Hand Tool Restoration - Cross Peen Riveting Hammer 

a Great video! I subscribed your channel. Two reasons why your handle splitted. 1) Your wedge is in the wrong angle. See 4:14 your wood grain and wedge met in "X" position. that's not good. Drive your wedge in the same grain direction. it goes in better and it will not make your handle crack. 2) You didn't drive in your handle enough. When there is a slight gap between the eye of the hammer and the wood(even though you can't see) when you drive your wedge, it splits. It was painful to see the crack in such a nice handle. It was a pleasure to watch the whole process though. Two thumbs up!

I didn't know this channel went back 4 years. The YT algorithm had this video in my recommendations this morning. That's a nice shine. I need to replace my broken sander. Each time I clean up an old tool it reminds me of the first time I realized these were once nice and shiny new tools my grandfather or someone else had 60 to 100 years ago. It's also interesting to realize as you struggle with a diy home repair that the only wrench that saves you is an early 1900s pipewrench when everything else has failed.

Hanging a hammer head is one of the most challenging procedures we go thru. Anytime you separate the grain it will split to some degree. I can tell you one thing, how the wood is dried makes a big difference in how it splits... Some handles are prone to disaster. the hammer looks great! That polished head really stands out now!!!!!! Awesome!

Your handle cracked because you didn't do this the way real youtubers do. You need to fell a tree from your 1000 acre property then hand hew it down to an insane futuristic type ergonomic shape, then edit out any parts that are not absolutly perfect, all without saying a word. Then burn your super fancey logo into the handle while filming in slow motion with a $5K camera. Thats how real youtubers acheive perfection 🤣🤣🤣. Lol...Seriously, great episode! I really think that looks sharp....great job. As for the not splitting, id put that old flathead screw back in it 🤣🤣🤣. Cheers

Scoutcrafter mentioned in one of his videos that you should take a drill bit that is larger than the slit in the handle. drill across the slit at its base. This will stop the slit from splitting deeper when placing the wedge in the hammer head. I hope this is helpful. Love your restoration videos.

Simple project which turned out pretty good.

Came out nice and glad to see you included the disaster. It seems more realistic to me. Thanks for the video.

The charred handle looks great!

Love how it turned out, has almost a medieval vibe to it with the polished steel and black handle!

To be honest I wouldn’t even put a metal wedge in at first. The wood wedge should be plenty. Leaving the handle proud of the head a little gives it more of a wedge for holding the head on. Then save the metal wedge and if in a year or two it gets loose you can use it to tighten it up. Just my two cents! Great job.

I have one of my grandfathers ballpeen hammers that taught me new words back in the 70s. He put 3 handles on in one afternoon. The last one involved a gas welder and steel tubing. The head is still very firm and solid, but I did replace the electrical "grip" tape

Yes! Flitz never lets you down. I 100% agree with what leathertoolz said about the cracked handle. Hammer on dude.

Awesome job on the head, can't believe how good that came out. My 2c on why the handles split, the wedge is too long for starters (more on that below) but the hickory produced commercially may be dried too dry and the grain in modern factory-produced handles isn't oriented the way it should be. Put those two together and the unsuspecting user can drive a suitable metal wedge home and this happens all too easily. I've driven in _two_ steel wedges across the wooden wedge to secure a poorly-fitted handle and not had cracks like this. In both cases the wood did split in the eye but no cracking was visible below the head because it was a claw hammer I was working on, which has that deep collar. This is a shallow head you're working on here, if everything had been the same only you were fitting a claw hammer you might have been fine. If you do need to use a metal wedge it should be sized to the hammer being worked on, say no more than 1/2 the depth of the head. On my claw hammer the wedges were maybe 5/8" long and the head was a full 2" deep. For this type of thing in future I think Brian McGuire nailed it though, just the wooden wedge with the shaft left projecting a bit above the head is likely fine. This can be sufficient on a hatchet, even on a full-size axe.

Thanks for sharing the ups and the downs of this project.

If it had been me I would have been tempted to saw the handle where I was going to put the spline first. A great restoration, it looked fantastic and a job well done. As always a great video.

I recently made a handle for my coal hammer and for that I ensured there was no gap between the handle and the hammer eye, and I cut the gap in handle to take quite a wide wedge, so there was little actual movement, but the wedge did not break. Seems solid!

I liked your restoration. The black charred handle looks great.👍

Nice hammer and finish. Usually I leave a little space side to side to allow space for the handle to expand when I drive in the metal wedge.

My thoughts on the handle fitting are: examine the hammer head and determine if it has an up side, fit the new handle so that there is not too large of a gap to be filled when you insert the wood wedge, drill a round hole at the bottom of the manufacturer's cut for wood wedge. The larger the gap when you fit the handle the more the wood will separate and the likelihood of a split to appear, when you inserted the metal wedge it may have been too long and created too large of a split. Drilling a hole along the bottom of the cut creates a sort of hinge where the wood can open without extending the split. Great video, I enjoyed it.

El pulido del metal quedó espectacular. Me hubiera gustado restaurar el mango viejo se veía entero.

You need to make the slot deeper into the top of the handle with a handsaw. Without the deeper slot the wedges crash into the handle body and split it like an axe. Hope this helps. Your videos are great!

great video, though its old its still inspirational for me to attempt the same project in the near future. I see all sorts of old hammers at the flea market that could use a new handle. FYI..on another youtuber's hammer related post, they say an old farmers trick to keep the handle tight after it's been attached is to soak the head and top of the handle in anti-freeze. It will expand the wood and crystalize in the fibers to keep the head tight. I've done this with my cheap HF ball peen hammer that was getting loose.

Hi! There should be minimal gap between the handle and the head at the top of the head , it should be a snug fit all the way through the head before fitting the wedge . Regards Will

Good look on hammer head. The problem that you had with the handle splitting when you drove in the wedge may be solved by drilling a hole at the bottom of wedge slot. I had seen a video about this as a solution to that problem. It worked for me. Hope it helps Magdad.

Turned out awesome!

Love that hammer I even liked it before you restored it 😁

Good for another 25+ years! I’ve got one just like it but I like the original look to it. I’ll worry about restoring when it breaks.

A great restoration. I am going to learn from your handle finish (steal) and try on one of my tools. Thanks for the video.

Wedge across the grain, not with it, makes it less likely to split and for those splits to run. As said everyone else. But. Same thing can happen with the wooden wedge, and that has to run with the grain in a perfect axe or hammer handle. A nifty trick to help stop that is to drill a hole along the bottom of the kerf, so it sort of looks like an upside keyhole. The drill bit only has to be a touch wider than the kerf, and all it does is stop all the splitting force of the wedge concentrating on the bottom of the kerf and allowing a split to form and run.

Now you got to do a project that requires replacement of rivets so you can show us how that fancy looking hammer is supposed to be used! As always, excellent video. I learned a lot my friend.

Nice clean up and a beautiful restoration on the hammer head. Handles are a dime a dozen.

Love your channel mate. It’s one of the more entertaining ones going around. Great work.

Another great video! I thoroughly enjoy your videos and always look forward to the next one. Very informative and relaxing to watch. Keep up the good work!!

Great video(s)! Your restorations, in my humble opinion, are the best for the everyday person. A lot of people on RU-vid (ex. Hand Tool Rescue) do these elaborate restorations of tools that most people would never ever use. While it is fun to watch, it is a bit unrealistic for the average guy. The hand tools that you restore can be used daily, and someday passed down to our children or potential grandkids. So much fun to watch, and you're an inspiration to get in the garage/workshop. Now, PLEASE restore your Irwin vise and make some brass jaws for it. Great job, man.

one way to prevent the wood from splitting, is wen you have the handle in the hammer head cut off the excess material and drive the wood wedge in with some wood glue let it dry, wen it is fully dry put the hammer head in a bucket with water and let it sit for 24 hours and then drive the metal wedge in

Next time cut a kerf into the top of the handle and use a wood wedge. You can stain the wood wedge a dark color and have a nice contrast between the white hickory handle and the dark stain wedge. Nice job!

My guess as to why it split: you didn’t shave the “fat side” of the handle down so that the length of the head of the handle could completely be inserted in the eye. Then you didn’t spend enough time banging on the bottom of the handle, it wasn’t in all the way. Hold it so the hammer is all the way upside down and hit it until it feels like you’re hitting a stone. Then no matter what you do, that handle will not split.

Good work on the hammer. Would almost hate to use it. Thanks

Great video. The wood may have split because it was too dry. You may want to brush on a 50/50 mix of boiled linseed oil and mineral spirits before you start. Michael from Canada

Love the charred handle. - worked out great bro!

Great job! Very nice!

Two problems with the handle installation 1. Wedge is at a wrong angle. 2. Even if wedge goes down to a different angle we should always have relief holes drilled before installing the hammer head at the end of the wedge cut to stop the wood from cracking. 😇

I love the hammer,, handles give me troubles too. Thanks for sharing Pal!

Very nice work on finish.

excellent work

That's a good looking Hammer for sure...the Charred Handle looks Great!! Nice work and perseverance :]

Just started doing some hammers..I've got quite a collection of body hammers and I've got a 6lb hammer like yours I bought at a flea market many years ago..I've always loved it..but it's pretty rough from all the years of work and abuse lol

Still a very good video! The use of the belt sander and different grades of sand paperwork on the hammer head, and the shine produced from the process, I'm sure made ScoutCrafter jump with joy.😂 The handle, it's happened to a lot of! Keep them coming.

I think the charred handle needs flames 🔥 painted on 😎

Just kerf the top of the handle to accept the wedge, you can also drill a small, 1/8" hole at the bottom of the kerf, this will definitely stop a split developing. The steel wedge should be 2/3- 3/4 of the depth of the hammer head. I have re hafted a couple of dozen hammer heads and never had one split doing it this way.

That looks great magdad!

Awesome video!! 👍😊

The unusually shaped original wedge may have been more suitable than the one that came with the handle.

Good job. My 2 cents worth is that the wedge is not supposed to be used to fill up gaps of empty space between the head and the handle. The handle needs to be scraped, sanded or carved to fit tightly into the head. The wedge is to lock a well-fitting handle into place so that it doesn't get loose or fly off while you use it. If the business end of the handle doesn't have some degree of moisture in the fibers, it has no flexibility when you are trying to put the wedge in and the handle is then prone to split. Some people like to soak that end of the handle in a little linseed oil prior to starting the job, and then add a few more drops every few months to keep everything tight. The Flitz finish is amazing - after watching your videos, even I bought some. P.S. There is no rule that says you can't trim down the wooden wedge they give you, if you think it is too big for the job.

Great as usual. Wish I could have seen the result of the flitz test, though. Best wishes.

Hammer turned out great👍🏻 Almost too good to use😀

I couldn’t see the second handle, but the first handle had the grain orientation wrong. You want the grain of the wood to run parallel to the hammer head, not across. It’s stronger that way, and the wood tends to split along the lines in the grain.

One wedge installed correctly is all the wedge needed.

Hi bro 👋👋👋 very good restoration hammer 🔨 👍👍👍

I wasn't to sure about the wood burning, but it does look good! I'm no expert in putting handles on, but I would have blamed it on the wood myself. I did really like the s shaped wedge you took out, very unusual.

Have to admit, I was partial to the original handle at first, but I see where it was damaged. Interesting concept with the charring. I've done a light charring, light sanding and linseed oil on garden tool handles with some success. Wondering if the handle split because it was too dry? Giving it a presoak with H2O or linseed first maybe? What do I know, could be worth a try.

Cool video, have several hammers I want to redo, but I think I’ll wait and see what folks say about your splitting problem, still, the results was beautiful!

Great restoration. Great video. :)

I tend to steep the handle head handle in boiled linseed over night then drive the wedge in, no splitting. The other thing is it's best to get a handle directly from a shop so you can inspect the quality of the grain and how close the grain is!

Your like me Magdad I'm not afraid to ask for help. Scout crafter helped me with a old Ford thum oiler. And great video nice hammer my friend!!!

Great job. Looks completely different. I've never seen a wedge put in diagonal in a hammer. It's usually at 90° or 180°. The couple of hammers I did, I believe I put them in at 90°. I don't think you'll have any problem with the hammer though. 👍👍👍👍👍

Terrific look it's beautiful

Aha! This is why John did the video about splitting hammer handles. VERY nice job on this. Originally I did not like the charred look, but in the end I think the contrast is great.👍🏻

عمل جيد تستحق الايك

Magdad, I've put on many handles..because at 58 and a lifetime of practice..I still can't hit the nail on the head lol ..you know what that means!! Well I'm OK with that ! But I've seen guys cut the factory groove deeper depending on how far the head goes down on the handle..and then cut the handle to about 1/2" above the head and then use epoxy and drive the head down using the weight of the head by pounding the but end on the be

The polished head looks great but I am not sure if I am a fan of the charred handle look. Is the splitting caused by the wedge going across the grain or aligned with the grain?

I love it

Looks great. The wood wedge might have been enough with glue. ???

Definitely cool.

I knew you weren't going to stop at 120 grit. :-D Was just waiting for the Flitz and was not disappointed.

Very, very cool!

Awesome job. Ive split so many hammer handles i cant even count. Lol. Your hammer turned out beautiful brother! Im heading over to Instagram to follow u now. I might be following u already im not sure. Lol. 👍😀🇺🇸⚒

Love the hammer head not keen on the charred handle

I've never heard of 'charring' the handle like that - never seen that here in England. Hammer looks good though. Take care 🙂

Lovely finish on the head..... Did the Flitz have a noticeable effect after the wheel polish?

The wood cracked because you have put the wedge with the grain you should do it against the grain that's how i did and it's better . Thanks.🔨

Great video... Very educational. Only real men post videos with less than perfect results. I think 'leathertoolz' gave you two solid pieces of advise. Joe's Shop was a close second. Love your channel. Keep them coming... Michael from Canada

I have found glue / epoxy is needed and looks better with just the wood wedge.. this is years of experience and using the hammers daily after the fix ...without the epoxy the wedges always seem to back out ..then when the head gets sloppy my tendency is to continue using the hammer until the head comes off again and it usually messes up the handle..that's why you see nails screws and multiple wedges.. if you use the epoxy when doing it the first time this doesn't happen.

Very nice. What rust protection is used on that pretty steel?

Do not use metal wedge in setting a handle its for repairing later

There should be a slight taper in the hammer head my have been on upsides down looked like to much gap in handle at top of hammer after you cut it off. There also was way too much handle out the top of the hammer to wedge tight make sure the saw cut in the handle is a little over half down in the head with that much handle out the top my need to cut it dipper an cut some off the excess on top before putting wood wedge in if you had to cut handle deeper the wedge should stop when it is tight cut off handle at top of hammer and put metal wedge in at a angle

Try round step wedges

If the split is confined to the head, it will have no effect on durability and utility, in my experience. What happened to the original “S”-shaped wedge; I would have reused that one.

I think the first handle split because it’s half heart wood and half sap wood. It’s kind of crappy handles you got.

Your handle needs to be touching the inside of the hammer eye all around before driving the wedge, then it will tighten the wood fibers rather than spread them out along their length

Try drilling two holes the end of piece your putting in . good job though.

Drill a hole along the bottom of the factory cut

Wow I have one of those but not that pretty . great little hammer . Just think it was too big like you said..

I might have tried to rescue the original handle. The split? Perhaps the handle didn't "fill" eye enough. I hope it's not another example of they-aren't-making-them-like-they-used-to. I bought a long handle flat shovel for my son to carry in his car during the winter. I bought it at the same industrial house I bought mine decades ago. It was an Ames, it said USA (NOT made in USA). The handle had almost NO shape to it. When I thought of a guy who had to hump that piece of crap eight hours a day, it irked me so badly, I called Ames. Oh, they sent me another one - it was exactly the same. Those people don't care because they have most users trained to accept anything. I ended up spokeshaving it into a proper profile and oiling it up before I gave it to my son.

Could òld wood handles be more reliable? I dunno...🇨🇦

Great video, but I think you are using too thick of a wedge to tighten the head. Not an expert, but my opinion.

I absolutely detest hand-sanding. It just goes on and on and on.

I will give you $20 for it and pay for shipping

Charring wood has two actual benefits, neither really apply in modern times. Well beyond looks if that's your thing. 1- in ancient times wood wasn't commonly sanded, so they would char the wood and simply scrape it. 2- insects supposedly do not like charred wood. As for making it harder, it would dry it out a bit but time would do that as well. I never use metal wedges, a nice snug fit in the head a wood wedge is great. Remember pick axes have nothing but friction, all any hammer needs. If feel you just have have a steel wedge use circular one. Sorry I'll stop preaching useless info now. I guess working in museum ruined me.