3# hammer handle replacement?

[jmm]

Hey guys, I've got a cheap 3 lb hammer I picked up to take to the junkyard several years ago. Ended up kind of liking it so I took it to work where I used it pretty often for years. But the head's starting to come loose, so I took it home a couple weeks ago. For what I paid for this hammer I could just throw it away, but I'd rather keep it if I can.

My question, is it advisable to replace a handle on such a heavy hammer? I don't usually see handles for these, but I'd assume they're available somewhere

Outlaw et al, I'm assuming you know what the deal is -- help!

FYI, here's what mine looks like:

 

[NUTTSGT]

I replaced the handle on my 3lb sledge hammer, I believe yours is more of an engineers hammer. I believe I had to trim the handle to fit in the hole.

 

[930dreamer]

I have a few to do also and found this place; probably a local place to get handles too.
This website has a good pdf on how to replace handles also.
http://tennesseehickoryproducts.com/

 

[jjjrmx5]

I believe I had to trim the handle to fit in the hole.

LOLZ. You ALWAYS have to trim the handle in some way.

My local mom and pop keeps the small sledge handles in stock last time I was handle shopping.

I even think I have one in the home box.
Link brand Handle.

The epoxy handle ones can be tricky and expensive to fix.
The wood not so much.

If you can't find one jmm I;ll get ya one if I can that fits.
They run around $4 or $5 or so with proper wedges.

MY mom and pop give me free the orphan or warrantied hammer heads they take in just to tease me into buying more handles.

Got a 3lb drillers hammer handle to do this month.

 

[lilredex]

Shorten it up and re-install if you can. You could use a broken off sledge handle or even make one.

Have a look here also:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=140141

 

[Provincial]

Shorten it up and re-install if you can. You could use a broken off sledge handle or even make one.

Have a look here also:

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=140141

I'm a compulsive saver. I have a number of old broken handles that I keep around to "repurpose." They often break near the head end, so it is pretty easy to shorten them and recontour them to fit the socket in the head. You can do this with hand tools, but a belt sander is quicker. Slot for the wedge with a narrow-kerf saw. A hacksaw will work, but a cabinet saw is better.

Examine a new handle to get ideas for slot width and how to contour for the head. Metal wedges can be reused, and new wooden wedges are sold at good hardware stores.

One critical factor is to keep the head square with the handle when you strike. Test fit and adjust until the head strikes the target square when you have a natural grip on the handle. Done well, the hammer head becomes a natural extension of your hand, and the blow strikes exactly where you want it!

 

[DekeT]

http://www.househandle.com/index.html

 

[Outlawmws]

How loose is it? If the handle is sound I've re wedged and made them like new. pics from the top?

 

[zkling]

I was browsing Menards yesterday, and noticed they have a pretty nice selection of USA made hickory handles for ~$3.50 each. Cheapest I've found locally.

If your hammer is like the one I'm thinking of, the hole is more oval than the more common slots on the smaller hammer? I have a few forging hammers like that, ended up having to make my own handles otherwise you can't get a tight fit on the hole.

I'd try to tighten it up before pulling it completely apart.

 

[reptilezs]

if the head is slightly loose then use a saw to remove some wood under the head. now drive the head deeper on the handle. finally set the metal wedge deeper. sand off the top if you wish

 

[NUTTSGT]

LOLZ. You ALWAYS have to trim the handle in some way.

I guess I'm not hard on hammer handles and have only replaced one handle but I did make one for a smaller claw hammer.

When I was splitting fire wood by hand, I did go through a couple few but those fit right in.

 

[jmm]

How loose is it? If the handle is sound I've re wedged and made them like new. pics from the top?

I just moved -- my camera's packed up. From the top, mine doesn't look like an ordinary handle. In the process of coming loose, some material chipped out of the hole; it looked like rosin, amber in color. Underneath that 1/4" or so of rosin-y material I could see the wedge that I tried several times to pound back in, with no luck. Because of that weird material that chipped off, and my inability to tighten it up via pounding the wedge, that this thing was assembled using some strange/substandard method.

I was browsing Menards yesterday, and noticed they have a pretty nice selection of USA made hickory handles for ~$3.50 each. Cheapest I've found locally.

If your hammer is like the one I'm thinking of, the hole is more oval than the more common slots on the smaller hammer? I have a few forging hammers like that, ended up having to make my own handles otherwise you can't get a tight fit on the hole.

I'd try to tighten it up before pulling it completely apart.

No Menards down south, unfortunately, but I'll keep looking. Just moved to a new area with lots of small hardware stores I've never been to.

You are correct; the opening is oval-shaped.

 

[Outlawmws]

That resin material is either a fiberglass or epoxy. Chip it out completely and see if they managed to get it into the crack. if not, at that point you can either try to pry the steel wedge out, remove the head and shave the top of the handle if needed so the head will go on deeper, or smack the handle straight down on a hard surface so the kinetic energy of the head drives the head on further, and then tap the wedge in deeper, to lock it.

If the epoxy is in the crack, use a small drill it remove most of it and get the head off completely and get the remaining muck out of there and then re-install the handle the old school way; wood wedge and a steel wedge lock.