Mar 202018
 

WOW, got to say thanks to Jess and the Ralphs! You all outdid yourselves!

Lately, my obsession has been cleaning up old tools. Particularly old rusty axes, hatchets, and hammers. Jess and I have been keeping our eyes on eBay watching for cheap auctions to snatch up and put back into service. I’m sure I have said it here before, but I’m always excited to daydream about what an old tool may have been through over the years.

An old mushroomed hammer or chips in a bit are all markers of work that was done long in the past. Every few weekends I’ll fix up another and Jess and I will go out and chop up a fallen tree or stump to check them out. It’s been fun and I’m getting a small collection. I now have a few items that are around 100 years old, keeping them in service seems important to me.

Well, my birthday was on the way and Jess and her parents conspired to overload me with fun work. …And they succeeded in spades.

Considering that I’ve had some eBay luck recently too my backlog of projects is impressive.

Below are some pictures of the take to help me track what’s still left to finish. As always I’ll post links to the finished tools as they are completed. With this many, it’s going to be a while!

Hatchets

Style (best guess) Length Width Who Lb./Oz. Grams Notes
Plumb Half Hatchet 5-7/8″ 1-1/4″ Bill 1# 6.1 oz. 630 g. Crack in Poll
Unmarked Shingling w/Nail Pull Hatchet 5-3/4″ 1″ Bill 1# 6 oz. 627 g.
Americanax Half Hatchet 6-1/2″ 1-1/8″ Bill 1# 3.4 oz. 543 g. 1920s, Glassport, PA
C. HAMMOND Half Hatchet

(found a picture of another, stamp matches)

5-7/8″ 1″ ?? 15.9 oz. 454 g. 2
CHAMMOND
PHILA
CAST STEEL
Germantown Lath Hatchet 6″ 1-1/4″ Bill 14 oz. 397 g. Cut and Modified
Kelly Works Half Hatchet 6-3/8″ 1-1/8″ Jess ? oz. ? g. Weldmark
Unmarked Shingling Hatchet 6-5/8″ 1-1/8″ Jess ? oz. ? g.
Unmarked Half Hatchet 6-3/8″ 1-1/8″ Jess ? oz. ? g.
Plumb Riggers/Half Hatchet 6-1/2″ 1-3/8″ Jess ? oz. ? g.  *fav*

 

 

Hammers

Style (best guess) Length Width Lb./Oz. Grams Notes
Craftsman 1 lb. Masonary Hammer 7″ 7/8″ 1#  0.6oz. 473 g.
Bimgham’s Best Brand 30 oz. Ball Pein 4-7/8″ 1-1/2″ 1# 13.5 oz. 836 g. Likely 1920s
Craftsman 24 oz. Ball Pein 4-1/2″ 1-1/2″ 1# 8.3 oz. 691 g. Early 1930s
Plumb 24 oz. Ball Pein – Finished 4-5/8″ 1-1/2″ 1# 7.6 oz. 670 g.
Plumb 15 oz. Ball Pein 4″ 1-1/4″ 15.4 oz. 438 g.
Stanley 16 oz. (310B) Ball Pein 4-1/8″ 1-1/4″ 15.8 oz. 448 g. JobMaster
Fairmont 16 oz. Ball Pein 4″ 1-1/8″ 15.9 oz. 451 g.
Ball Pein Blank 12 oz. (no eye) 3-3/8″ 1-1/8″ 11.9 oz. 337 g.
Unmarked 8 oz. Ball Pein 3-3/8″ 1″ 8.7 oz. 248 g.
“Forged” 5 oz. Ball Pein 2-3/4″ 7/8″ 5.3 oz. 152 g.
Stanley Ball Pein 3-3/4″ 1-1/4″ ? oz. ? g.
Unmarked Ball Pein 3-1/4″ 1″ ? oz. ? g.

 


Also See:

Mar 032018
 

Hicksville planing mill has everything. From pallets of purpleheart to Zebrawood, but where they really shine is their ability to process the wood your buying right there while you wait.

I’ve been re-handling old hammers and it’s costing [in many cases] more than the tool for the new handle. Plus, anything you can make yourself makes the tool just a little more fitted, and personal. So I started looking into making my own. Since none of the lumber yards around here have hickory or ash, I bought a couple of shovel handles, cutting and shaping them to size. This is a nifty trick if you need small handles, but it leaves little room to customize the handle beyond a tiny palm swell.

On Friday Jess and I loaded into the old Tahoe and drove up to Clear Spring, MD and dropped by my favorite Mennonite lumber yard. As one would expect they had plenty of Hickory, Ash, and Cherry the three kinds of wood I was considering for handles. Since Hickory is “king” when it comes to handles it was my first stop and we ended up finding more then I could possibly use.

Heartwood vs. Sapwood

I’ve been reading about using heartwood vs. sapwood for handles and after reading many opinions I’ve settled that it doesn’t make any difference whatsoever. Having a choice between straight heartwood, straight sapwood and a mix of the two (which I think looks amazing) I settled on the boards that had a good blend of each.

Since I’m sure someone wants to know the cost of Hickory at Hicksville planing mill was:

  • 5/4, $3.10 per board foot.
  • 6/4, $4.00 per board foot.

A survey of handles on hand.

I measured all of the handles I had around to see what dimension of blanks I would need. Most hammers were straight with the thickest point being at the swell (rarely more than 1.5″) and the widest point being in the grip or cheek (usually 1″ up to 1.25″). Half hatchet, heavy hammers and other beefy hammer handles made it to 1.75″. Hatchets, boys axes would measure up to 2″ shoulder and across the heel and toe. I measured across the belly and throat on a couple of curved 36″ ax handles and they fit within a 2.5″ blank.

With all these numbers I put together a quick handle blank sizing table that will work for me. That’s another post though so I’ll link to it here.

Getting all of the wood ripped, planed and cut to blank stock.

Again I love this mill because not only can you find exotics and hard to find hardwoods but they will process the wood right there for you while you wait. They even let you help, which I appreciate in this day and age of liability fear. I picked my two favorite boards from the 5/4 and 6/4 pallets. Most of the boards were 8 to 10 feet long by around 7″-12″ wide. Way more wood then I need, but it’s a long trip and I wanted enough material to experiment with. Being able to make mistakes is a good way to learn so I’d rather have more than not enough.

We ripped them to the following sizes:

Dimensions Use Feet Available
1 x 1 Very small (3oz ball peen, small tinners\setting hammers) 0′
1 x 1.25 Small striking tool handle (ball peen, etc) 0′
1 x 1.5 Hammer, Trade hatchets, ball peen, etc 0′
1.25 x 1.25 Medium striking tool handle (ball peen) 0′
1.25 x 1.5 Heavy Hammer, Roofing hatchet, medium cross peen 27′
1.25 x 1.75 Half hatchet, Extra Heavy hammer 22.5′
1.5 x 1.5 Drilling hammer, Hammer with large palm swell 9′
1.5 x 1.75 Half hatchet with a curve, Straight \ Miners ax 36′
1.5 x 2 Boys ax, House ax, Straight \ Miners ax 3′ ??
1.5 x 2.5 Curved handled, full-sized axe 10′

 

A note on the sizes.

After some experimentation 4/4 would have been a better choice for many of the small hammers. I’m grinding away so much wood to get them down to size.

I’ll make another trip and pick up some 4/4 hickory and perhaps some ash also to experiment with. Just not nearly as much!



Additional Links and Info:

Our first trip can be found here: Visit to Hicksville Planing Mill

Mar 022018
 

Lately, I’ve had an opportunity to pick up some misc rusty hammers and hatchets that will be refurbished and put back into use. I’m going to add them to this post as they arrive so I can keep track of what needs to be done. And perhaps more importantly whats been completed 🙂

Lot #1 – Tiny old Rusty Hammers (February 27th, 2018)

Some of the smallest hammers I have ever owned are in this lot I just received from an eBay seller.

I really like the tiny 3oz ball peen and look forward to hanging her on an itty-bitty handle! I’m also excited to add another setting hammer to my collection and filling in another hole in the ball peen hammers rack.

Style (best guess) Length Width Shape Lb./Oz. Grams
Small Claw Hammer 4″ 3/4″ Round 8 oz. 228 g.
Tack\Carpet Hammer 4-3/4″ 5/8″ Round 3.5 oz. 96 g.
Tiny Ball Pein 3″ 5/8″ Round 3 oz. 85 g.
Small Ball Pein 3-1/2″ 1-1/8″ Round 11.3 oz. 321 g.
Tinners Setting Hammer 4-1/8″ 3/4″ Square 7.7 oz. 225 g.

 

Lot #2 – Assorted Trade Hatchets (March 3rd, 2018)

A nice gent on facebook listed a couple of interesting hatchets. I jumped on the plump roofers’ hatchet which I have wanted for a while. He also had a nice-looking Vaughan, and a beat to heck produce hatchet.

I’ve had a chunky produce hatchet on my want list for a while. And even though this one is in rough shape, I thought it would be a fun project to mod. I’m still playing around with the shape, but I think I’ve made it into something usable.

Style (best guess) Length Width Shape Lb./Oz. Grams
Plumb Roofing Hatchet 7″ 1-3/8″ xx 1# 2.3 oz. 520 g.
Vaughan SuperSteel Roofers Hatchet 6-1/2″ 1-3/8″ xx 1# 1.6 oz. 500 g.
Produce or Barrel Hatchet 6″ 1-1/8″ xx 1# 5.4 oz. 600 g.

 

Lot #3 – Assorted Ball Pein Hammers, 6-pcs (March 4th, 2018)

This next set is a group of ball pein hammers. They are mostly small but fill in a few holes in my set.

Make \ Type Length Width Lb./Oz. Grams
USHCO 8oz Ball Pein 3-1/4″ 1″ 8.6 oz. 245 g.
Stanley 8oz Ball Pein 3-1/4″ 1″ 8.6 oz. 244 g.
Stanley 12oz Ball Pein x” x” x oz. x g.
Plumb 12oz Ball Pein (fiberglass handle) x” x” x oz. x g.
xxxxx x” x” x oz. x g.
xxxxx x” x” x oz. x g.

 

Lot #4 – Amazing 1.6# Rusty Swedge (March 20th, 2018)

Got myself another birthday present. This swedge was supposedly a ship-markers swedge used to make rivet holes.


More cool hammers can be found here: Interesting Old Hammers To Restore

Feb 252018
 

I never owned an open top tool bag so when I was given one I figured it would end up in the junk pile rather quickly. Especially since this one was rather dingy, covered in rust stains and had someone else’s name written on the side. But I was curious to see how it worked and see if I would like it. It turns out there is a reason tool bags (and tool boxes) have had this design for a hundred years. It’s convenient! Everything in eyes sight and accessible.

Size wise the bag was perfect for any around the house jobs and long enough for a framing hammer, tall enough for my longest pliers or screwdrivers. The only problem is, it’s… well ugly, grungy and has someone else’s name on the side. Also, my experience with cotton tool wraps is they invite rust so I really try and keep cotton that’s not been waxed\oiled away from my tools. So there was only one thing I could do, redesign it and make my own out of modern materials.

The design

I decided to do a prototype first out of 500D Cordura. I could see that the sides and bottom of the bag would be many layers thick, and since I was planning on adding more pockets both to the outside and inside of the bag this would only get worse. 500D is strong, abrasion resistant and would make a good choice.

I wanted something that would hold and organize the kinds of tools someone would be using for handyman type work. I grabbed a couple handfuls of tools and laid out the pockets in a way that everything would fit.

The only compromise I made was skipping the two “spray paint” pockets I had originally planned to add. Sure they would be great when spraypaint was needed, but kind of useless all other times. Besides the inside is a giant pocket that can hold as many cans of spray paint as I’ll ever need.

Assembly

I’ll include some pictures of the assembly below but the design is pretty straightforward. Pockets are stitched down in order. Sides are assembled. The liner is added to the main body. Reinforcements added to the top edges then the sides were stitched in place. I didn’t put enough thought into the top reinforcements and they turned out to be an epic pain in the butt to sew in place.

In the future, I will make sure the 2″ webbing does not need to be folded over right where a narrow band of 1″ webbing is going to be sewn. That seam was 3/8ths of an inch thick and it was no fun trying to keep the stitching straight.

Future improvements

I’m already planning v2 of this bag. I would like the bottom pockets and perhaps the inside to be made with 1000D Cordura. This will provide even more wear resistance from sharp tools but it will also stiffen the sides. When you have 20 pounds of tools in the pockets the bag wants to collapse under the weight. While 1000D is not going to stop that, it’ll make it a little more ridged.

I would also like to make the sides more rounded. The bottom area was 9 layers of fabric thick. When folded in to hide the seam it was 18 layers + 5038 binding tape it’s a little thick for 1″ curves.

The last thing I’m not sure about but I have thought about adding a top strap with a buckle closure. This would serve to keep everything in place on commutes and give a way to attach tools to the bag that are longer than the bag. I’m kind of iffy on if I like this idea or not.

Food for thought

This bag took about 5 hours to make from start to finish. Its well built looks nice and works as designed. When you go to Walmart, or home depot you can find “made in China” tool bags for $12! Is this bag worth the effort? Is it worth the extra price I would have to charge? I think so, but we will see if others agree.

Add-ons

Because everything has got to match, even if its just a prototype…

Check out the add-ons I made to go with this bag:

  • Wrench rollup
  • Medium & Large pliers roll-up
  • Screwdrivers roll-up

(yes, I like roll-ups!)

Final Product Pictures

 

Assembly Pictures

Jan 272018
 

A while back I picked up some rusty, old garden tools from my friend Harry’s House. If you’re interested you can find more information here.

Paint day

Jess was away for the week and the weather was nice so it seemed like a perfect time to get some painting done. A couple of weeks before I removed the rust using naval jelly and gave them a couple of coats of prime (Rust-oleum Rusty Metal Primer). On painting day they were sanded almost to bare metal and prepared for paint.

The handles on two of the shovels were painted metal flake blue–which I really liked. I had a couple old cans of Dupli-Color MetalCast paint, one was blue so I thought that would be a perfect fit. The MetalCast spray paint requires a base layer (metal flake ground coat), which I had a can on hand. Unfortunately, that was only enough to do some of the tools and one shovel had to be put away for another day.

I hadn’t used this paint for a while and I forgot how frustrating it is. It spatters, clogs and is just generally frustrating, that being said its amazing if you take your time. The spray paint, now 10+ years old was particularly frustrating. The blue can was only about 1/3rd full, and was depleted very quickly, but I had a partial can of purple and green which I finished up the project with.

Before Paint:

 

After Paint (Day 1):

 

Update: After Paint (Day 2):

Update: 2/15/18 – More tools completed and ready to use.

After a couple of cold rainy weeks the sun came out for a day and I quickly gathered some more tools that were ready for paint. Most of these got primed over a month ago and got all non-working areas coated with metallic paint a few weeks ago in the paint project above. Today was just finishing the working surfaces with a coat of flat black paint. I really think the floral spade came out especially nice!

Jan 272018
 

My dad always had every possible tool on hand. These days I’m always trying to force the wrong tool to do the job. While I can’t afford to buy quality new tools, in this throw away world you can often find great vintage tools on eBay for just a couple of bucks.

I’ve been keeping my eyes open for old tools on eBay and when I find interesting stuff for only a couple of bucks I bid, and occasionally win a lot or two. Since I’m trying to keep my costs below $10 shipped I usually watch for lots, which offer the best pricing.

Here are two lots I won recently. Among them are a few items I’m really excited about.

Lot #1 contains a couple of really nifty small hammers made from great steel.

Lot #2 contains a mini miners pick and a craftsman half hatchet.

Also included is a picture of some handles I picked up in town.

Lot #1: Assorted Unusual Small Hammers

Style (best guess) Length Width Shape Lb./Oz. Grams
Brick Hammer 6 3/4″ 7/8″ Square 1# 457g
New York Style Masonry Hammer 5 3/4″ 1 1/8″ Square 1#/5oz 600g
Tinners Setting Hammer 5″ 7/8″ Square 14.5oz 400g
Cross Peen Forming Hammer 5″ 7/8″ Circular 1#/1oz 490g
Riveting Hammer 4″ 3/4″ Square 10.5oz 300g

 

 

Lot #2: Half Hatchet, Mini Mining Pick, Claw Hammer and Ball Pein Hammer

Style (best guess) Length Width Shape Lb./Oz. Grams
Craftsman Half Hatchet – Finished 6″ 1″ Round 15oz. 422g
Ball Peen 4″ 1-1/4″ Round 1#/2.7oz 533g
Curved Claw Hammer 5″ 1″ Round 15.5oz. 436g
Small Prospecting Pick
(maybe a Lining Hammer)
8″ 1″ Pick 10oz. 283g

 

 

Handles Ready for Heads Above (Mostly from Nichols Hardware in Purcellville, VA)

Assorted Hammer Handles


Some additional cool hammers can be found here Small Rusty Hammers (part two?)

Jan 262018
 
Michigan Pattern House Axe

The Slammer: 3-1/4 lb. Michigan Pattern House Axe

So here is a fun little toy.

I got an unmarked Michigan pattern head a while back and I have been using it to experiment with different files and methods. It is good steel and probably has some years, but without a makers mark there is really no way to know much more about this head.

I ordered a hatchet handle on Amazon that turned out to be a house axe handle (full-sized eye on a 19-inch curved handle). A house axe is usually 1-1/2 to 2lbs much bigger than that and you end up with something that’s a little hard to control with one hand, but I just wanted to try something so I gave it a whirl and she came out pretty good.

A hatchet that can easily split 12-inch oak rounds with a single swing is something to see.

A fellow axe junky called it “the sawed-off shotgun of the axe world” and I think that’s quite fitting.

Facebook Post (private group): https://www.facebook.com/groups/AxeJunkies/permalink/1635872123118015/


Update 2/7/18: Yesterday Jess took the Slammer out and chopped some 18-inch red oak rounds. She’s a beast (the hatchet and Jess, lol)

 

Dec 232017
 

Merit Jersey Pattern Felling Axe
Date: 1927
Weight: 4-1/2 lb.
Markings: “Merit \ Hand Forged” and 42 on the bottom of the poll
Pattern: Jersey Pattern or a Virginia Pattern

History: Merit was a Sears “brand” and Craftsman bought them in 1927. The scripted “M” in Merit was suggested to be a early stamp, but that’s from an unreliable source.

Here is a great find rescued from Harry’s Barn. This axe head was rusted up badly, but no chips. The axe had not been used much, the poll was in good shape, not much mushrooming. Harry said it belonged to his grandfather on his mothers side and that he has not used it much he preferred the other axe (a Collins commander for chopping wood).

Because of the age and the history I chose to leave this axe with as much character as I could.

The new handle is a 36 inch Link from Nichols Hardware Purcellville a wonderful old time hardware store. When I removed the varnish from the new handle I left behind some so when it was oiled and stained it would show some splotches (my hope was it would look warn from use). It didn’t come out exactly as I planned but I like the look .

Post about the “haul” here: Free Rust (May Contain Some Old Tools)
Facebook Post (private group): https://www.facebook.com/groups/AxeJunkies/permalink/1633658086672752/

Dec 202017
 

Lately, I’ve been working on my spare time refurbishing some old garden tools I got from a friend. The majority of them are nothing special, but they are mostly American steel with years of character and they deserve to be used as intended. It’s always sad to watch old tools rust away.

FREE RUST (MAY CONTAIN SOME OLD TOOLS)

A friend of mine and ex-boss moved out of his old house of 20 years. He decided it was time to downsize and get rid of some of the collections of stuff that not only he no longer uses, but that he was tired of stepping over, moving and trying to find a cubbyhole for. Among the collections–which there where many–was some old gardening tools from when he had a brief interest in gardening 20 years back. He mentioned that many of the tools were from his mothers’ house and were used by his father or mothers father before being gifted to him.

The tools were stored in an open, dirt-floored barn that was filled with leaves, wet soil and in some areas exposed to afternoon sun. The tools were all in poor condition. Handles, resting on the soil, buried in years of decaying leaves left to rot away.

THE FIND OF THE DAY

After digging out some of the many layers of tools in one corner deep below the leaves I strut metal. Under the pile was an axe head (Merit Jersey pattern pre 1927) and an old grub hoe (unknown age or maker). Both of their handles had long since been lost or rotted away. They were the prized finds of this archaeological dig.

PROGRESS SO FAR

It’s been cold lately so working on there has been slow. A little work here and there. I tried removing rust with vinegar but it turns out it doesn’t work well when it freezes solid. Navel jelly also is pretty ineffective at temps below 40f. A good old wire brush and sandpaper seem to work just fine in these conditions so I worked my magic the old way.

I’ve so far removed the rust from most of the items found and have painted all of the rusty metal with a coat of primer. I’m now working on sanding and rejuvenating the handles that are salvageable, replacing the rest. I was not able to find a grub hoe handle locally so I’ll be reshaping a railroad pick handle to fit. If it ever warms up again I’ll be painting the primed surfaces and even though the paint will wear off rather quickly on cutting surfaces it will serve to keep them in fine condition through the winter months.

WHAT WAS IN THE HAUL

I haven’t identified makers for most of the tools. It’s actually unlikely I’ll ever know on most of them. Paint, stickers even makers marks have long since been lost to the elements. Some items have clues I just need to track down.

Among the oddities was a JC Penny spade one that I cannot find any record of ever existing. I’d love to find out who was contracted to make them, but that may not happen for a while.

WHAT WE FOUND:

 


Notes:

Digging Shovel (long handle)
Markings: USA / Tempered / O

Garden Spade (D-Handle) – Blue Paint
Markings:
On the socket (neck) it is marked: Heat Treated / USA / 2
On the sides of handle it is marked: U-D” / 2075277
Brand: Probably Belknap Bluegrass (based on research)

Utility Shovel & Drain Spade (Plastic D-handles)
Brand: Ames
Markings: Made In China 🙁

Spade (D-Handle)
Markings: 2 / Heat / Treated / Made / In / USA

3-Tine Garden Cultivator – Blue Paint
Markings: USA / A32
Brand: Blue Grass

Pick Mattock – Red Paint
Markings: 5 / Forged / [Japan?]

Cutter Mattock
Markings: EASTCO B-H / Drop Forged / Heat Treated

Pick Axe – Black Paint
Brand: Ludell
Markings: 6

Railroad Pick
Markings: N&W / 7 / [makers mark]
Makers Mark: H in center of route crest
Brand: [[Maybe: Charles E. Hall Company / Probably: Hubbard and Company]]
Notes: Could N&W stand for Norfolk & Western Railroad?

Logo as it appears on the tool.

 

 

Reference from: http://alloy-artifacts.org/trademarks-and-logos.html

H-Shield - Charles E. Hall Company - "H" in a shield

Dec 102017
 

Simple DIY ultra-plush dog bed from old bedspread and pillows.

Jess and I cleaned out one of the closets and found that we had a couple of pillows and a bedspread that we were no longer using. I really don’t like throwing away usable items so I thought perhaps some dog begs would be the order of the day. After measuring everything out I found I had just enough to do three beds with 3 neck pillows. One for each dog in the office, and one for downstairs near my sewing machine (the floor gets cold down there).

Considering that all of the materials were heading for a landfill, I’d say the project was a huge success.

The fabric is medium weight duck cloth in the Next Geologic Camouflage Pattern. I did a similar set of dog beds using this pattern for their crates about a year back and they have performed and laundered well.

The bed is pretty simple, a padded bottom is attached to a heavily padded ring (for structure). Then a full-width pillow top is inserted into the ring. This makes the bed easy to clean, just pop off the pillow and wash. In the event of an accident, the entire bed can be laundered since it’s cotton with polyfill. Both the pillow top and padded bottom are semi-quilted in 6 places so the fill will not shift even in machine washing.

Size-wise our dogs are medium sized. They weigh around 60 lbs. each and the beds are about 38 x 24 providing more than enough room for them to curl up and get cozy. They are still a little small for stretching out. That being said, Jess proved that there is even enough room for a Jess plus a Muffin with room to spare!

If anyone wants to make one, let me know, I’ll post plans below.