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

GGG

In the mid-70’s my brother and I got a job of installing a caboose in the
backyard of a wealthy guy just outside of Bryn Mawr, PA.  Pool house, you know.
He had the 40 foot caboose rebuilt professionally and it was broken down into
the main body on one flatbed, and the trucks (wheel sets) and the cupola on
another.  Our job was to re-assemble it with the help of a crane, but first we
had to lay some track.

We poured a couple of concrete footers where the trucks would go, spread a bunch
of course gravel, then laid brand new wooden ties and 50 feet of used rail with
new spikes.  He even went so far as getting 2 real spike hammers with the long
heads as John noted.  He had a third guy there helping us horse the rails around
and bolting lengths, but he was older and we were young bucks.

The spike hammers were definitely the right tool for the job.  We started the
spike with a 3 lb (or so) hammer, then finished with the real thing. You have to
strike from the other side of the rail as that is the direction of the angle of
the spike.  You can see it when you first start hitting it, but then the last
couple of strikes are blind - not too bad. I remember it being a day near 100°
in August and feeling like a real gandy dancer forcing the rails into alignment
before spiking.

ALSO - just spoke to my brother on his 67th birthday today, and he mentioned
that he had to use his Estwing rock hammer today in laying some bluestone.  He
got it for his 7th birthday - he asked for it - so it is 60 years old.  The blue
rubber handle is in excellent condition, and the head shows not much wear after
laying some brick and some bluestone over the years.

Ed Minch

after all the rain this year in our neck of the redwoods, some of the rails
on which our local steam train concession (roaring camp railroads) runs
their shay locomotive had some washouts.  at the same time they decided to
replace some rotting sleepers...without removing the rails.  they pulled
the spikes, dug out and pulled the sleepers, put in a new sleeper, then
spiked it.  they had both a long-handled and a short-handled spike maul,
and were able to hit both hard and accurately.  both guys on the gang were
in their mid-20s or so...  very cool to see them be so accurate with the
hammers, especially in 95 degree heat!

so i can imagine, ed, that it wasn't dissimilar to watching you and your
brother all those years ago :)

best,
bill
felton, ca

snip>
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

            

Relative short handle big hammers are di riguere for blacksmiths doing striking
for a master smith.  They might vary from 4-8 lbs, sometimes bigger.  I have
seen as many as five smiths gathered around an anvil striking one at a time
around the circle.  Mind you those are the most experienced ones.  Us rank
amatuer can’t manage more than a single striker for a master smith.

The short handle allows the handle to be tucked under the armpit and the hammer
to be pulled horizontally out of the way after striking - have to clear out for
the next person in the circle.  Folks with long experience with big hammers want
to hold it with their strong hand in back - swinging it a bit diagonally across
the body, or directly over ones head.  But that causes difficulties with keeping
it out of the way.  The preferred method I have been taught is to hold the
hammer with the strong hand up near the head, and the other hand in back, but
with the hammer on the strong hand side.  The week hand goes across the stomach
to behind the stronghand.  While awkward at first once one gets the hang of it
it works well.  Strike straight down guiding with the strong hand, with pretty
much the same tragectory one uses for a smaller hammer swung with a single hand.
One does not strike from that high or force the hammer that much.  The work is
done by the mass of the hammer.  After striking pull it straight back towards
the strong arm pit and only then raise it for your next turn.  That clears it
quickly from the hitting area.

As I said awkward at first and many older smiths never get the hang of it.  But
with a bit of practice it works quite well.  Watching a skilled group of smiths
doing it is a treat.

—Scott

> On Oct 21, 2017, at 10:46 PM, Andrew B.  wrote:
> 
> Late last winter when the yardsales had all dried up around me and there
> was only an estate sale once a month or so, lack of pickings led me to
> bringing home a pretty used up sledge that had a handle about 8 or 10
> inches shorter than my others.  Didn't need it but it was only a couple of
> bucks and thought I could turn it around pretty quick out of my mother's
> booth at an antique mall near me.  It sat in the booth for a few months and
> then one day a friend needed some help fixing his fence and I wanted to
> bring a sledge along but the antique mall was closer than going home from
> where I was starting from so I pulled it from the booth and went on to my
> friends.  Needless to say, after having put it to use, it came back home
> with me.  Don't think I'd want to bust up a sidewalk with it but for some
> things, definitely agree that they do have their place.
>

look at 6:50

https://www.youtube.com/wa
tch?v=k_LA_R4ifYk ps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k_LA_R4ifYk>

Ed Minch

GG's:


It's too bad that the "Forging Heavy Chains" film could not have high-fidelity
sound !!!


I'm sure it was bedlam, and I'm sure that all the workers have noise-induced
hearing loss.


John Ruth