# Tightening  a hammer head



## Tin Falcon

I think all of us have been faced with a loose head on a hammer. Yes machinists use hammers some times.  while cleaning the shop I noticed my favorite old Vaughn layout hammer had a loose head. Oh I know that could put a new handle on it. but the old one has a nice patina and is solid . soak in water ? never liked the idea and will dry out again  chair -loc works but have no idea where the bottle is. also it is Sunday afternoon  and do not want ot travel to the Big box home improvement store in the next town over all local hardware stores are closed. 
so on to the internet for inspiration.  Tap the head on with another hammer. not working. soak in linseed oil. Ah inspiration.  maybe thinned linseed oil would work better? then the dawn I have french polish mixed up 1/3 linseed oil 1/3 shellac and 1/3  denatured alcohol.  so repeated applications of this home brew and the head seem tight add more and more then clean the drips with alcohol. work some more into the voids... I let it dry good for three days now and did a tap test to make sure it is holding so far so good. so Home made Chair -loc. well not exactly the ingredients are different I checked the CL MSDS but it seems to work.  


this may be an old wood workers trick and I am likely not the first to try this but it seems to work.
Tin


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## Mike1

As a joiner by trade (now retired) a loose hammer head can be fixed simply by fitting a new hardwood wedge, the head is tightened on the shaft by hitting the end of the hammer shaft with another hammer, this has the effect of driving the loose head a little bit further onto the shaft, then fit a new wedge.

Striking a hammer head with another hammer could result in a fractured hammer head.

Mike


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## Tin Falcon

> Striking a hammer head with another hammer could result in a fractured hammer head.



I guess I assumed people would be smart enough to use a dead blow hammer . but one should never assume. 
the other motivation is chair-loc works but could not find the bottle. 
Tin


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## spacy

simple, hold the shaft, head up and tap the end of the shaft on a hard surface, this tightens it up on the shaft, lock it by driving the wedge in with a hammer and punch.


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## aarggh

Aside from the recommendation to use a dead blow hammer, how crap would a hammer head have to be that a tap with another hammer cracks it? Surely the head would have already been on the way out for that to occur? I've used and misused my hammers (some inherited from my father-in-law's father so they're pretty damn old!) over the years for pounding everything from framing nails, bolts, ramset fasteners, smashing concrete, metal, etc. As they generally are not a brittle steel, the only part that wears is the face. Or are we talking about a brittle steel variety here? The only breakage I've ever had on a job with a hammer, was at a customers site trying to pull an unusually large and rusted bolt out of some timber as I didn't have the angle grinder with me, and snapped half a claw off.

I'm not asking this to be a smart****, i'm asking cause I just can't see it happening unless there was already a fault, in which case it would show itself at some point anyway.

cheers, Ian


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## ShopShoe

Yes, it is possible, but rare.

I once hammered on the steel head of a large hammer (actually, a railroad maul) to seat it on a new handle. I was wearing safety glasses, but a very small splinter of steel flew back at me and embedded itself in my forehead. It was one of those deep breath and deeper thank-you prayer moments. I don't do that any more and the older I get the more often I use safety equipment of all kinds.

Think longer and be safe.

--ShopShoe


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## Tony Wells

Using something as simple as a hammer can be hazardous. Carpenters hammers, intended for hitting soft steel nails, are often far harder than a typical machinist/mechanic hammer, which usually are used on objects much harder than a soft steel nail.

I had a similar experience to ShopShoe. Closer to my own toolbox, a friend's claaw hammer was used to tap the top of the drawbar on a vertical mill. A small piece chipped off and I still have it embedded in my right bicep. Felt like a bullet. Small entry hole, plenty of pain and bleeding. 1987

Moral of the story: Hard hammers on soft materials, soft hammers for hard materials. Sort of like grinding wheel selection. So hitting two similar hammers is generally a bad idea.


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## gus

A rookie workman of mine replaced the wood handle of 12 lb sledge hammer with a steel pipe and was telling me how good and how long it would last.

An old fitter came up to my office and asked for a new sledge hammer.He just won't use the steel handle sledge hammer.Hammer came next day. The other hammer stood in a corner gathering dust.Not even the rookie workman would use it. 

Gave instructions to my foreman to scrap the steel handle hammer. 

Why do some people use steel pipe to replace the good old proven wooden handle???


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## aarggh

A steel handle on a sledge hammer is a really, really bad idea, the whole idea of the wood or fibre glass handles they have is to reduce the effect from the impact and vibrations. Using a steel handled one long enough the strain to your wrists,  hands and arms would be enormous.

cheers, Ian


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## canadianhorsepower

[quoteWhy do some people use steel pipe to replace the good old proven wooden handle
	

	
	
		
		

		
			





][/quote]

because they never tried oneRof}Rof}Rof}Rof}


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## Tin Falcon

Estwing hammers head axes have engineered steel handles. and rubber grips. A light sharp axe swings fast and cuts deep. 
Vibration a funny thing I had a cheap hammer sing to me every time I hit a nail. 
Tin


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## eightball

A friend at work hit two hammer faces together when he was a kid. He still has a piece of one those hammers imbedded in his heart. Sounds impossible i know, but 40 years ago heart surgery was always a risky business. I have to assume that this sliver of metal would have deteriorated by now but i dont have a clue.


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## Putt-Rite

Try a little lemon juice.


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## kquiggle

_Mythbusters_ did a show on this; here is a synopsis from Wikipedia:

"First, the Build Team properly heated two modern hammers to the transition point and quenched them, making them as brittle as possible. The two hammers simply snapped at the necks when struck. Then they tested older steel hammers (predating World War II). Though the heads began to chip when struck, one of them ultimately snapped at the neck as well."

Other people beg to differ: http://www.finewoodworking.com/item/17562/reader-says-mythbusters-missed-on-hammer-strikes

My guess is that you could just by chance get a badly tempered hammer, and have a real bad day as a result.

Side note to Tin Falcon: I've got an Estwing hammer with the handle "wrapped" with leather washers (I think they use plastic now). It's the oldest tool in my collection - I've had it for over twenty years (maybe thirty - can't remember for sure) and it's still going strong.


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## Tin Falcon

KQ: I too have a Estwing  Hammer with the leather ring handle . mine is about 22 years old. While the rubber coated handle estwing is the more common and likely cheaper the leather handled ones are quite available in several head styles. 
Including several sizes of claw and rip hammers, camp axe and rock hammer. 
Tin


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## gus

eightball said:


> A friend at work hit two hammer faces together when he was a kid. He still has a piece of one those hammers imbedded in his heart. Sounds impossible i know, but 40 years ago heart surgery was always a risky business. I have to assume that this sliver of metal would have deteriorated by now but i dont have a clue.



Hi EightBall,

This kind of accidents are very rare. 
Here's one.
Our Sales Manager went to a Granite Quarry to demonstrate 
"Million Dollar"Ingersoll-Rand DrillMaster Quarry Rig .Show over,went to the toilet and found his undie leaking with blood. Would you believe a small granite chip shot thru his testicals. Recovered 2 weeks later. 6 months later divorced.
Must have been that bad.


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## Wizard69

Hammering on anything can be dangerous.   I remember as a kid my father and brothers where changing a large bucket on a back hole, one where you had to drive out the pins manually.   I was standing more than a few feet away when I got hit with a chip on the finger tip of all places.  That was a long time ago but i suspect i was 8 feet away at the time.  It must have been moving at a good clip because it stung and bleed pretty bad.   Very lucky in the sense that it was my finger tip.  

Never did find the chip that spalled off.   Looking at the pin it must have been a fairly small piece of steel.  

Lesson learned >>> clear the area or make sure everybody is equipped with safety glasses at a minimum.


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## rodw

Wizard69 said:


> changing a large bucket on a back hole,



Hmm, back hoe or black hole?...


Sorry could not let that one go past, bet you have an iPad too :hDe:


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## aarggh

Tin Falcon said:


> KQ: I too have a Estwing  Hammer with the leather ring handle . mine is about 22 years old. While the rubber coated handle estwing is the more common and likely cheaper the leather handled ones are quite available in several head styles.
> Including several sizes of claw and rip hammers, camp axe and rock hammer.
> Tin



I inherited a 22oz Estwing with the leather grip from my father-in-law about 30 years back, it's my most prized hammer, beautiful balance, easy to handle, I love the Estwings, really good quality and a joy to own. I've also added a few others to my collection along the years, including the massive framing hammer.

cheers, Ian


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## rhankey

Tin Falcon said:


> Estwing hammers head axes have engineered steel handles. and rubber grips. A light sharp axe swings fast and cuts deep.
> Vibration a funny thing I had a cheap hammer sing to me every time I hit a nail.
> Tin


 
I worked in the house construction industry for a couple summers a number of decades ago.  Many of the Estwing's used to have the very annoying ping when new.  Interestingly, all these hammers would lose the ping after a month or two of fulltime use.


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## Wizard69

rodw said:


> Hmm, back hoe or black hole?...
> 
> Sorry could not let that one go past, bet you have an iPad too :hDe:



Yes an iPad!     

IPad is a great little machine but it does embarrass you from time to time with un caught auto corrects.


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## Hopper

Re hammering on a hammer with another hammer: There is a reason that when making chisels etc, you harden and temper the cutting end and leave the other end soft. Hardened steel impacting on hardened still will splinter and fly about the place.


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## hilij

I was an engine fitter by trade for the last fifty years worked in a shipyard and had my own engineering works, in all these years I have never seen a broken hammer but I have seen splinters flying from hitting another hammer or some hardened steel pins such as a gudgeon pin, or wrist pin, for our American friends. In fact I have a friend who is blind from one eye with such an action. Always use safety goggles!!! As for using steel pipes for hammer handle, I have two, two pound hammers with steel pipe handles which I have been using for the last twenty-five years with good results no more broken handles or loose heads))


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## Tin Falcon

Found a new estwing  8oz  ballpien at the Kinzer  R &T flea market. The head will not loosen.
Tin


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## Hopper

hilij said:


> ... in all these years I have never seen a broken hammer



Me neither (40 years in toolmaking, construction, powerstations etc etc) but I have seen a broken anvil. My buddy in Montana had one with the heel broken clean off. Perhaps a combination of their minus 40 degree climate and hot steel?  I always wondered if the departing very heavy lump landed on the blacksmith's foot. Ouch.

So if it is possible to break an anvil in twain, I am sure the same is possible with a hammer.


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## gus

Tin Falcon said:


> Found a new estwing  8oz  ballpien at the Kinzer  R &T flea market. The head will not loosen.
> Tin




Hi Tin Falcon,

Missed the flea markets. Went to many when I was posted to
 Campbellsville,Kentucky 1988. Sigh .If only I could haul back all the items to Singapore.:wall::wall:
 Missed the Potatoe Skins with the fabulous toppings ,all of which adds on to my waistline.:hDe::hDe:


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