Make Wooden Handles

Flute Maker · May 3, 2009

I'm looking for a primer on how to make wood handles for all kinds of hammering tools.
Hand sledge, ball peen, claw, mallet, riveting, upholstery, ...
What kind of wood, grain direction, wedge slot direction, material for wedge?
I read somewhere about a wood wedge that was driven in, and then a metal wedge driven in at an angle to the first? Does that work?
Thanks,
Payson

delloro · May 3, 2009

I have rehafted a few tools

the grain is lengthwise, of course, but if you are asking whether the rings should extend front-to-back, and not side-to-side, that is what I usually see.

hickory seems to be the overwhelming choice.

you have the wedging correct, at least, I have done that with effect.

Locoweed · May 4, 2009

I used to visit a handle making operation here in Alabama. They used kiln dried hickory cut to rough size. They had a tracer lathe which held a model of the handle and then a circular cutting blade, following the model, went down the length of the handle blank and cut it to shape. Exactly like gun stocks are made. The semi-finished handle was then heavily sanded to bring it to final shape. This outfit did not apply any kind of finish. The wedge slot is cut along the long axis of the tool handle and then the wedge is driven in as far as it will go and then cut off flush. Then a metal wedge is driven in crossways all the way. The wedges then can be touched up on a belt or disc sander to bring them down flush with the top of the tool. This is a labor intensive operation requiring highly specialized machinery. You could always start with dry hickory and use a drawknife and spokeshave to bring it to shape. Personally, I would go to my local flea market where they have buckets and barrels of finished handles and buy one there. I usually keep several standard shapes in stock for projects that come along. I used to travel around the flea markets and buy up old axe, hatchet, sledge hammer, machinests hammers, etc, for just a couple dollars and then stop by the handle vendor to pick out handles for them. The entire finished project usually only cost a couple bucks and I would have a nice tool for very little money. If you buy your handles make sure it includes both the wooden and the steel wedge.

SouthBendModel34 · May 4, 2009

My two cents:

1) Make sure to buy a spokeshave with a curved foot, because you are shaving a curved shape with some concave curves. You may need two spokeshaves: one curved fore-and-aft and the other curved left-right.

2) The tracer lathe mentioned in post #3 is called a Blanchard lathe. Invented by Thomas Blanchard of MA about 1818.

3) You can do some roughing-out with a wood router.

4) Make a flat pattern of what you are trying to achieve out of masonite or thin plywood. Drill a hole in this pattern and hang it from a ceiling joist when done - you will either like it and use it again or you will use it as a basis for a refined design.

5) Scrapers can be a great help in bringing the wood to final shape.

6) There's raw material in the firewood pile. Look for pieces that dried slowly without splits. Oddly enough, you see some great pieces in the packaged (wrapped) firewood in the supermarkets ! I think that stuff might be kiln dried, which is why it is not "checked" (end splits)

Remember that this is a lot different than most metalworking jobs: you are not trying to make interchangeable parts !!! The ultimate arbiter of the shape of the handle is the user. You have to like how it feels in your hand and how it looks to your eye. That's why you want to make and retain a pattern - you will refine it though the years.

Bill's Machine Shop · May 4, 2009

Additionally, you will want to clean the hole in the hammer head. There is usually a lot of rust in it. When you fit the head to the handle, use a whitling knife to cut the handle where the metal marks are. You can usually get a good tight fit in three or four fit checks. The tighter it fits before you drive the wedges in, the longer the hammer will last. WWQ

Flute Maker · May 4, 2009

Do you think there is any advantage to driving in the handle on a sledge or maul with an arbor press? Put the head on the floor and the handle sticking up through the press.
Payson

gtermini · May 4, 2009

When your done, soak the head in antifreeze, it will swell it up well and not dry out again. Gryson

Limy Sami · May 4, 2009

Owing to a damaged right (hammering) hand I have to make quite a few special handles.

Hickory if I can get it, if not English Ash, shaping ;- whatever floats your boat, after roughing with an axe or band saw, I use drawknife, spokeshave angle grinder with 40grit flap disc, etc etc & finish off with a foam drum sander,........ and a wipe over with Linseed oil.

Armenius · May 4, 2009

Laminated hockey stick handles make excellent hammer handles, and they look very nice to boot.

I've made a few handles for hammers this way; I leave them a rectangular cross section shape with generous corner radii and tapered from top to bottom.

Basically I saw them to approximate shape on my bandsaw, rough finish with a wood rasp followed by medium file, then sand paper. Finish is with polyurethane floor finish. One point is I leave the handles very long and trim them as I use them to get the right "feel".

Mind you my hammers are quite small; 100gm, 200gm, and 500gm are my common size for which I have made handles. For sledge hammer and axe I purchase the handles. I use one wood wedge to hold the handle. Never had one come off.

Arminius

Stu Miller · May 4, 2009

I've used hickory for handles for larger hammers (16 oz or thereabouts), but the hickory I can get is pretty coarse grained. I have used yew for some smaller handles with great results. The yew is fine grained, so the grain is more in keeping with the size of the smaller handles.

Jeff_M_PA · May 4, 2009

Epoxy Helps Too

When I finish one (and I have only used store-bought handles), I put a little caulking around the bottom of the hammer head hole, then lay a bead around the top to form a little dam. Then mix up some epoxy and pour it inside the dam. After the epoxy dries, remove the caulking and sand off any dried epoxy that is left sticking up. This fills the minor voids in your head to handle fit and makes for a really solid handle.

Flute Maker · May 4, 2009

Stu, where do you get Yew? Is that the same as the bushes in my front yard?
Payson

Jeff_G · May 5, 2009

Turn the rough shape on a wood lathe, using 2 centers. This gives a roughly elliptical cross section that minimizes clean-up.

I finish all my wood tool handles with a coat or two of thinned linseed or tung oil. Protects the wood, and has a nice feel.

Stu Miller · May 5, 2009

Flute Maker,

I have seen yew for sale a couple of times in small pieces in woodworking stores near Seattle. I don't know if the local yew which grows as small trees is the same as your bushes, but the pieces I have are straight grained and knot free for a length of about 3 feet and the curvature of the sapwood side indicates a small tree trunk of about 6 inch diameter. They were split out for bow stock many years ago by a local woodworker, so I don't really know much about the source. You might try some of the wood advertisers in Fine Woodworking in Washington or Oregon. I am sending you an email.

Aaron Setunsky · Sep 26, 2017

Interesting point about yew is that aparantly it can have an affect on blood pressure. I was talking to a local wood turner years ago who was working with it. He used his air hose to blow down the shop when done and had a syncopal episode (fainted) when he inhaled the dust. The effect hit him pretty sudden... as did the floor as well.

Steven-Canada · Sep 26, 2017

http://www.bchmt.org/documents/education/AnAxetoGrind.pdf

Axe Handles have some similarities
the video is dated, but the document is great.

Bill D · Sep 27, 2017

years ago I posted a you tube video of an old British guy who made handles the old fashioned way. I looked and can not find it.
Bill D

neilho · Sep 29, 2017

Payson-

American ash has the same shock absorbing porous layer as hickory and is locally available. Following the grain is important, so splitting is a good way to form the rough blank. I keep a few blanks of American hophornbeam around for splitting maul handles (why I keep loaning mauls out I don't know

), but not everybody has access to the stuff or the patience to wait till it's dry. A trick for using handles of green wood (in an emergency) is to dry the wedge end in a bucket of sand on a wood stove overnight.

An arbor press could work, but keep in mind that the head will go on and off the handle numerous times in the fitting. Pushing the head on a bit by hand, holding vertically and striking the user end of the handle on a hard surface is an easier way. The head will then come off easily by hammering alternately on the front and back of the head, so long as it hasn't been jammed on too hard. Save the maximum force for the final assembly.

Hammer head sockets/eyes, esp in the larger versions, are often tapered. The larger diameter end of the socket is the wedge end. Extreme examples are mattocks/picks, which have so much taper wedges aren't needed.

I also wedge with wood first, then steel the other way. Expanding the handle in both directions helps it stay on.

stephen thomas · Sep 29, 2017

Your address is MA.
If you ever get over to Springfield, they used to have a very early Blanchard in the armory, and run it sometimes. When it was not being run, they had a video of it working. In-laws were in Springfield, I have not been there for quite a few years so things may have changed. I remember that in the 80's the museum was interesting, fairly extensive, and often had significant shows of traveling exhibits. By the late 20-aughts, the place seemed much reduced and sleepier.

smt

Scottl · Sep 29, 2017

Best would be hand split hickory. That assures a straight grain. Then you can use machines if you must but IMO hand tools are better because they let you "read" the grain. A lot of the hickory available in sawn boards today has less than ideal grain for handles. If you select what you think is the best and then split it you will know right away whether you have a handle blank or firewood.

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