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looks easy from here
climber
Ben Lomond, CA
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Sourcing hickory stock material for the handles isn't easy so if anybody has a source of good, dry, straight-grained hickory, let me know.
What about pillaging thrift stores of their baseball bats?
I hope you'll be making these for a while: I covet, but can't justify, yet.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Bob somehow consistently manages to shear the tang pin on Yosemite hammers. True. Bob hits pretty hard, which makes the bolts go in fast, but it's hard on the equipment.
The tang rivet on my Yosemite hammer from 1974 got broken, but I've since replaced it with a max diameter nail that I peened over by hand.
This has been working great for me.
And since you have been supplying Bob with hammers, he hasn't stressed mine recently. :-)
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 3, 2015 - 05:58am PT
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We got our hickory handles from a company called OP Link, somewhere in the south.
Link still makes handles and some of the first DAMMERRs had link handles. I have contacted a couple handle manufacturers to see if they would alter some of their patterns to match my needs but none seem interested in supplying custom handles to a guy making a few hammers in his garage.
I hope you'll be making these for a while: I covet, but can't justify, yet.
I'll probably keep making them so long as a few people want them. It is a hobby and I may lose interest. The fun is in tweaking the design and method of fabrication.
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Spider Savage
Mountain climber
The shaggy fringe of Los Angeles
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Sweet hammers!
I have one of the good Forest hammers otherwise I'd get one.
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 3, 2015 - 10:47am PT
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Spider,
One lousy hammer? That's like having one beer!
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 3, 2015 - 02:44pm PT
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A sack of hammers is stupider than a box of hammers.
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 8, 2015 - 09:50pm PT
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Being discouraged with the handles I can buy, I have resorted to making my own. I bought a slab of kiln dried hickory.
I've never worked with hickory before, it is very heavy and very hard. I ripped and surfaced it into 1" pieces then rough cut the handles. I then milled them to the finished shape. The heads are slightly different in that I raised the pin a little bit to get abetter bite in the wedge. I think the pin going through the wedge is a better way to secure the head on the handle than the tangs used on most hammers. I get a better fit between the head and handle plus there is no way the head will fall off.
The handle is made from a rectangular piece. I wish you could hold it in your hand because I think it has a very good feel to it.
I will send #30 off this week to Aaron who I hope will use it and let us know what he thinks of it.
Edit: This, as I explained to my tolerant wife, is an art project and not a way to make money. The new handles mean each hammer takes even longer to make and if I sold them for minimum wage plus expenses, not a person on the planet would own one. Making a handle adds about 50% to the time it takes me to make a hammer but I think this is a better handle and better is just that - better. Figuring out how to make something good using the crap equipment I have in the garage is most of the fun. I think functional art is the best kind of art and I really only hope that people will use and enjoy my hammers. I hope Aaron wears it out so I can make an even better hammer for him.
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healyje
Trad climber
Portland, Oregon
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Nice...
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Aaron McDonald
Trad climber
Santa Cruz, CA
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Dan,
This looks great! Can't wait to get my hands on it!
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Vitaliy M.
Mountain climber
San Francisco
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Did you test each one of those for time to make a hole. I wonder if the design makes a big difference (size/shape of a handle etc), and how would they compare vs 'mainstream' manufacturers?
This is really awesome you are making own hammers!
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Did you test each one of those for time to make a hole. I wonder if the design makes a big difference (size/shape of a handle etc), and how would they compare vs 'mainstream' manufacturers? He tested the commercial hammers and at least some of his early models.
The higher performance of the McDevitt hammer in drilling speed was the motivator to figure out why, and if it could be further improved.
http://www.supertopo.com/climbing/thread.php?topic_id=2435668&msg=2462859#msg2462859 (Drilling hammers: speed and efficiency)
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 9, 2015 - 02:37pm PT
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My conclusion was that the most important variables were weight and handle length which I have incorporated into my hammers. However, I have decreased the handle length a bit because long handled hammers can be awkward in cramped spaces and long handles are more of a hassle to carry.
The other variables I think are important in efficiency are hardness of the steel and shape of the head. The current shape isn't optimum but I think the loss in efficiency is very small.
Weight is the most important variable but it is in large part an ergonomic issue so the optimum weight for me may not be for somebody else.
The most recent hammer is 13 inches over all. I forgot to weigh it and it is on its way to Aaron already but it should be right around 24 ounces.
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Mike Friedrichs
Sport climber
City of Salt
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Your craftsmanship is outstanding. I really enjoy this thread. I have an A5 hammer that I like a lot, but every time you post I sort of drool. Thanks for sharing. One of the threads that keeps me coming back to this place.
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mucci
Trad climber
The pitch of Bagalaar above you
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Love the new stamp!
Can't wait to put mine to use, hopefully soon.
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 9, 2015 - 09:23pm PT
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Your craftsmanship is outstanding. I really enjoy this thread. I have an A5 hammer that I like a lot, but every time you post I sort of drool.
Thank you, I'm happy if anybody appreciates what I am doing.
You should get a DAMMERR especially since they are fairly easy to get. Of all the hammers I have made, I have only sold a couple - the rest have been traded for something interesting and quite a few have simply been given away to people who are friends or are doing something for the collective good. If you want or covet a hammer, let me know what you are willing to trade or why I should give you one. Bartering is more fun and more rewarding than marketing. If you have, or better yet make something, propose a deal.
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 10, 2015 - 06:40pm PT
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Seven hammers put together and need homes. serial #24 through #31 excluding #30 which has already arrived at its new home.
All of the handles are smooth and nice but some sanding might improve their looks. I advise rubbing the handles with boiled linseed oil. Linseed oil is a penetrating finish that polymerizes when it oxidizes. I also wipe down the heads with it to prevent rust. The thinnest layer will do.
My grandfather told me that when he went to the first world war they gave him a rifle with an unfinished stock and a tin of linseed oil. He was told to oil it once an hour for the first day, once a day for the next week and then once a week forever. A rubbed oil finish is very nice.
The handle on #30 was sanded and oiled before I sent it off. I think it looked really good.
I need to perfect my jigs for shaping the handles as some of them have router divots. The ones with divots are just fine as far as use goes. Sanding might make them look a little bit better.
In this photo they are numbered left to right:
Order is back to front in this one:
#24 has the smaller head because it was the tail end of the piece of stock I cut up. It has a nice raw wood handle. It weighs about 23 ounces as opposed to the ~24 ounces the others weigh. This one might be nice for a smaller person or a person who is having elbow issues. I could also take the head off and shorten the handle to make a mini backup or back country hammer.
#25 the handle has been oiled with boiled linseed. The handle has a shallow router divot on the palm side. Not very noticeable.
#26 Raw wood handle, has a router divot near the butt
#27 raw wood
#28 raw wood
#29 raw wood very slight router divot near butt
#31 is oiled and has a zinc screw
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 12, 2015 - 08:19pm PT
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OK, I was bothered by those handles with the router divots. They are really nice handles and completely useful handles but could look better. I have worked out the kinks in my fabrication jigs and made 4 more handles. These are really nice and I suppose I will have to take the irregular handles off numbers 25, 26, 29 and put better handles on.
These newest handles are sanded, oiled and look really nice. At least I think so.
Handle making steps:
1) Rip 1.75" thick slab and plane faces.
2) Cut each slice to rough length
3) Plane each piece to finish thickness
4) Trace template onto piece orienting to make grain as straight as
possible on finished handle
5) Rough cut out handle on band saw
6) Use trim router bit and shape piece
7) Center drill each end for lathe
8) Round over each face with router
9) Turn precise diameter on lathe to fit in head
10) Trim to finish length
11) Drill out end for leash
12) Three step drill for leash screw
thread diameter, shank diameter, counter sink
13) Band saw slot for wedge.
14) Sand
15) Oil numerous times
That still leaves mounting the head on the handle.
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Clint Cummins
Trad climber
SF Bay area, CA
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Mar 12, 2015 - 09:44pm PT
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Looking really good!
What are your thoughts on the leash and its retaining screw?
I like the Chouinard Yosemite Hammer design (partly due to familiarity),
and am glad to see you are using the hole in the bottom of the handle.
The CYH uses 1/2" tubular webbing for the leash, which is light,
compact, and the knots don't tend to come loose.
The knot is small and goes entirely within the hole.
I noticed you are using the 5mm perlon, like the A5/D5 hammer.
Also you place the retaining screw on the long axis, vs. the short axis of the CYH.
With the CYH, my fingers barely touch the screw head, and I would be more concerned (for skin blisters) if it was on the long axis, where I feel like I'm gripping that part harder.
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Banquo
climber
Amerricka
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Topic Author's Reply - Mar 13, 2015 - 09:01am PT
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Two typical attachments are the end hole like the Yosemite hammer (hereafter referred to as EH) and the side hole like most European hammers (SH hereafter). I have and can make any sort of leash attachment you want.
The SH is easier to make.
An EH won't fit in the fiberglass handle.
The EH allows me to mover the attachment high up the handle which is stronger. Increased end distance reduces the chance of end tearout.
With a SH the cord is subject to wear.
Running the screw in the front to back direction is stronger since there is more wood to engage.
The screw head sits flush and I use a flathead rather than the raised-countersink type on the Yosemite hammer. I can't see it giving anybody a blister. Some of the hammers have the screw front to back rather than back to front which might prevent blisters if blisters are a problem.
One reason I put the screw fore and aft is that it is different and to me different is much better if it works. It looks less like I am copying the Yosemite hammer.
Cord is very, very much easier to install. I fold the cord and simply push it into the hole. I watch for the fold to pass the screw hole and the fold makes a little open space or radius so the screw doesn't go through the cord and damage it. Trying to poke webbing into the hole and get it so it goes around the screw is hard.
The only advantage to having the knot outside the handle would be hanging it on a carabiner. This is easier to do with the SH.
If you know somebody who makes hammers, you can get whatever type of attachment you want. I have some nice 1/2" webbing on the workbench.
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