Thread: Steel hammer handle

I am in the process of making a brass head hammer, I have length of 4140 steel, would that be suitable
to make the handle, handle will be threaded directly into the head or should I find some thing else.

Hi China,

That is exactly what I did, I also put a plastic face on one side and an aluminium face on the other. I used heatshrink tubing to make the handle grip.

I'll take a picture for you tomorrow.

We had a similar machining project at the school I taught at.

A soft faced hammer with a 250mm or thereabouts, steel handle.

The handle was 20mm diameter parallel for about 120mm tapering to 12mm then a 16mm collar and then a 12mm thread into the head.

The end that was held in the hand was drilled (16mm diam drill or so) out for about 120 mm to throw the weight towards the head.

The outer surface was knurled.

The hammer always felt nice to swing because of the weight bias towards the head.

Grahame

I've made ergonomically correct (slightly oval) hammer handles using 1" NB pipe and squishing it slightly in the press.

Thanks for the replies I , I am thinking about knurling the handle did not think about drilling to balance though,

Hi China, Guys,

Ok I promised pictures....

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The head is a piece of 35 mm hollow hex brass scrap picked up in the local scrap yard. I just turned the faces that I made to be a press fit in the bore.
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The handle is a short length of 13 mm diameter bright bar of unknown provenance, threaded M8 to fit an M8 threaded hole in the brass head. The handle grip is just a number of layers of heat shrink tube. I just added layers until it felt comfortable.

The plastic end is nylon 20 and is very handy for tapping things down in the vise, though I often use the other end to thump a centre punch.

I've found that round handles on a hammer tend to roll in my hands. A couple of places I've been and used the supplied hammers, were terrible to use, they weren't knurled, but just a plain bit of 16mm round steel bar.
Kryn

Originally Posted by KBs PensNmore

I've found that round handles on a hammer tend to roll in my hands. A couple of places I've been and used the supplied hammers, were terrible to use, they weren't knurled, but just a plain bit of 16mm round steel bar.
Kryn

Kryn,

I agree, but have modified such hammers by cutting a strip of p20 LD/MD electrical conduit about 120 degrees of the arc. I then put one such strip in the front of the handle, and another at the back, then shrink glue lined heatshrink over the whole lot. It turns a round handle into a flattened oval shape, and adds a "rubber" grip as well.

Des