effect. I've seen a number of recipes for home-brew finishes that cut it with a dryer of some sort or another.

I was having trouble with this, so I drove a three inch nail through the top, leaving about an inch sticking out, and bent it over the side. One on each side. Its kinda redneck, but it works great.

Cet wrote:Boiled linseed oil is used as a finish raw linseed doesn't really dry ( or at least too slowly to matter)

Ever try the tubular hammer wedges Centaur Forge sells ?

See, I'm not a wood guy. Shows what I know.


Ever use these tubular hammer wedges yourself?

Doug

If your looking for long term permance, add metal handles with the wooden grips. Nothing beats it. No maintence to worry about....ever.

Doug,

I just soak in water for a short time and use a light oil on the heads to control rust.

Never had a problem.

See, I'm not a wood guy. Shows what I know.


Ever use these tubular hammer wedges yourself?

No, but I've been meaning to and Maeyricks' review makes me want to even more- must be the time of year most of my hammers heads are loose right now too

Sorry I meant *rags* and have edited my post to leave all the replies hanging there swaying in the hot desert winds...

Metal handles kill your arm and joints bigtime! I would avoid them at all costs! Talk to carpenters who used eastwings until their Drs forbid them and how much downtime they has healing...

Thomas, Blacksmith.

Thomas Powers wrote:Sorry I meant *rags* and have edited my post to leave all the replies hanging there swaying in the hot desert winds...

Metal handles kill your arm and joints bigtime! I would avoid them at all costs! Talk to carpenters who used eastwings until their Drs forbid them and how much downtime they has healing...

Thomas, Blacksmith.

Solid metal handles yes....but not like the kind Im talking about.

My hammer handles are diamond shape up to the handle which is is shaped like an I...in between there are nice bit wooden handles/grips and Ive also wrapped them in two layers of duct tape. I could use this thing all day. For some reason the shape of the diamond, the wooden grips (which one could make out of rubber tire ...Ive thought of doing this) minimize the vibration to zilch. I hammer for about 6 hours a day...no problems.

Talbot wrote:
Ever use these tubular hammer wedges yourself?

Peddinghaus hammers come with them if that is any recommendation I have a couple and I cannot think of any of them coming loose.

Gentlemen,
There are some tricks to hafting hammers. I could wright if there is interest.

A good quick fix, if it's not too bad, is the product called "Chair-loc".

Mac

Mac wrote:Gentlemen,
There are some tricks to hafting hammers. I could wright if there is interest.

A good quick fix, if it's not too bad, is the product called "Chair-loc".

Mac

Please write more. I'd love it.

THe problem is.....my hammer eye balls keep coming loose when I hit them too much.

And sometimes my hammers bite me.

Why is this happening?

Hammer hafting involves three important things.

The eye of the head.
The wooden handle.
the wedges.

The eye must be slightly narrower in the middle. That is to say, the negative space of the hole must be very slightly hour glass shaped. About two to five degrees of taper will do. If your hammer eye is not tapered thus, you should make it so, with a rat tailed file if the eye is soft, or a ginding point in a Dremmel tool if hard. You smith types who are forging heads will swage them to shape.
You might think of the eye as having two tapers, which I will call proximal and distal. The proximal taper is the one which opens toward your hand (the handle side), and the distal taper opens away from your hand (this is where the wedges will go).

The handle should fill the eye completely, with the wood in perfect contact with the entire internal surface of the eye. Ideally, the wood would be lightly compressed but not crushed.

Fitting the handle to the proximal taper of the eye is an iterative process. Force the handle into the head by knocking the heel of the handle sharply on your anvil. Remove it by setting the head across the jaws of your leg vise and driving out the handle with a suitable punch. If the eye is rusty, it will leave marks on the handle. If not, you can color the inside of the eye with a sharpy marker. Remove the marks from the handle with a half round bastard file, or however else you like. Remove only the marks and no more. Keep track of which way the head is supposed to go on (I use the sharpy to put "witness marks" on the head and the handle). Repeat this process until the head is far enough on the handle. Remember, you want the wood to completely fill the proximal taper of the head. Never take a sliver of wood away if you don’t have to. When you are done with this stage, the handle will have a length of tapered section which exactly matches the proximal taper of the, followed by length of straight section which is exactly the size and shape of the narrowest place in the eye. This straight section is the part which will be split by the wedges to fill the distal taper of the eye, and you will be glad if you left as much wood here as possible. The large end of the tapered length should flow smoothly into the handle, and have a "shoulder" at the transition. If you have left a shoulder at the end of the taper you may regret it down the road, if the hammer ever needs knocked farther in to tighten it.

I always use a wooden wedge and one or two iron wedges. To prepare for the wooden wedge, make a vertical cut in the part of the handle which will occupy the distal taper of the eye. I use a band saw. This cut must be accurate. It should divide the straight section on the handle into a left and right , each with the same amount of wood. This cut should go almost, but not quite to the place where the taper begins. On no account cut beyond this point. It is the thinnest point on your handle and you can not afford to lose any wood here.

The wooden wedges which come with commercial handles are usually pretty good. The taper is about right. If the taper is to sharp, the wedge won’t spread the handle enough to fill the eye. If too blunt, the wedge will work it’s way back out in use. I cut my own on the band saw. I usually use poplar. In the past I’ve used padouk for it’s color, but they prove to be too hard and oily to stay. Blunt the point of the wooden wedge so it is the same width as the saw kerf in the handle. Cut the wedge to fit the height of the handle. It too should just barely pass the narrow of the eye. Make a line on the wedge so you will know it has bean driven to the bottom to the slot.

Prepare your iron wedge or wedges. I use commercial wedges, but I usually sharpen them a little. You must cut the wedges shorter so that there length is no greater than the distance from the distal surface of the head to the narrow of the eye. Cut off from the large end.

This is the part that happens quickly. Cover the wedge with glue. Using a slip of templating cardboard, get some glue in the slot. Set the wedge lightly into the slot in the handle, and assemble the head to the handle by deftly passing the end and glue covered wedge through the eye. Knock the head on well by striking the handle on the anvil, as before. Drive the wedge down to the mark with a hammer. The sound will change when it is " home". Wipe the glue off of everything, especially the face of the hammer you set the wedge with.

Cut off any wood which protrudes from above the head. Start your iron wedge or wedges in perpendicular to and cutting across the wooden wedge. Drive the iron wedge or wedges in . Coax them down flush with a punch or blunt chisel as needed. Grind everything smooth if you please. Check again that there is no glue left on your hammer face.

If done correctly the eye will be completely filled , and the head secure.

I’m dot saying that all my hammers are perfect, but some of them are.

Mac

I'm sorry that post got so freaking long, but I think there's meat in it.
Mac

That's good advice Mac, no apology necessary. Thanks!

That was great. Thanks

I soak my hammer handles in oil once a year , never had a problem with them getting loose. I usually make my own handles and always triple wedge them, one wood wedge then 2 steel wedges.



Jens

Ya know....another thing too...I dont have issues with any of my anal tapping hammers that I use to fiddle with edges, do light shaping, peining etc.

Its almost invariably my full size cross/straight peins and my raising hammers I use more frequently that have issues. ....logically.

And ironically my huge hammers dont.

Ive also found that making my own handles works better too.

These dont really apply perfectly here...but its worth a second to admire their brilliance:


Dovetailed and Wedged Tenon.


The fox joint:---brilliant joint--it blows me away at how genious the concept is....

bump for timeliness

I had problems with two in the workshop last light. I tried soaking one and soaking plus gorilla glue on the other.