Making a Sledge Hammer Handle
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ก.ย. 2024
- How I made a sledge hammer handle to fit a head that I was kindly given. I did buy a handle for less than £5 but the fit in the hole was far too sloppy and therefore dangerous.
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A few observations.
First, the handle is too broad. I've been hammering (blacksmithing) for over 30 years and have done a lot of striking for other smiths. That handle is way too thick and will cause the hands to fatigue rapidly. You should be able to nearly close your fingers in over a helve with maybe 1/2" gap between the heel of the hand and fingertips.
Second, the wedging was not quite correct, though serviceable. You cut your kerfs way too deeply - about 2x what they should have been. A good thing you did was drilling the stops at the ends. Most don't do that and it is better if you do. The center kerf should have been wedged first with wood. The other two should have been done with steel wedges, and driven THROUGH the wooden central wedge.
Afterward, place the head into a container of linseed oil and leave it for a week. The oil will swell the handle and once it polymerizes that handle will not be going anywhere, any time soon.
Good video - thanks.
Thank you for watching and for sharing your response.
Yes, the handle was very difficult to hold but, as a woodworker and not a toolmaker, I felt it was better to make it like this, creating more of a 'shoulder' for the tenon... Hey, I can always trim it down at some point!
I did get a bit carried away with the kerfs for the wedges. I can't explain why! Drilling holes is something I learned a few years ago and it'll always stay with me. Great tip on the use of linseed oil, too.
Thanks, Chris. Definitely, it's worth making a tool of an item that otherwise becomes a paperweight. I quite enjoyed the deviation from making run-of-the-mill things actually, along with the challenge of forming a handle without using a lathe.
Thank you for your comment. If I wasn't pressed for time (wanting to make it that morning so that I could use it after lunch), I would've gone down the more creative, individual route and I would've perhaps even made a softwood mock-up to first get a sense of the ergonomics.
It is a little bit thicker of wider than I find comfortable, to be honest but, that only means that I can shave it down some more. ;-)
what a beast of a hammer! Cleaning out the shop this weekend I found a hammer head with no handle. (not sledge just small one) I have kept a couple larger handles from my sledge that were broken. I suppose I should make a smaller handle from the large one. Nice job! That hammer should do whatever you need!
That's quite a beast of a hammer and probably making a good doorstop now. I know it's five years too late but the handle you bought was for about a seven pounder, a better buy would've been a pickaxe or mattock handle, more than enough meat on the end to make a good fit and made of the right timber. There should never be a hard shoulder behind the head, always a shallow rounded taper .
You're quite right; it has barely been moved in the five years since. But I quite enjoyed making the handle. I do appreciate your thoughts and will take them on board should I ever come to tackle something like this again.
Out of interest, can you tell me why the rounded taper is preferable to a tenon shoulder?
Thanks for watching and for your comment.
When you have a gentle taper behind the head when you're doing your final fitting, it'll go on until it becomes firm, when you have hard shoulder it'll go on until it seems firm but almost certainly wont be. A mortice and tenon is a great joint when joining rails or stretchers in a piece of furniture but not good when it comes to joining metal to wood with different expansions and the varying forces applied when the tool is in use. Have a look at any wooden handled hammers that you own.
Thanks for clarifying. I hadn't thought to even look at the (smaller) hammer I already own. It makes a lot of sense.
Great instructional video Olly, and as your man said below.........that is one helluva sledge hammer.
Take care
Mike
Absolutely great work. Exactly what I wanted to know. 9/10.
Thanks very much, that's great to hear! :-)
A very instructive video and much was learned. I am curious about the finished look of the wedges. You did not show that piece of your work after you cut them back. Any chance of a picture?
Thank you very much for watching and for your comment, Michael. I have just added a link to the description box for this video, which will take you to the blog post I wrote in May last year, which includes a few photos.
Olly,
Thanks for your response on the sledgehammer wedges.
My own instinct would have been to insert one wedge to fit the longitudinal axis of the handle, followed by a wedge on each side along the short axis, which would have given three in total.
I notice from your picture that you inserted four wedges. There was no room for the fifth one at the top (or is it the bottom) of the long axis.
It is nice to see that you did not use a metal wedge, which would have been a sacrilege in such a fine piece of workmanship.
Regards,
Michael Kearney.
P.S. I suspect that the head weighs at least 16lbs., maybe up to 20.
Thanks again, Michael.
As I got the head for free and it came without a metal wedge, I had no other option than to use wood. I probably went a bit overkill with the quantity of wedges but for some reason, I was concerned that one may not be enough in a series of full swings... As for weight, 20lbs looks to be around 9kg and I'm certain it's actually more than that - I cannot lift the thing about my head! A video of me (pathetically) swinging it in action would've illustrated this - it's almost like it was designed for knocking buildings down!!
Olly,
A coating of boiled linseed, mixed with some turpentine for better soakage, would be a nice finish for the handle. Better again, let the head sit in a small bath of the mixture for a period of time. It would be very unlikely that it would ever come loose after that. Not that it would anyway with your high standards.
There is an old adage that I read somewhere about coating handles with linseed oil or other similar oil: once a day for a week; once a week for a year; once a year for the rest of your life.
Regards,
Michael.
Thanks again, Michael. When I was at college a few short years ago, one of our first projects was to make a mallet (a typical joiner's style with tapered handle) and we soaked both the head and handle (separately) in a bath of Linseed oil for 3 weeks... To say the very least, the weight it added to the tool was phenomenal!
all the skills and tools at your exposure.. and you choose to copy the store bought handle... don't be afraid to get creative... invent your own handle design.. good video
How did beech work out, ash is preferred because it is flexible.
I've used it on 3 occasions and it's been fine. I'm not strong enough to lift it above my own head though!! I agree about ash. I don't know how shock resistant beech is, if some Goliath were to use this tool properly.
very nice
Thank you! Hope you have a great 2020.
what do you mean beach wood?
Sorry, I mean beech wood, as in from a beech tree. Not to be confused with driftwood from a beach. :-)
beach wood?
+cojakplaysmc Hurwitz beech
now thats a mans sledge hammer mate
Thank you, Mike. :-)
cool!
How heavy is that fucking beater?
Curry Jameson I've never actually weighed it as I fear the head alone could damage bathroom scales! I could not comfortably swing it from behind my head. It's hard to even lift it above my own shoulders.
Curry Jameson I've never actually weighed it as I fear the head alone could damage bathroom scales! I could not comfortably swing it from behind my head. It's hard to even lift it above my own shoulders.
To make a $15 handle, you must first purchase $50, 000 worth of power tools. Think I'll just go to the local hardware store.
A fair point - thanks for watching.
In all fairness, I did enjoy the video, got a few pointers on how to use the power tools I don't own. lol
+Tom Kraynak Or you can be happy that someone took time out of his schedule to film a video showing you how you can make a handle that is many times better than what you can buy in the stores if you have the tools available, or if you just want to see how it can be done. Olly, thank you for the video! I loved it. Im in the process of making one myself and got a few good pointers off of this.
Monel Funkawitz
Thank you, Monel! You're most welcome and I'm really pleased to hear the video has helped you. :-)
He got those on Freecycle too.
Haha, thanks Sam! That's right, it's like a Yorkie bar - 'Not for Girls!!' ;-)
I ment second growth . (Damn spell check)
Beach wood?
Yes, it was beech. Thanks for watching.
I was always told she and growth hickory is best because of hickory's shock absorbing qualities. (No offence intended)
Donald Schneider
I've heard the same about hickory; I just happened to have some spare beech and wanted to get it done on that morning. No worries. :-)
Are you in England? How does the beech work. My sledge handle broke last month as my son was using it. He was upset, I told him don't worry we can fix it...
Donald Schneider
Yes, I'm in the south-west of England. Beech is quite hard but not as difficult as ash can be. Usually straight-grained so it doesn't offer too many problems.
Best of luck, I'm sure you can!