OldTools Archive

Recent Bios FAQ

263644 John Ruth <johnrruth@h...> 2017‑10‑20 Big Hammer, Short Handle
Gentle Galoots,


I did not want to hijack the Jacktown thread, but I did want to say a few words
about big hammers with short handles.  This is a mighty handy thing to have in
some situations


If you were to visit a construction project which has millwrights and riggers at
work, you would see some sledge hammers whose handles have been "bobbed" to less
that 30".


If you watch a RR track gang in a territory which still uses wooden ties and
spikes, you will see that some of their long spike maul heads have handles about
30" or so.  If there's a massive number of spikes to be driven, well, there's a
machine for that.  Ones-es Twos-es, they drive by hand.  Sometimes, the shorter
handle helps, at least as a "starter".


(A RR spike maul is a very elongated double-faced sledge hammer head about 14"
long.   I've seen track workers drive a spike home by standing on the far side
of the rail with a long handled spike maul.  That's a neat trick because you
cannot see the head of the spike you are pounding.)


Years ago, when I went to a now-defunct (sigh!) industrial supply house in
neighboring Perth Amboy, they had a choice of sledgehammer handle lengths, from
40" down to about 24"


I recently ran across of pair of brand-new handles with the large round end to
fit the eye for a sledge hammer but only 16" long.   I take this as proof that
there is sufficient demand for short-handled sledges that there's a market for
short handles.


I've not seen any conventional blacksmith hammers with the large round eye;
blacksmith hammers, IMHO, usually have an eye like a large ball peen, which I
guess IS a blacksmith hammer by definition.


So, if you have too many sledge hammer heads, consider putting one on a short
handle. If nothing else, it can be a bucking block for work on something that is
able to flex.


John Ruth

Recent Bios FAQ