Correct hammer handle. How to properly attach a hammer to a handle: a step-by-step process. DIY carved hammer handle

Good health, gentlemen steampunkers!

We drive the wedge with a hammer, having previously greased it with PVA glue.




The result of the work done. The advantage of such an assembly of the tool is obvious, firstly, it does not dry out, and secondly, it acts as a shock absorber during operation.


The ax is assembled by the method described above. The rubber gasket is clearly visible.




The method has been tested over the years, the grandfather's ax, after the restoration of the handle, served well for many years ... when it got into my hands, I poured into it my vision, attitude to the instrument and changed the handle, now it looks like this.






I restored this hammer, the head was self-made and very unsuccessful - the hole for the handle was very small and narrow, I had to expand, the metal was very difficult to process and I decided to use the old method, using a strip of rubber from an auto camera as a seal ...


The red seal is not rubber, it is a cap matched to the diameter of the handle of a small hammer, I don’t know what it is made of, but it is elastic, the assembly method is the same.




Some of these hammers are still waiting for their turn to be upgraded with a rubber-technical product ...
Good luck with your creativity!
Keep your instrument in perfect order, love it and it will answer you on your fingers
And finally, the instructions for use ... I advise you to read, it's fun.

What do a sledgehammer, an ax and a hammer have in common? Operating principle. They need a swing to strike. Therefore, a handle is needed, and the heavier the tool, the, as a rule, it is longer.
During the swing, centrifugal force acts on the metal part of the tool, which tends to rip it off the handle. Moreover, this force is the greater, the more massive the head and the longer the handle of the ax, sledgehammer or hammer.
Traditionally, to fix the head on the handle, a wooden wedge is driven into its end after the metal part has been seated. Sometimes one or two smaller metal pieces are driven in at an angle to the main wedge.
But there are also alternative ways to securely fix the parts of the aforementioned tools relative to each other. Below we will consider and practically implement one of them.

We put the hammer on the handle without a wedge using rubber

The handle can be purchased at a hardware store or made yourself from hardwoods, which include: oak, birch, maple, rowan, beech, ash, dogwood and others. Only when choosing, you should pay attention to the end of the workpiece and dwell on the one in which the annual rings are located longitudinally, and not transversely. This grip will be stronger and will last longer.
It is believed that the slot in the handle for driving in the wedge weakens it. If you use rubber for a secure attachment of the hammer head to the handle, then weakening does not occur, since there is no need for a wedge mount, and therefore in a slot.

It is necessary to prepare the handle blank for the attachment. To do this, we adjust the side with a smaller section to the hole in the head using a carpenter's knife, a file for wood or an emery wheel. The seating part of the handle should freely enter the hole of the head without interference and match it in length.
Next, we cut out a strip from the bicycle tube or any elastic rubber, which should, along its length, provide the girth of the handle seat with a certain gap, and have a margin in both directions by about 1 cm in width.

We lubricate the rubber surface from the outside with lithol to facilitate the nozzle process.

To do this, hit the opposite end of the handle on a stable surface. Best of all, if it is a massive wooden block.

After making sure that the hammer head is in place, remove the squeezed out excess lithol with a rag and cut off the ends of the rubber on both sides of the hammer head with a sharp knife, so to speak, flush.

Then the mating points of the hammer and handle bore are carefully covered with glue (PVA, "Moment" or something similar). We do this, on the one hand, in order to strengthen the connection, but mainly so that moisture does not penetrate into the connection of the hammer head and handle. After all, water, once in an unprotected gap, can over time cause wood rot and metal oxidation, which will inevitably lead to weakening of the fastening and failure of the tool.

What is the other advantage of this fit of the handle into the hammer head? The presence of a rubber layer between the parts of the tool, as it were, isolates the handle from the head and the force of the striker's impact on another hard surface is extinguished and the hand does not experience all the energy of a hard and sharp contact.

All of the above can be repeated one to one, both with an ax and a sledgehammer. The glue, of course, can bounce off in places over time, so you will have to restore it. The handle can be burned with a blowtorch or gas torch and then wiped thoroughly with a rag. This will give the handle a noble look and ease of use.

In custody

A grease of mineral origin, which includes lithol, over time has a bad effect on rubber and it begins to deteriorate. It is better to replace it with thick soapy jelly. It also lightens the nozzle, but after the water evaporates, it loses its sliding properties and further strengthens the connection.
To seal joints, instead of PVA and other adhesives, which harden and become brittle, it is preferable to use a silicone sealant, which always remains plastic and less prone to cracking.

Since it requires considerable effort to attach a hammer, ax or sledgehammer using rubber, the opposite end of the handle should be strengthened for the duration of the attachment by grabbing it with a clamp and tightening firmly. The clamp can be replaced with construction tape or vinyl insulating tape by wrapping the handle tightly in several layers.
Also, instead of rubber, you can use a galvanized sheet metal tube with a seam seam, which is put on the handle and inserted into the hammer hole. Further, as usual: a few blows and all the parts take their places, and very firmly and reliably.

Absolutely not every modern person will be able to put a hammer on the handle. It would seem simple, but when doing this kind of work, most home craftsmen have some problems. This is due to the fact that in order to maintain instruments in good condition, it is necessary to regularly deal with them and understand the principle of their design.

Today in the construction market there are hammers, the handle of which is made of metal or synthetic materials and, accordingly, there is no need to put it on. However, along with modern instruments the use of traditional hammers with a wooden handle is often practiced.

Why is it necessary to fit the handle?

The popularity of wooden handles is not only due to their cheapness. Wood is a lightweight material and is extremely important for hammers. The handle should be lightweight and its head should be heavy. This is necessary to increase the impact force. Using homemade wooden handles, a person has the opportunity to adjust the instrument depending on their anthropometric characteristics, taking into account the thickness of the handle, its length and other dimensions.

For proper operation, the tools must be kept in perfect order. This is especially necessary if you have to use the tools quite often. To drive in a few nails a couple of times a year, you can also use a bad hammer with a cracked handle. However, if the hammer is the most necessary tool to work, it must be kept in excellent condition. If the instrument is not in proper condition, then you risk not only self-injury, but also harm others if its striking part comes off.

It is important to note that on dangling tools this happens quite often, not only due to material wear, but also due to improper fit of the striking part on the holder. In addition, the wood used as a handle is of particular importance.

What wood material is used for the hammer handle?

First of all, it is necessary to exclude the type of wood, which easily splits and cracks. These include spruce, pine, aspen, alder, etc. At the same time, it is recommended to use hornbeam, maple, mountain ash, dogwood, ash, oak, beech or birch as a handle for steel locksmith hammers.

Before grinding wood the material must be pre-dried, since the hammer must be worn exclusively on dry wood.

This is due to the fact that during the drying process, any material decreases in size, water evaporates and its volume decreases. If an insufficiently dried handle is used when planting the hammer, then over time it will dry out, will constantly dangle and fall off.

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Choosing the shape of the hammer handle

According to GOST, 3 forms are used to make a hammer holder. However, the master can make other ergonomically convenient handle shapes at his discretion. This is often practiced when self-production handles, but as the correct basis is taken one of the variants of GOST.

When making holders, it is important to take into account the fact that the size of the workpiece must be longer than it is necessary to get in the end. The maximum headroom is about 5 cm. Mainly the handle should taper towards the end that faces the striking part of the instrument.

The process of attaching the handle to the hammer

Often the size of the hammer head opening at the top and bottom entry is slightly wider than in the middle. Thus, the dimensions of the blank for the handle in the thin end part must match the dimensions of the holes in the middle of the striking part of the tool. It is imperative to check that the hole for the handle on the striker is made well with the tool. You can see how this is done in the photo.

It shows the head of an old hammer, which needs preliminary processing. Without these works, it will be impossible to complete the handle attachment. Paying attention to the picture, we can see that the ebb of the striker was done poorly enough, there are large influxes of metal and unevenness, each entrance to the holes on both sides differs by 6-8 mm than in the middle of the striker.

To correct all defects and irregularities, it is necessary to process the inside and outside of the hammer head with a file. Then you need to insert the thin end of the handle into the lower hole of the hammer to adjust all dimensions correctly. The tip of the handle should be flush with the opposite side of the striker. If the handle is thicker than the corresponding holes, then it must be sanded so that the element was inserted into the hammer hole with a certain interference.

Due to the fact that at the end of the handle we achieve a shallow cone, then with more deep dive it will be pulled more tightly into the hammer head. It is worth noting that in the process of this it is important to take into account that the firing pin on the handle is not distorted, and is installed at a right angle.

To hammer the handle into the hole of the striker, it is necessary to hit it with the back side in an upright position on the anvil, workbench table, etc.

Due to its weight, the hammer head will slowly push onto the expanding cone of the handle due to its weight. At the same time, it is strongly not recommended to stuff with hammers or hard objects on the back side of the handle, as this will lead to its split. This method can only be used when fitting a non-metallic striking part (wood or plastic), for example, for a mallet.

After the hammer head is firmly seated, and the movement of the handle in the striking part will no longer be observed, then it is necessary to cut off the protruding part with a hacksaw blade, having previously retreated half a centimeter above the impact heads. That is why it is necessary to use a longer workpiece.

Wedging the hammer handle

Purchased hammers often have wedges that are incorrectly driven. Basically, the metal plate is hammered in the center of the longitudinal axes at the end of the handle. Because of this, for a short while, loosening and loosening of the handle in the hole of the striker occurs. To avoid this, it is necessary to make a notch on the back of the handle, the depth of which will be about 0.5 cm. For this, you can use a narrow chisel. The notch must be made so that it is not located along, but across the entire length of the end. If done incorrectly, then in the process of hammering the wedge, the handle may split. It is important that the wedges fit tightly into the handle, slowly pushing apart the wood layer.

For wedges, it is recommended to remove the same type of wood from which the handle itself is made. The dimensions of the Wedge are about 2-3 mm in thickness and about 1.5 cm, it all depends on the size of the hammer. In this case, the wedge should not be long, a maximum of about 4-5 cm, otherwise it will simply break in the process of driving it into the handle. The front of the wedge must be sharpened at an obtuse angle. Before driving the wedge, it must be lubricated. The use of silicone sealant is recommended as a lubricant. Thanks to this substance, it will not only easily sink into the wood, but will also be securely fixed in the handle.

After the client has been hammered, the protruding end of the handle must be sawed off again so that the protrusion of the hammer head was no more than 2-3 mm.

In the case of using dry wood for the handle, it will be enough to drive in one wedge, but if the material is softer, then it is recommended to drive in a second, but already a metal wedge. Its width and thickness should be the same as that of a wooden one, but its length should not exceed 2 cm.

The wedges are driven in completely flush with the back of the handle. After all the main work has been completed, it is necessary to finally process the handle with large and small types of sandpaper. After that, the handle of the tool is impregnated with linseed oil and varnished. You should not use paint for coating.

The above method of attaching the handle to the hammer is quite reliable. There is nothing difficult here. Having made a nozzle according to all the rules, you will forget about hammering nails into the handle and screwing in self-tapping screws, which is often practiced by many craftsmen to avoid the handle swinging during work.

Video "How to attach a hammer correctly"

In order not to fly off the handle during operation, but to sit on it reliably and firmly, it is enough just to correctly put it on the handle once.

Lever

First, about the dimensions: the handle of the hammer should be oval in cross section, from 250 to 350 mm long, smoothly tapering towards the end on which the hammer head is mounted.

Birch, beech, oak, ash, maple, hornbeam or mountain ash are best suited for making handles. It is completely unacceptable to make hammer handles from species with easily splitting wood: pine, spruce, aspen or alder.

Hammers with metal and plastic handles are now on sale. They have absolutely no problem of putting the head on the handle, but for some reason I prefer hammers with wooden handles. They are warmer to the touch, and they sit in the hand more securely and comfortably.

Most often, hammer handles are made from birch wood. If the handle is carved by you yourself from a thick birch branch, it must be dried in a warm, shady and well-ventilated place.

Do not try to dry wood using artificial heat sources: electric fireplaces, heaters, radiators. With this drying, the wood inevitably cracks and loses its strength.

If the wooden hammer handle is not dry enough, over time it will dry out and decrease in volume, and the head will dangle on it, constantly threatening to fly off the tool handle.

Fitting the hammer head onto the handle

Insert the thin end of the handle into the hole in the hammer head. It would be ideal to fit the head on the handle with a certain effort or, as the masters say, "with an interference."

In case the handle is too thick, process its thin end first with a rasp and then with sandpaper. As a result, the end of the handle should be a gentle cone. After attaching the hammer head to the handle, make sure it is strictly perpendicular to the center line of the handle.

Keeping the handle upright, with the hammer head up, hit it with the back wide end on a hard surface from top to bottom. With each blow, the tool head will slowly but surely sit on the expanding handle, hardening more and more on it.

The immobility of the head during subsequent blows will indicate that it has firmly "sat down" on the handle.

Wedging the hammer handle

Prepare a place for a wooden wedge. To prevent the wedge from going to the side and ruining the handle, make a notch about 5 mm deep with a narrow chisel at an angle of 30 0 to the longitudinal axis of the hammer.

A wooden wedge is a blade about 3 mm thick, about 15 mm wide and from 30 to 50 mm long. The wedge should taper smoothly towards the front, but the end should be blunt.

After the wooden wedge is driven into the handle by about 15-20 mm, saw off the upper part of the handle protruding from the hammer head with a fine-toothed hacksaw so that it protrudes 2-3 mm beyond the head.

Cut the second wedge from a strip of metal, the same shape and size as the wooden one, but much shorter, no more than 20 mm long.

Drive it into the handle at the same angle of 30 ° to the longitudinal axis of the hammer, but on the other side of the centerline.

After the complete, "flush" hammering of the metal wedge into the hammer handle, the work on the arrangement of the hammer can be considered complete.

Good luck to you! May you succeed!

Everything wooden handles on hand tool, I make from well dried birch, including for hammers. For hammers weighing 300-400 grams, a rectangular bar blank, 350 millimeters long, with sides 40x30 is sufficient. Measure the inner jaw of the hammer. After finishing, you should get a bar with sides approximately 35x25. On one side of the bar, mark the center (with lines from corner to corner) Around this center, build a rectangle with sides equal to the hole on the hammer in width and height. Drive the edges and faces of the bar with a plane from the back of the future handle to the sides of the rectangle drawn at the end. Chamfer the corners and round them. Using sandpaper, adjust the leading edge of the handle to the size of the hole in the hammer so that it fits into the interference.

The lines on the end of the handle that we drew to draw the rectangle will now become the marks for the wedges. Take a chisel and make notches along them, so that the notches do not reach the edge of the handle closer than 5 mm., Otherwise the wedges can split the handle.

We drive in wedges crosswise - first a wooden one and then an iron one. I use resinous pine for a wooden wedge, it sticks well into a birch handle.

No paints and varnishes I do not use for impregnation. I am not comfortable when the handle slides. A new handle, set on a hammer, including its end parts, is impregnated a couple of times with clean machine oil, with drying a day between layers. The handle of such a hammer does not absorb water, even if left in the rain, the hand does not freeze from it in the cold season, and as a kind of aesthetic addition - it has a beautiful amber color - this staining color of birch is obtained from oil.