Decent Handle For A Sledgehammer

mikefoxo

Broke the old handle a year ago. Fair enough it had been in it for a few years. Got a new one in the co-op I think it was, have broken it three times in the last 12 months:mad: All it's done is hammer a wedge through a (small!!) amount of knotty timber and put down less than 30 4 inch posts. Is it just a bad handle, made from the wrong timber or what? It's really p!ssing me off now. What sort of wood should they be made from??

Jimlh86

mikefoxo wrote: »

Broke the old handle a year ago. Fair enough it had been in it for a few years. Got a new one in the co-op I think it was, have broken it three times in the last 12 months:mad: All it's done is hammer a wedge through a (small!!) amount of knotty timber and put down less than 30 4 inch posts. Is it just a bad handle, made from the wrong timber or what? It's really p!ssing me off now. What sort of wood should they be made from??

Get a plastic one I have a dargan one I think, yellow and black handle give it dogs abuse never any problem

cute geoge

I just drive a 2' length of heavy gal. inch pipe in to sledge and weld it

Username John

cute geoge wrote: »

I just drive a 2' length of heavy gal. inch pipe in to sledge and weld it

Jesus, would that kill you with the shock from it

Genghis Cant

Hickory is what's normally used.
Some lads would break a crow bar in a bog, other lads are easy enough on handles.
Nice steady clean strikes are often better that a frenzy of savagery :-)

td5man

Username John wrote: »

Jesus, would that kill you with the shock from it

Have 1 1/4 steel handle in my sledge no shock from it.

farmerjj

cute geoge wrote: »

I just drive a 2' length of heavy gal. inch pipe in to sledge and weld it

+1

mikefoxo

Jimlh86 wrote: »

Get a plastic one I have a dargan one I think, yellow and black handle give it dogs abuse never any problem

Where would you get a plastic handle? Seen hammers in DIY with plastic handles but never just the handle itself.

The first time it broke I will admit it had one or two chips out of it, but the last three times it just broke right at the base of the head, not a scratch on it

Count Mondego

"There's nothing like a nice piece of Hickory"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyjrUAimzZg

whelan2

cute geoge wrote: »

I just drive a 2' length of heavy gal. inch pipe in to sledge and weld it

have one of them too, never gets lost as no one uses it:o

Genghis Cant

Count Mondego wrote: »

"There's nothing like a nice piece of Hickory"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyjrUAimzZg

Much obliged.......

Jimlh86

mikefoxo wrote: »

Where would you get a plastic handle? Seen hammers in DIY with plastic handles but never just the handle itself.

The first time it broke I will admit it had one or two chips out of it, but the last three times it just broke right at the base of the head, not a scratch on it

Sorry apologies, I doubt you can get the plastic handle on it's own the bought the whole sledge.. It's a great job though I can't see how it would break with "normal" farm use

td5man

Jimlh86 wrote: »

Sorry apologies, I doubt you can get the plastic handle on it's own the bought the whole sledge.. It's a great job though I can't see how it would break with "normal" farm use

Asked in local hardware and they only come complete thought I saw them separately somewhere.

Sam Kade

cute geoge wrote: »

I just drive a 2' length of heavy gal. inch pipe in to sledge and weld it

I've 2 of them after getting fed up of buying timber handles

Markcheese

I saw them in the the local co-op - must get a splitting maul with plastic handle- because I 'be a major habit of taking the head off that -

Sam Kade

Username John wrote: »

Jesus, would that kill you with the shock from it

Wrap silage tape around it if you have tender hands

Username John

Sam Kade wrote: »

Wrap silage tape around it if you have tender hands

How did you know Sam

I dunno, if you wanted to break up stones around a post, or break a piece of concrete (as I have with the sledge in the past) or hit anything else heavy and metal, then I'd prefer a timber handle... But each to their own

Sam Kade

Username John wrote: »

How did you know Sam

I dunno, if you wanted to break up stones around a post, or break a piece of concrete (as I have with the sledge in the past) or hit anything else heavy and metal, then I'd prefer a timber handle... But each to their own

Breaking stones jaysus :eek: Are you in the chain gang by any chance? I only use a sledge for breaking down tractor tyres or driving stakes If I want to break concrete it's down to the local plant hire for a kango hammer

Username John

Sam Kade wrote: »

Breaking stones jaysus :eek: Are you in the chain gang by any chance? I only use a sledge for breaking down tractor tyres or driving stakes If I want to break concrete it's down to the local plant hire for a kango hammer

Ah, the joys of farming Sam, maybe worse than a chain gang - I've no release date

Ah, if I was hanging a gate, I'd put in the post and break stones around it. I think the breaking concrete was just taking a corner off...

Sledge is a bollox for driving stakes - get a mallet (oh, just remembered I need to out a new handle in ours - and a steel handle would prob work well on that)

selectamatic

Neighbor has the old axle of a cart welded into a lump of a head no danger of breaking that! Lifting it is enough of a challenge. That said it was mainly made as a joke but it has seen action when lesser sledges and indeed lesser men have failed :P Also seen a small length of piping slotted down over a handle and welded to the head to act as a sort of collar seems a fairly decent job too.

Jb1989

Count Mondego wrote: »

"There's nothing like a nice piece of Hickory"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eyjrUAimzZg

Well said Clint

ganmo

I wouldn't be the kindest to handles but the one that closest to coming apart is the pick and that doesn't get used too much

Reggie.

Sam Kade wrote: »

Wrap silage tape around it if you have tender hands

Or the tape for the top of the hurley

frazzledhome

Jimlh86 wrote: »

Sorry apologies, I doubt you can get the plastic handle on it's own the bought the whole sledge.. It's a great job though I can't see how it would break with "normal" farm use

We broke one but it got driven over

Jimlh86

frazzledhome wrote: »

We broke one but it got driven over

Ah theirs always one 😩

Reggie.

frazzledhome wrote: »

We broke one but it got driven over

That'll do it alright

MickeyShtyles

Reggie. wrote: »

Or the tape for the top of the hurley

Yep, that's what I've done with the axe here. Savage altogether!

9935452

td5man wrote: »

Asked in local hardware and they only come complete thought I saw them separately somewhere.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/5-New-Sledge-Hammer-Handle-Fiberglass-S-284-ATE-Tools-Replacement-Fiber-Glass-/331485354034?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4d2e111832

The only problem is they are coming from the states

9935452

Genghis Cant wrote: »

Hickory is what's normally used.
Some lads would break a crow bar in a bog, other lads are easy enough on handles.
Nice steady clean strikes are often better that a frenzy of savagery :-)

Ive seen lads get a piece of tight fitting water pipe about 3 inches long and put this on the handle before the head of the sledge. When you miss whatever you are hitting the water pipe protects the handle

dzer2

Hickory handle and learn to swing the sledge
Should come from behind your leg over your head on to the object being hit, never broke a handle here.
Used to sledge for a blacksmith you would learn quick enough