How to Rehandle and Repair that Old Hammer - a Step by Step Tutorial by Bob Sturgeon

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How to Rehandle and Repair that Old Hammer - a Step by Step Tutorial by Bob Sturgeon There is a world of old collectible and user hammers out there floating around just waiting to be resurrected.

1 How to Rehandle and Repair that Old Hammer - a Step by Step Tutorial by Bob Sturgeon There is a world of old collectible and user hammers out there floating around just waiting to be resurrected. Hammers are one type of tools, by there nature, used to drive nails by caring carpenters on one hand to fools who use them for beating on iron and concrete on the other. All kinds of hammers can be found in excellent to badly abused condition. The one part of the hammer that sometimes suffers the most is the handle. The caring carpenter takes good care of his, but even his can develop a stress crack in the handle. The Fool, well he always uses too small and the wrong type of hammer for the job. That s why you always see so many old hammer heads at the flea markets with broken out handles. So get out there and pick up a few old hammers with bad handles and see how easy they are to replace. If you pick up a good quality hammer, look in old tool catalogs and try to replace the handle with one as close to original as possible. Some came with round handles, some octagon. If you can t find out, then use a handle you like /18/2006

Make the cut as close as possible, but above the hammer head.

2 Place the hammer head in a vise between wooden jaws to protect the head. Use a fine tooth hand saw to cut off the old handle. Make the cut as close as possible, but above the hammer head. Cut a piece of wood stick for a punch just a little bit smaller than the size of the shank that is left in the head. A few taps and the shank should come right out /18/2006

If you happen to get one that doesn t seem to want to move, take a drill with a ¼ drill bit and drill down through the shank to right above the point of the metal wedge.

If someone glued the handle in last time you may have to drill several holes and do a little chisel work. This is an original 13oz.

3 If you happen to get one that doesn t seem to want to move, take a drill with a ¼ drill bit and drill down through the shank to right above the point of the metal wedge. I take a 20d nail, grind the point flat and use as a punch to drive the wedge out. Then try your wooden stick again and the shank should now come out. If someone glued the handle in last time you may have to drill several holes and do a little chisel work. This is an original 13oz. Belknap Bluegrass hammer head and an original 13oz. Belknap Bluegrass replacement handle. I have had the handle for quite some time, but never could find a good hammer head to fit it until now /18/2006

4 Lay the hammer head on top of the handle and mark with a pencil all around the handle at the point that you want the bottom of the head to rest. I mark mine about ½ to ¾ inch above the top shoulder ears of the handle as in the picture above. You see a lot hammers that people have replaced the handle and they put the head way up too far near the end. Probably to lazy to do the job right. You get the most strength down near the shoulders. This being a 13oz. Hammer, I am making the total length from the bottom of the handle to the top of the hammer head between 12 to 12 ½ overall. If your hammer is a 16oz. to 20oz. Then make the total length about 13 to 13 ¼. At the pencil mark you made at the top of the handle, take a very thin flat file and with the file on edge, file down along the line to a depth of about 1/16 deep all around the handle at that line. I use a Swiss Pattern file about 1/16 thick. What you want to do is to create a small shoulder for the head to eventually set on. Don t worry about getting this line perfectly straight at this time. Most people just jamb the head to where they want it to go, but this shoulder cut makes a nicer looking job. When it comes to shaping the end of the handle to fit the head, I use a Shoe Rasp. This is a handy rasp to use because it is small in size, has a flat side with fine on one end and coarse on the other. The other side is half round, fine and coarse /18/2006

Flip it over and repeat. Try to take an equal amount off of each side. Try the head, if too tight, file a little more with the fine side of the rasp.

5 File from the end of the handle down about an inch, several strokes with the coarse flat side of the rasp. Turn the handle over to the other edge and file the same. Turn the handle so the flat side of the handle is up and file an equal amount. Flip it over and repeat. Try to take an equal amount off of each side. Try the head, if too tight, file a little more with the fine side of the rasp. Try head and rasp some more, until the head start on. Stick the handle in the head and give it a several good raps on a solid workbench edge to seat the head on the handle as far as it will go /18/2006

At the point it stops, take a pencil and mark around the head. Put the head back in the vise between wooden jaws and drive out the handle with stick and hammer.

6 At the point it stops, take a pencil and mark around the head. Put the head back in the vise between wooden jaws and drive out the handle with stick and hammer. Don t file any more yet where you have just filed. Use the rasp below the mark you made and remove about the same amount all around about another ½ to a 1 or so. Try the head on again and rap on the workbench as far as it will go this time. Pencil mark all around at this new location. Drive off again. At this point you will notice dark streaks or slick spots on the end you previously filed. Using the fine side of the rasp, take several strokes at these spots to remove, but no more. As you get close to the shoulder use the fine side of the rasp either the half round or the flat side. It may be easier at the shoulder to file across grain, but the head will cover all the rough marks anyway. Keep rasping and retrying the head until it touches the shoulder. It may only touch on two sides. Drive the head off a little and take the Swiss Pattern file and take a little shoulder off of the high sides, until all four seat together. Fitting the head to the handle is the most work involved in the whole procedure, so take your time to get a good fit. It s a lot of work the first time you do it, but it gets easier the second time around /18/2006

After the hammer head is completely seated on the handle, most wooden wedges come wider than the eye in the top of the hammer head.

7 A lot of flea market dealers carry wooden wedges. Try to pick out wedges that are only about ¼ or less wide at the top. Some wedges are about 3/8, and they will stop driving in the slot before they get very far. These thinner wedges do a better job. After the hammer head is completely seated on the handle, most wooden wedges come wider than the eye in the top of the hammer head. The wedge slot in the handle once it is on the head is squeezed fairly tight. Take a small flat screwdriver and insert into the side of the handle slot to open it a bit. Insert the wedge, tapping down to top of the eye. With the wedge up against the pall end of the head, put a mark on the other end about 1/16 wider than the eye /18/2006

Drive the wedge in as far as it will go with a wooden mallet. Just keep tapping it in until it feels like it would go any more.

8 Mark a line the length of the wedge with a pencil and take a pocket knife or cutter and split off at the marked line. Save the little splinter, they are handy when you need just a small piece to fill a hole in the end of the handle. Drive the wedge in as far as it will go with a wooden mallet. Just keep tapping it in until it feels like it would go any more. Don t hit it so hard as to bust the wedge. Have the heel of the hammer handle on a hard wooden surface, like the workbench while driving in the wedge. Don t use a metal surface such as the back side of a metal vise or you will run the risk of splitting the heel of the handle /18/2006

File the stub of the wedge and handle flush with the fine flat side of the rasp.

9 Cut the excess wedge and handle off nearly flush with the top of the head. One of the best ways I have found to cut this off is with a coping saw with fine tooth blade. The fine tooth scratches the hammer head very little. File the stub of the wedge and handle flush with the fine flat side of the rasp. Don t worry if the edges of the head are scratched a little by the rasp. That will be taken care of later. Drive in the steel wedge in the middle, crossways of the wooden wedge. Make sure the heel of the handle is sitting on solid wood, not a metal surface /18/2006

10 This particular hammer head someone wanted to clean up to see the Belknap Bluegrass cloverleaf Logo, but very unwisely put it on a wire wheel. What I do in this case is to clean off the head with a good cleaner-degreaser and then apply instant gun blue to the bare area. The instant gun blue blends-in very well with the surrounding old dark patina. The scratches on the head, left from the rasp filing down the top of the handle, or any other spots that need touched up can be treated in the same manner using a Q-Tip to apply the gun blue. After all the touch up is done, buff the head with a soft paper towel such as the blue shop towels available at Wal-Mart and Sam s Club. Finally apply several coats of Johnson s Paste Wax to the head, buffing well between coats /18/2006

This is the finished Belknap hammer. Took about two hours, start to finish. You all have seen how the Fool puts a hammer head on in about 15 minutes; I don t want him hammering next to me.

11 This is the finished Belknap hammer. Took about two hours, start to finish. You all have seen how the Fool puts a hammer head on in about 15 minutes; I don t want him hammering next to me. All that s left to do is to apply a good finish to the wooden handle. I will apply about three coats of Min Wax s Wipe-On Ploy. This will finish to a beautiful hand rubbed look. If you buy a replacement handle from the hardware store, they usually come with a cheap clear coating of some sorts. Use paint stripper or scrape to get this stuff off and put on your own finish. The handle you choose can be finished natural or stained. I use Min Wax Wood Finish oil stains in English Chestnut and Provincial. These have a nice old tool look to them. Some Early American colors work well to. You just have to experiment and find what you like. I apply stain with a paper towel pad in long strokes, leaving most of the stain color on, wiping off very little. One more thought. Old replacement hammer handles used to come with the wedge slot uncut. If you can find any that way, I prefer the cut it with a hand saw cut diagonally. Cut it about ½ less than the depth of the head. When the wooden wedge is drove in, it makes I think a tighter fit in the head. Of course most handles found today have the slot already cut straight across. So you have to go with what you got. Making Repairs to Old Hammers - part 2 by Bob Sturgeon /18/2006

Hit the heel of the handle on a hard wooden surface to drive the head down onto the handle the 1/16 you cut away. If this tightens it up, fine.

12 A lot of old hammers that are picked up are loose at the head. This is usually caused by the old wood shrinking over time. An easy repair is to take a flat Swiss Pattern file that is about 1/16 of an inch wide on its edge. File a groove about a 1/16 deep all around the bottom of the hammer head in the wood as above. Hit the heel of the handle on a hard wooden surface to drive the head down onto the handle the 1/16 you cut away. If this tightens it up, fine. If it is still a little loose, cut another 1/16 groove and drive it down some more. Most likely the top of the handle will now protrude above the top of the head. Take a punch and drive the metal wedges down flush with the head. If the wooden handle end is sticking up, it can be made flush with the Shoe Rasp. Then touch up with gun blue /18/2006

If a small piece of wood has broken off and fallen out of the handle end, or you had to pull out an old nail leaving a hole, drive in a small split of a wedge, and cut off.

After the glue mixture is dry, take a paper towel and rub a corner of it on the dirty floor. Rub this into the patch and stain and it will blend right in.

13 If a small piece of wood has broken off and fallen out of the handle end, or you had to pull out an old nail leaving a hole, drive in a small split of a wedge, and cut off. If the hole is an irregular shape and there is still space around the wedge plug, mix up some saw dust and carpenters glue and fill in between. After the glue mixture is dry, take a paper towel and rub a corner of it on the dirty floor. Rub this into the patch and stain and it will blend right in. Paint and paint spots on hammer handles are quite common. An easy way to remove them is to clean with a good cleaner and 0000 steel wool. I have used Kramer s Best Antique Improver for years. It will remove the paint and spots, but will not harm any type of original finish. I will put a link to their site at the bottom of this article /18/2006

This causes steam to rise and in turn will raise the dent. One word of caution, it is best to obtain permission from the owner in order to use a tool of this magnitude.

14 A common problem with hammer handles and wooden tools in general are dents in the wood. If the dent in only pushed in and the fibers of the wood are not broken an easy fix is to place a wet terry cloth towel over the dent and place a hot iron on top of the cloth. This causes steam to rise and in turn will raise the dent. One word of caution, it is best to obtain permission from the owner in order to use a tool of this magnitude. If the finish on the old hammer is in bad shape, sometimes it is best to remove and refinish. You can use paint stripper on the old finish, but stripper is usually messy. An easier way is to scrape away with a sharp object. I prefer a sharp pocket knife, it s easy to scrape with, but your favorite scraper is just fine. One word of /18/2006

15 caution, on some old hammer handles the maker sometimes will imprint their name or other words into the face side of original handles. Before you scrape off the old finish, always take a look and see if there is anything there. Had an old PEXTO hammer one time that I thought I would just jump right into, and then I noticed faintly the letters PEXTO in block letter vertically down the handle. Inspect first, jump second. Here s a common problem. A loose or crooked metal wedge. Take a punch or an old nail set and rock the wedge back and forth by tapping on each side until the wedge is loose enough to pull out with needle nose pliers. Once the wedge is out, place flat tooth picks, one or two on each side of the wedge hole. The tooth picks will tighten up the hole enough so that when the wedge is driven back in it will hold tight /18/2006

Another common repair is where someone tries to pull too big a nail with too small a hammer causing a nick on both insides of the claw. The metal is still there, it has just been displaced.

16 Another common repair is where someone tries to pull too big a nail with too small a hammer causing a nick on both insides of the claw. The metal is still there, it has just been displaced. Take a punch or an old nail set and tap and work the metal back into its original position. If there is still a small amount of hump on the back of the claws, dress this down with a flat file. Clean with degreaser and touch up with gun blue and a Q-Tip as described above. Another problem along this same line is a hammer head that has some mushrooming of the Pall head. You can grind most of this away and what is left can be filed flush. Then touch up with gun blue as above. If this is a collectible fine, but I wouldn t make a user out of it or if the Pall has several chips out of it. I have never had it happen to me, but they say chipped heads can shatter. Why take a chance, too many good hammers still out there, if you want a good user. Link to Kramer s Antique Improver. Can t say enough good things about this product. Works wonders on both wood and metal. Bob Sturgeon, Finally getting a handle on my problems. March, /18/2006

Working with Wood & Tools. Marking and Measuring. Tools you will need:

Working with Wood & Tools. Marking and Measuring. Tools you will need: Marking and Measuring English Measure If you want to make pieces of a certain size, you will have to measure and mark them before you do any cutting. Examine a rule and find an inch mark. The mark (")