Broken hammer handle repair time! #hammer #hammertime #ReduceRepairReuseRecycle #repair
First step is to drill out the wood around the metal spikes to loosen the head. Some people put them in a vise. No need if you are careful and don't have a vise. You have to remove quite a bit of wood. #repair
Took me 10 minutes. Used a rubber mallet to separate the head from the old handle. You can almost read "Craftsman" on the hammer. No idea how old it is... probably 1970's. Not that old! #repair #hammer
New handle, which comes with all you need. $9 from Ace Hardware. #repair
Hammer handle before wedges.
(This hammer was in a big trash bin at my neighbor's. Her kids were cleaning out the garage, and they tossed the hammer because of the broken handle. I, of course, retrieved it when she asked me to help level out the bin to close the lid) #dumpsterdiving
Next is the wood wedge. Put it in there, whack it with a different hammer until nice and tight. #hammer #repair
Next, cut the wood flush with the hammer. I didn't do a great job, didn't notice the hand saw was too close to the top. Won't affect the functionality of the hammer. #hammer #repair
Next two metal wedges the other way to really set the handle in place. Won't ever come out, without a drill. Probably will outlive me. #hammer #repair
Now to take care of the most annoying part of this... the labels. Getting them off is a pain, I end up sanding them off because I treat all my handles with linseed oil. #hammer #repair #ReduceRepairReuseRecycle
And now, ready for linseed oil (after lunch). #hammer #ReduceRepairReuseRecycle #tools
@ai6yr ah I see you already planned on that. Great minds think alike. 😁
Peter, Paul and Mary - If I Had A Hammer (1963 performance)

YouTube

@MsMerope @ai6yr If I had a hammer, I'd hammer in the morning. I'd hammer in the evening. I'd hammer all day!

This is why it would be a serious mistake to give me a hammer.

@mattblaze @ai6yr @MsMerope Would you believe a retired engineer friend of mine literally took a hammer out of my hand because I wasn't "hammering correctly." Handed it to the girl next to me. She had construction experience. Put me in my place.
@heafnerj @mattblaze @ai6yr @MsMerope
Yes, actually, i would believe that.
It LOOKS simple and obvious, but as with any tool, learning the right way is worthwhile.

@n1vux @heafnerj @ai6yr @MsMerope Tangentially, the expression "dumb as a bag of hammers" has always bothered me. It's used a pejorative, as if a "dumb" hammer is a bad thing.

I don't want a "smart" hammer. It would probably be called "SmrtHmr", cost $599, require an internet connection, and only work with proprietary nails.

@mattblaze @n1vux @ai6yr @MsMerope Singer Thao Nguyen has a song about a bag of hammers called, well, Bag of Hammers.
@mattblaze @heafnerj @ai6yr @MsMerope
and if it's intended to mean there's no rational reason to have plural hammers, it's seriously wrong. There are many hammers for different uses, not all of which are even related to things on the tack-brad-nail-spike spectrum.
@n1vux @mattblaze @ai6yr @MsMerope Plus framing hammer vs. roofing hammer...who knew?
@heafnerj @n1vux @mattblaze @MsMerope What kind of hammer is this one? 🤪
@heafnerj @n1vux @mattblaze @MsMerope LOL, I joke, if a motorcyclist with a flaming head shows up, I'll return the hammer, as well as the rusty chain that was with the hammer on the side of the road, no questions asked!
@ai6yr @n1vux @mattblaze @MsMerope That ain't exactly the Craftsman logo.
@heafnerj @n1vux @mattblaze @MsMerope Never ever heard of a hammer with a skull cast on the side before...
@heafnerj @mattblaze @ai6yr @MsMerope that distinction is subtler than tack vs framing vs ballpeen vs soft-face varities vs sledge, but makes a difference on a long shift.
@n1vux @mattblaze @ai6yr @MsMerope I was an adult before I learned ballpeen was a thing.
@heafnerj @mattblaze @ai6yr @MsMerope
The joy of rural Jr High School mid last century, i got 2 months of mandatory metal shop!
@heafnerj @mattblaze @ai6yr @MsMerope
Modern mind quakes at thought of preteens operating a wood-lathe, drill-press, and pouring molten metal.
@mattblaze @MsMerope @ai6yr
"If all you have is a hammer 🔨
every problem looks like a nail."

@ai6yr
So nice to see someone else doing this.

Here is a hammer I found in a farmyard ditch back in the 1980s. I did basically the same, but potted the new handle in with epoxy before doing the metal wedge.

And somewhere over the years I had some of that rubbery goo to coat tool handles for non-slip, so it got that treatment.

can't imagine how old this thumper-head is. It is great for garden stakes and other things where the need is to "get a bigger hammer".

It is just lovely to fix up old things and continue to use them!

@demerara Oooh, what an AWESOME thing to find in a ditch and get back into use!
@demerara @ai6yr I saw this cross peen hammer laying in the middle of a busy road, so I pulled over and picked it up. The handle had broken when someone drove over it, but that was easily replaced. It's been my favorite smithing hammer ever since!
@attoparsec @demerara @ai6yr A couple of my clamps (why did I type vises? goddamn) are ... well, not trash pile finds, but absolutely yard-sale-or-abandonment finds. That, and all my cabinets-of-many-parts-drawers. I've only bought like one new, before i realised you could find them on the regular for like $2.
@attoparsec @demerara @ai6yr perhaps dumb question, but are ya using the bolts to hold the alignment there while you peen rivets, or are you peening bolts for some reason?
@mcnado @demerara @ai6yr That was it. Not the best solution, but it was a one-off art piece.
@ai6yr
Goo-gone might work?

@ai6yr

Turps usually works on adhesives like that, but the linseed oil may do the job too.

Remember that boiled linseed oil has a tendency to be outrageously toxic.

@ai6yr I often use oil to soften the adhesive on pesky labels.
@EugestShirley @ai6yr Same. Slather that linseed* oil on, let it sit for a bit, and rub with a bit of cloth. The oil seeps under the adhesive and coats it, too, so it can't stick to anything else.
*Or any oil - I often use a bit of olive oil when removing adhesives in the kitchen - but assuming that you have linseed at hand