Hammer Handles

Trying something a little different. I bought and el' cheapo chasing hammer a year or so ago. Didn't like it much, too light weight and uncomfortable to hang onto. I "acquired" a box of scrap Turkish walnut from a semi-local custom gun shop. Very pretty, good figure and nice grain. I had planned to use it for knife handles, then tried to use my crappo hammers to set some copper into stainless. Ray had said to me in class "quit being a ***** and hit it!" I'm setting copper not pounding in nails. I had a machinist buddy turn some heavier hammer heads; 2.5, 3.5 and 4.5 ounce. As far as hammers go, not real heavy, but heavier than the 1 ounce cheapo I bought. Custom heads need custom handles! I researched handle shapes and lengths and here's what I came up with. These may not be as springy/whippy as some wood handles, but they are pretty. I hand sanded and finished these with gun stock oil to bring out the figure. Now get the heads finished and set. Any suggestions?

nice work! i've been needing a new handle on my chasing hammer for ages and after searching in vain for a factory replacement i finally made one last year out of a chunk of beech. should've done it years ago- it's far better than the original...

Very nice handles. I love the look of good walnut. .

I have four hammers, four different weights, and each time I use one, I end up scraping and sanding the handle again in the continuing quest for just the right amount of springiness. The quest continues.

Applewood...Very springy..just not overly pretty like a curly maple or the like..

Donny

The old way to liven up a handle was to bury it for a couple of weeks, depending on the amount of available moisture in the ground.
This was similar to steaming oak lumber before bending it into hoops.
The process allows minute amounts of moisture to SLOWLY work its' way to the core, just as a green cut sapling will bend vs. a dried one which will snap upon bending.
Then coating the handle with a good HOT coat of linseed oil sealing in the newly acquired moisture.

This is based on the "CmMFWRP"(Caveman make fire with rock principal).

Sometimes the OLD way, IS ,the BEST way! :beatup:

Good job, you'll have to let us know how they work for you. As for mounting the heads on the handle, the head's hole should taper; wider at the top. Doesn't take too much of an angle. Usually the hole is oval, so if the head loosens, it won't swivel around on the handle. Saw a slit in the end of the handle in line with the long axis of the hole. The handle should have a snug fit in to the hole, then make a wedge and drive it in to the slit. If you live in an area where ambient humidity varies widely, it may loosen up in the low-humidity times of year. To tighten the fit, soak the hammer head and just a bit of the handle in anti-freeze for a day or overnight. Same stuff you put in the car's radiator. It's mostly propylene glycol, which will first soak in to the wood and cause it to swell, tightening the head. Then, it'll polymerize and hold it's shape, so it'll stay tight. You can always re-soak, as needed.

Another great wood to use for hammer handles is osage orange. Usually not a commercial wood, but fairly common in the Midwest as a hedge row. Originally found in the areas inhabited by the Osage Indians, and hence, its name, the native Americans used its wood to make bows because of its ability to flex. I made a handle for my chasing hammer out of this many years ago, and it's held up great.

Best regards,
Doug

I just bored a hole in a piece of curly maple, glued a section of hickory ramrod into the hole and shaped it until it fit me. It was quick and the result was good enough for who it was for. Ain't pretty, but it works fine and you don't get much more springy than hickory.