Advice on which wood is best for creating a sturdy axe
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Important: The wood used to make the axe must be thoroughly cured in a special kiln. Also, when choosing raw materials for the workpiece, you need to pay attention to the direction of the fibers. They should never be intertwined, and always lie flat.
Maple
It has a beautiful color, soft structure and sufficient strength. All that said, maple is also very resilient. Pretty good material for making a hatchet. What’s more, what treats maple is not very difficult.
Birch
Very often on the shelves you can see axes with a birch-plated hatchet or simply birch-plated axes. The material is very popular primarily because of its low price. Birch is not the best choice for creating an axe handle. The material has a low hardness, but it begins to rot quite easily. A proper treatment of the raw material can increase the performance, but it’s still better to choose another wood.
Ash
A very hard, dense and strong material that is almost ideal for axe handles. The handle made of ash wood is incredibly resistant to impact loads, which is especially important in the context of axe work. Material is mid-priced and can be found in almost any store.
Beech
Beech wood is very easy and malleable to work with. That said, it is quite hard and durable when dried properly. In general, beech can be used to create an axe, but there is one very important negative. Beechwood absorbs moisture very well, which has a very negative impact on the durability of the handle and the performance of the tool.
Oak
Best axe-blade material. The standard for reliability and strength. Oak wood is the most shock resistant. Flexible enough, not afraid of moisture and pests. The only disadvantage of the oak handle (which most owners will ignore as a trifle) is its rather heavy weight. Many craftsmen and owners will recommend to stop exactly on the axe from oak, if there is no desire to buy a handle made of synthetic materials.
I would like to know even more interesting things? How about reading about how easy it is to sharpen knives with a wooden disc for your own enjoyment.
Restoring the hammer. Mahogany handle.
In general. this project, was a project of endless jams, fixing jams and generating new ones in the process of fixing.
On my last flea market run, namely on Udelka together with goodic. I bought a little something there.
I bought the hammer from a man. He wanted a hundred, but gave it to me for fifty. This hammer was my grandfather’s mowing line, and when I was a kid, I really wanted it. But my grandfather never gave it to me, and when he was gone, my father threw everything away (yes, I did not have time). The man said that on Vasilievsky Island, there is a place where during the war the ruins were taken, and he digs there, finds stuff and sells them. So the hammer, with some history or other. For the pen, I bought a wood chisel, and I begged goodic for a mahogany parquetry. The story of how I put the wagon in order, worthy of a separate post, and at the request of the workers I will write about it. But it was also pretty bad.
As usual, font in trillon solutions, light sanding. Then I spent another month on making the hammer, and finally I was ready to make the handle. Let out the board lengthwise, making a special saw for longitudinal sawing.
Shot first: for the handle, always dissolve the workpiece with a margin, you can more than once trim it! With a good margin, at least 1.5 of the final length!
After that I took the hammer for the first time in my hands and broke all the sizes, got so worried, that I dropped everything I could.
Folks in the machine chat room advised to collect the chips and fill with epoxy, getting the mahogany again. And the slippers can be shredded and get black :D.But jokes aside, I sagged the size (it was not yet sanding).
Saddened, but the next day pulled myself together and made a wedge. At first I tried to make a notch for a wedge with a jigsaw on wood, but I hurt myself and broke the saw (you know, mahogany is very fucking hard). Another joint. Ended up doing it with a fine metal saw.
I made the wedges from a ruler, but it was too soft. I had to finish it out of the remnants of oak parquet. In the process of wedging, the handle cracked. Count the kinks. One more thing.
Then sanding, but by virtue of the fact that I dug deep enough and crooked pliers, I dug pits there, and they can not be corrected without remaking the handle. There’s one more thing to worry about. Except for the general aesthetics, it has little effect.
Cracks and shrinkage, except for the gussets, I decided to fix with epoxy. But I could not find the 20-minute resin at the nearest store for a decent price, I had to take a 4-minute. The top part I poured without any complaints.
And, after the beater I wanted to wrap a thread on top of the resin and then paste more resin on top, but something went wrong, the resin was too fast, the thread broke off, and on top of it I pasted almost in flakes. But all in all, the main thing is that I closed the cracks and fastened the thread.
After that, finishing with teak oil. Oooh, teak oil. I love it.
Despite the fact that the handle shows signs of rough sanding, sinks and pits, and the girdle is also sloppily made, the hammer looks, well, very cool and kosher. And enough for my grandkids for sure.
Mahogany fascinates me, it’s not the first time I’ve encountered it, but it’s too beautiful. The disadvantages are that it is impossible even to saw without a respirator, it hurts your throat and coughs. Only with a muzzle. Very hard, but it’s fun to work with.
Why didn’t I redo the whole thing? Very simple: each step has taught me something, in fact, such a hammer can be bought ready-made, but the experience that I gained. do not buy.
I express my gratitude to goodic for the workpiece, zhalmenov for his help in getting the hammer in order.
How to put a hammer securely on the handle without using a wedge
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Most people use the tried-and-true method of hammering a wedge into the handle when putting the hammer on the handle. The method itself is not bad, but it is not perfect. In addition, the implementation of this method is extremely troublesome, requiring a certain skill. A beginner at this is likely to mess up more than one handle before they get it right.
The best method of restoring the handle of the hammer can safely be considered the method with a rubber pad. This is a really good option because it is the only way to get the metal part on the shaft as firmly and tightly as possible. Of course, first of all the latter would have to be prepared. To do this, you need to sand the sleeve area thoroughly with sandpaper.
Immediately after that the stripped side of the handle is wrapped with a piece of thin rubber and only after that is the hammering. The hammer, of course, does not want to be put on just like that. So it is necessary to knock with the back side of it on some hard surface. When this is done, you will only have to cut off the unwanted pieces of rubber.
Among other recommendations, it should be recalled that the handle of the hammer (in case it is absolutely new) it would be absolutely worthwhile to cover with any protective composition. Special lacquers or mastics for wood are ideal.
If you want to know even more interesting things, it is worth to read about how to qualitatively connect two sewer pipes. if you have no coupling handy.
How to make a cudgel with your own hands
When the processed material requires a powerful and simultaneously soft blows, the master comes to the aid of a wooden hammer. This tool with an unusual shape beater is often used by carpenters, carpenters, and many other professions. Simple in its construction, a hammer becomes a real salvation when it is necessary to forcefully affect the object, without damaging its surface. As well as the models of this tool, the technological processes of its manufacture, are different. In this article, we will explain the uses of the anvil and share a detailed guide on how to build this hammer from a minimal set of materials.
How to Make a Hammerhead
Before proceeding to the description of actions, it should be noted that the process of making the striker of a sledgehammer involves forging, which requires special tools, equipment and experience. If you do not have an anvil and a high-temperature oven, this guide will be theoretical only. The striker can be found on ad sites or in markets. In any case its cost will be less than the cost of a finished hammer. Well, for those who are not by hearsay familiar with blacksmithing, with the features of the product.
To manufacture the striking element of the sledgehammer, carbon structural steel of grades 50, 45, 55, 50G, 50G2 is used. This metal is used in the manufacture of truck axles, so if you do not have suitable material, you can look for it at the nearest garage. The work requires a rectangular piece weighing 3 kg, from which you need to forge a parallelepiped.
The next step is to make the place of attachment of the handle. To do this, on one side, in the center, punch a through hole with a diameter of 25 to 30 mm. The sides of the workpiece are deformed. After releasing the hole, you need to pierce the side edges so that the object has once again taken the form of an even parallelepiped, and the round hole became oval.
To make the fastening point the most reliable, it is necessary to give it a cone shape tapering from the lateral edges to the center (in the section of the striker it resembles an hourglass). For this operation it is necessary to forge a special cone-shaped steel gauge rod. The cross-section of the gauge has to be oval, and its length is 180-200 mm. The lower part of the section, should be a couple of millimeters narrower than the hole made in the striker, and the upper part slightly larger than the handle you are going to install. After forging, it is necessary to harden and grind the Caliber.
To properly calibrate the hole, hammer the steel rod to a depth just below the center of the punch. As you deepen the gauge, the side edges will deform. They should be straightened by removing the Caliber and forging the ends of the workpiece. Then hammer in the hole once again and without taking it out, hammer the sides and settle the ends. When the workpiece has the shape of a regular parallelepiped, repeat the calibration process on the other side of the hole.
When the bit is properly shaped and firmly clamped, it is time to move on to the hardening stage. To make the steel really hard you need to heat it up to 850 degrees Celsius until it is a bright red color. After reaching the required temperature, immerse it in cold water until it cools down.
Now that the steel is hardened, it is necessary to give it plasticity, so that it does not split when working. To do this, heat the product to 250-300 degrees and let it cool slowly. After cooling, grind the metal surface and read how to put a sledgehammer on a wooden handle.
Dimensions and Weight of Cue Picks
The tool is widely used, which leads to a scattering of parameters depending on the work tasks. Heavy models weigh over 900 g. Standard 450-900 g. Lightweight 225-450 g.
It is difficult to determine the weight by its appearance. Some miniature models are actually heavier than the larger mallets. Some products have a lead inserted in the striker for more powerful impact.
The hitting power depends on the length of the handle. The longer it is, the harder it hits. Standard parameters of a mallet: weight 300 g, length 30 cm.
Basic rules for working with a hammer
A tool that requires particular care in handling. Although the force of the blow depends on the type of hammer, but even a light head can be fatal if struck in the head at low speed. To avoid this, it is important to know the fundamentals:
- Work may only be carried out with tools that are in perfect working order. The head must be firmly seated in the handle. There must not be any chips on the wooden handle, and its length must correspond to the weight of the metal part.
- The pin must be in one piece, without splits or cracks.
- A grip must be made at a distance of 3-4 cm from the end of the handle.
- Only a straight nail may be used. Make a small hole for the nail beforehand. An awl can be used for this.
- The hammering is carried out in such a way, that the hand performs only vertical movements.
- Only move the device from hand to hand when lowered. Change of grip shall be made in the same condition.
If there is a defect in any part, it is strictly forbidden to work with such a tool.
If even 1 point is violated, the hand is in danger. Workers can get serious injuries to the head, hand or fingers up to and including death.
“About the hammer handles and the head.”. Wooden hammers, plaster hammers, wooden handle, fiberglass handle, and metal handle.
Today we will conclude our earlier discussion of hammers, not forgetting to focus on the various handles and heads of.
A roofer’s hammer is different from others by the fact that, first, in some versions of these heads are covered with a special lacquer that protects the tool from corrosion, and secondly, the holder. magnetic. This allows the nail to be “glued” to the tool, and the roofer can nail with one hand. In addition, the head of the roofer’s tool has a projection. With its help, holes are punched in the roofing material.
When performing the tile work, special tile hammers and plaster hammers are used. There is a point on the head of the trim hammer, which is used to mark the points where the nails will later be hammered in. The plaster hammer has a bifurcated head, which allows you to pull the nails out. For hammering nails, you can also use a plastering axe, which has a head designed for this “operation”.
The handle of the hammer is no less “important” part than its head. It is made of various materials. The most “popular” is wood. Among the woods used to produce this part of the hammer. ash, mountain ash, maple, young oak, birch and hickory (American walnut). Hammer handles are not made of coniferous wood. Nor can they be made from raw wood. Among the listed types of wood used in production, the most preferred is hickory, which will be mentioned a little later.
Make A Hammer Handle From Scratch, Part I
The wooden handle has a thickening in the part opposite the striker. This is done so that the hand of the master does not slip. But for all the advantages of wood, it has a disadvantage. The wooden handle can crack or break, usually at the junction with the head (this is “safe” for hickory handles). Therefore, there is a high probability of injury to the workman and other people nearby. Besides, the part, on which the head is mounted, “weakens” with time. The handle has to be periodically unclamped to prevent it from coming off. As for the hickory handle, like others made of wood, it can break, but it only breaks along the fibers, which means that such a hammer will not injure the craftsman.
The wooden handle is fastened to the head by means of the metal wedge that we have already mentioned. For greater rigidity of attachment a ring wedge can be used. But if we approach the matter “scientifically”, then the wedge can be a reliable fastener. To do this, the handle must be dried and then impregnated with oil. After that it is “driven” into the head hole using hydraulic equipment, securing the construction with one wooden and two metal wedges. In this case a hammer will serve you with good and faithful service for a long time.
For many years (and centuries) hammers were made only with a wooden handle, but later wood was replaced by new materials. One of them is fiberglass. English.).
This material. nothing but fiberglass, to which we have paid enough attention in our time. We will not repeat ourselves and talk about the properties of this material. Those who “participated” in our conversations about fiberglass, should remember its merits. Fiberglass handles are quite strong but lightweight. The center of gravity of a hammer with a fiberglass handle is not the same as a hammer with a wooden handle. It feels as if the hammer itself reaches for the nail when working with this type of tool. There is a material on the handle to soften the impact. The undoubted advantage of it is that the head on it does not break. This is achieved by an unusual attachment: they are glued epoxy resin.
In addition to fiberglass, graphite is used in the manufacture of hammer handles. These handles are lightweight and very strong. In terms of quality these handles are on a par with the fiberglass handles.
Metal handles are considered the most reliable. But the full-body handle has a “solid” weight, which complicates the work of the master. Hollow handles weigh much less and are popular among professionals (though there are “old timers” who would not trade a hammer with a wooden handle for anything). Hollow handles are chrome-plated and lacquered. Many versions of these handles have a rubber coating. The handle is firmly connected to the head by means of pressing.
Well, if we are talking about the handle, it’s a shame not to pay attention to the head as well. Much, if not everything, in the work of the hammer depends on the quality of metal of which the head is made. If this part of the bridge is made of soft metal, then nothing good can be expected: the head is flattened, it appears indentations from nail heads and burrs are formed. But a too hard head is not an indication of its excellent work, either. On the contrary, pieces can break off from the head of a hammer that is made of hard metal when it is struck. And it would be half the trouble if such unpleasantness only spoiled the appearance of the milk. Often, chipped pieces of metal threaten the health of the craftsman and those around him. We probably don’t need to talk about what a situation can lead to when a chipped piece of metal gets in the eye. But. Let’s not talk about sad things. If the head of the hammer is forged and the ends (blunt and sharp) are hardened separately, nothing will upset the craftsman.
Now, after acquaintance with nails and hammers, we would like to say a few words about the nuances that may occur at the moment of hammering. With the story about these nuances and ways of solving the problems we will begin our next conversation, after which we will move on to talking about other metal fasteners.
This article uses photos from sites: centuri, remont-control, str02, stroyvektor, etallon, smremont
Why does the welder’s hammer have a metal handle and not a wooden one?
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The reasons behind this design decision
There are a number of reasons why welders prefer this type of hammer for their work.
- A hammer with a wooden handle begins to play very quickly. it dangles on the handle. Accordingly, it is necessary to wedge it and soak the wood in water (eliminates backlash and the risk that the hammer will fly off the handle while working).
- Sometimes parts need to be jacked up before they can be welded. For this purpose, there are carcasses and clamps. Well, when you need it very quickly, then the experts press the parts with a handle of a hammer. A wooden handle during welding or tacking smolders and can catch fire. You get an acrid, unpleasant smoke. This problem disappears with the metal version by itself.
- An additional plus is that the working tool can be repaired quickly and easily. Even if the handle suddenly broke, replacing it with a new one is no problem (a few minutes). grinder and welder are always around, so is the material for the handle itself (a piece of pipe). The old one is cut off and the new one is welded on.
- A tool with a metal handle is heavier than its wooden counterpart. At the same time, its size remains the same. And the work is simplified when you need to pound or flatten something.
As with any design, there are disadvantages. Handle made of wood during the work process, shock loads are absorbed, respectively, they do not affect the hand. But with a metal handle, the load is applied directly to the hand.
But it’s not a problem, because the hammer is an auxiliary tool, and welders use it not so often during the shift. So there’s nothing critical about it.