I finally finished a task.
Years ago I stumbled upon Dowd's Tools in Garland, Texas which is North of Dallas. The owner bought up vintage tool and every few months would have a flea market in the yard. I eventually cleared a weekend to drive up to see if he had some things I could use in my shop and I drove up the day before so I could be there when the sale opened. That day was mostly wood working tools but I did find 2 old chisels and shoe makers hammer head. The chisel edges were rather chewed up which I could easily fix with some filing and polishing. The hammer head, for me, was just a piece to collect considering I do have a hammer fetish. Note: Mr. Dowd has since passed away and even though the website is online, I haven't seen a sale since then.
The hammer head has sat on my hammer rack since then. I did polish up the faces at one point just to make them look a bit nicer but I never set a handle. I found a handle that would kinda fit but required some work due to the odd shape of the hole which to me indicated the hammer head was hand made - it was very rough and not a perfect oval. I think I bought the handle before the shop elf passed, 3 years ago.
Since school is over and the studio is a mess, it is time to do some cleaning. I started with the counter top nearest the sink and there I found the hammer head along with handle, it was time to finish this! I plugged in my belt sander and started to grind off wood so I could seat the handle in the head. Eventually I got it to fit such that the top of the handle protruded beyond the hammer head. I then took a wood wedge from the hammer handle storage box which has handles, wood and lead wedges. I used a lead filled leather mallet to seat the wood wedge then cut off all the extra wood.
The hammer is now in the rack with my other vintage hammers.
Years ago I stumbled upon Dowd's Tools in Garland, Texas which is North of Dallas. The owner bought up vintage tool and every few months would have a flea market in the yard. I eventually cleared a weekend to drive up to see if he had some things I could use in my shop and I drove up the day before so I could be there when the sale opened. That day was mostly wood working tools but I did find 2 old chisels and shoe makers hammer head. The chisel edges were rather chewed up which I could easily fix with some filing and polishing. The hammer head, for me, was just a piece to collect considering I do have a hammer fetish. Note: Mr. Dowd has since passed away and even though the website is online, I haven't seen a sale since then.
The hammer head has sat on my hammer rack since then. I did polish up the faces at one point just to make them look a bit nicer but I never set a handle. I found a handle that would kinda fit but required some work due to the odd shape of the hole which to me indicated the hammer head was hand made - it was very rough and not a perfect oval. I think I bought the handle before the shop elf passed, 3 years ago.
Since school is over and the studio is a mess, it is time to do some cleaning. I started with the counter top nearest the sink and there I found the hammer head along with handle, it was time to finish this! I plugged in my belt sander and started to grind off wood so I could seat the handle in the head. Eventually I got it to fit such that the top of the handle protruded beyond the hammer head. I then took a wood wedge from the hammer handle storage box which has handles, wood and lead wedges. I used a lead filled leather mallet to seat the wood wedge then cut off all the extra wood.
The hammer is now in the rack with my other vintage hammers.
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