spotco2
Well-known member
****. Now that's I've seen all of this I've got to start restoring hammers!
Great looking work guys.
Great looking work guys.
Restoring a Snap-on body hammer
- Thread starter afazz
- Start date
e-tek
Well-known member
Jesus guys - they are just hammers!! I've been doing bodywork for 35 years, have about 3 hammers I use often, none are Snap-On and none look good.
Having said all that, now I want to buy some nice hammers and restore mine! Great work on all of them - what a difference a little sanding and paint makes.
As far as the discussion on handle fitment and moisture, for what it's worth, all the men in my Dad's shop dropped their hammers in buckets of water everynight, or over the weekend. I do it sometimes and love the tight handles - until they dry out again....
Has anyone tried the sand method on hammer handles?
Having said all that, now I want to buy some nice hammers and restore mine! Great work on all of them - what a difference a little sanding and paint makes.
As far as the discussion on handle fitment and moisture, for what it's worth, all the men in my Dad's shop dropped their hammers in buckets of water everynight, or over the weekend. I do it sometimes and love the tight handles - until they dry out again....
Has anyone tried the sand method on hammer handles?
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rancherbill
Well-known member
Finished the sanding and polishing on these ones. Gonna shoot some paint on these tomorrow.
Does anybody know what the name is for the hammer head on the left?
Geurt
Well-known member
e-tek
Well-known member
No worries!
Took me about 20 minutes to do this one this afternoon - including the handle. I chose this one as it's the first body hammer I ever purchased myself and one of my favourites. 
Epoxied the head as suggested because I hate loose handles!
May have to do some of the others now!
jakemac
Well-known member
Outlawmws
Well-known member
I would, but her legs are too skinny, and Popeye would get pi**ed !
Can't believe you sad that to Snapmom...
jakemac
Well-known member
couldn't help myself 
Geurt
Well-known member
This threat deserves some new input. Let me kick it off with a very good deal on a set of Gedore dolleys and a hammer I got yesterday.
outsider347
Well-known member
thought I'd bring er back
anyone know the SnapOn item numbers for the
12"
13"
17"
wood hammer handles?
anyone know the SnapOn item numbers for the
12"
13"
17"
wood hammer handles?
Marco84
Active member
Finished the sanding and polishing on these ones. Gonna shoot some paint on these tomorrow.
I have that same blocking hammer, pictured in the middle, stamped "375". Does anyone know the name of the manufacturer?
d.mcfarland
Well-known member
Bump for some nice hammer ****.
Flatheadsmith
New member
- Joined
- Apr 5, 2012
- Messages
- 2
As for handle selection make sure the grain is straight and does not run off to the side, but that the grain is parallel the length of the handle. The strongest hickory handles have a wide grain structure. If using Hickory for the handle, brown (heartwood) or white (sapwood) or a mixture of both grain colors does not affect strength. Flame hardened handles are superior and do not need to be finished.
Here are some suggestions for installing handles:
1. As several have mentioned before Do Not soak the handle in water, or anything else, before installation, as the handle will loosen after drying.
2. Clean up the hammer eye with a file so that there are no sharp edges to cut into the handle. especially be mindful of striking marks on top the hammer head that may intrude into the eye.
3. I use a wood rasp to fit the handle and then sand it to smooth out the rasp marks with 80 grit sandpaper or emery cloth so that the handle fits about 2/3s of the way in the hammer eye. Make sure that when the handle is driven in it is not so tight as to close up the wedge slot. Before you fit the handle make sure the head is not upside down, sounds stupid I know, but sometimes it's hard to tell.
4. If you can, use a hydraulic press to drive the handle in the rest of the way. Use some type of open end wrench or socket to allow the handle to go past the hammer head while being pressed. A bar clamp can also be used in place of a press.
5. I use a hydraulic press to drive in the wooden wedge (this will keep it from mushrooming and breaking). After I trim the wedge and handle so that it's about a 1/16" proud of the head. I then use the press to drive in the steel wedge perpendicular to the wooden wedge. I tap it in about a 1/4" first and then hold it with channel locks as long as I can while using the press.
6. Use a belt sander to smooth handle smooth with the top of the head.
7. Boiled linseed oil is good for protecting polished steel surfaces from rusting if the tool is not to be used. Do not throw a rag or paper towel away soaked with linseed oil, it can burst into flames, leave it outside opened up and allow it to dry. You will probably want to remove the coating with thinner or acetone before you use the tool. Penetrol is another good coating option.
Here are some suggestions for installing handles:
1. As several have mentioned before Do Not soak the handle in water, or anything else, before installation, as the handle will loosen after drying.
2. Clean up the hammer eye with a file so that there are no sharp edges to cut into the handle. especially be mindful of striking marks on top the hammer head that may intrude into the eye.
3. I use a wood rasp to fit the handle and then sand it to smooth out the rasp marks with 80 grit sandpaper or emery cloth so that the handle fits about 2/3s of the way in the hammer eye. Make sure that when the handle is driven in it is not so tight as to close up the wedge slot. Before you fit the handle make sure the head is not upside down, sounds stupid I know, but sometimes it's hard to tell.
4. If you can, use a hydraulic press to drive the handle in the rest of the way. Use some type of open end wrench or socket to allow the handle to go past the hammer head while being pressed. A bar clamp can also be used in place of a press.
5. I use a hydraulic press to drive in the wooden wedge (this will keep it from mushrooming and breaking). After I trim the wedge and handle so that it's about a 1/16" proud of the head. I then use the press to drive in the steel wedge perpendicular to the wooden wedge. I tap it in about a 1/4" first and then hold it with channel locks as long as I can while using the press.
6. Use a belt sander to smooth handle smooth with the top of the head.
7. Boiled linseed oil is good for protecting polished steel surfaces from rusting if the tool is not to be used. Do not throw a rag or paper towel away soaked with linseed oil, it can burst into flames, leave it outside opened up and allow it to dry. You will probably want to remove the coating with thinner or acetone before you use the tool. Penetrol is another good coating option.
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I bought this, what appears to be, stretching hammer for a few Euro's. The ends were pretty damaged. I have no idea how it was used by previous owners, but both sides, wich should be rounded, were completely hammered flat. I have re-ground and polished the ends and sanded the handle. I have re-used the original metal wedge for the handle. I don't know how long it will look like this, for I am going to us it. I found a chip of yellow paint in one of the deep scratches which looked like an original paint left over, hence the yellow finish.
Wow - that's bright!
looks like the head is on back-to-front though?
still, if it suits you, just use it
Smokeshow69
Well-known member
Anybody know where to get proto/ plomb shaped wood handles? They are a little different this the snapon ones !
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
I've had success soaking the wood in BLO. The BLO will soak in, expand the wood, then cure permanently, keeping the wood in an expanded state. I've done this to a couple of tools that had loose original wooden handles that I didn't want to replace.
I've only ever done this on something that was already assembled, for the reasons you state.
This thread inspired me! I noticed I didn't have anything between my 12 oz ball pein and 48 oz sledge, so when I saw the following 16 oz PLUMB hammer head for sale, I snapped it up. The local independent hardware store still had some hickory handles on the rack for $8 each, so I grabbed one and got to work.
The second photo is after driving in the wood and steel wedges and rough-cutting the protruding end of the handle eye. The last two photos are after cleaning up with a grinder (old grind marks were still visible) and applying a few coats of BLO.
The eye of the head has a flared lip at both openings (looks like an artifact of the forging to me), so even after pounding in the wedges quite firmly, there was a slight gap. I put the hammer upside down in a tray of BLO to let the end grain of the handle eye soak up the BLO and provide a little extra insurance that everything stays tight. Not pictured, but today I came back and filled any remaining gap with epoxy.
I decided to keep the old patina of the head. All told, I invested less than the cost of a new Vaughn or Estwing 16oz sledge from the local big box store, so I think I came out ahead.
Now I just need to find something to hit!...
The second photo is after driving in the wood and steel wedges and rough-cutting the protruding end of the handle eye. The last two photos are after cleaning up with a grinder (old grind marks were still visible) and applying a few coats of BLO.
The eye of the head has a flared lip at both openings (looks like an artifact of the forging to me), so even after pounding in the wedges quite firmly, there was a slight gap. I put the hammer upside down in a tray of BLO to let the end grain of the handle eye soak up the BLO and provide a little extra insurance that everything stays tight. Not pictured, but today I came back and filled any remaining gap with epoxy.
I decided to keep the old patina of the head. All told, I invested less than the cost of a new Vaughn or Estwing 16oz sledge from the local big box store, so I think I came out ahead.
Now I just need to find something to hit!...
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