I decided to make a lead hammer for knockoffs. I wanted one heavier than the standard one sold by the usuals.
The mold: I used a steel 2" diameter air freshener spray can. After insuring all the pressure was out I cut it down to 3-7/8 inches. The bottom of the can was domed inward. I used my hydraulic press and a used disc brake piston to push it flush with the bottom of the can. I drilled a 7/8" hole exactly halfway between the two ends. The volume of the can minus the space taken up by the handle is about 11.27 cubic inches. Lead weighs .409 pounds per cubic inch so the hammer head will weigh about 4.6 pounds, the finished hammer about 5 pounds
The Handle: I used a piece of pipe with a 7/8" OD. I plugged one end with a piece of steel scrap welded to the pipe. I then drilled a hole for a 2" long bolt about 1/2" from that end. I inserted the pipe into the can and ran the bolt through the hole I drilled. The bolt is oriented along the long axis of the can/mold and will help keep the lead hammer head secure on the handle.
Melting Lead and Pouring: I melted the lead in an aluminum pan on a propane camp stove. The raw material was used wheel weights donated by the tire shop I frequent. Sit the mold with handle in a bed of sand with the handle oriented as you want it and the mold vertical and the handle 90 degrees from the long axis of the can. Make sure the sand completely covers the joint where the handle enters the can. That will prevent molten lead from running out of the crack.
Safety: Be extremely careful. I wore my welder’s apron and gloves, and safety goggles, my face mask has gone missing or I would have worn that. Make sure there is absolutely no moisture in the mold. Pouring hot lead in a mold containing any moisture can cause the molten lead to spray back on you.
Once cooled, about 20 minutes, I carefully cut the can with a Dremel tool and peeled it away. I painted the handle red (easy to find when it’s laid down, and I’m anal) and slipped on a grip I bought at the local bicycle shop.
What I should have done but didn’t. The inside of most cans are coated with a very thin layer of plastic. the hot lead contacts it and causes small imperfections on the surface of the hammer head. If I were making another hammer I’d burn that coating out with a propane torch and wipe the can clean before pouring in the lead.
http://www.cookhammer.com/make.html Here is a mold that you can make your own over and over. I recommend their handles although you can usually reuse one from your existing hammer. All else you need is a vice to hold it and a propane torch to heat it. Once you have the mold and handle(s), it cost very little in propane and time to remake the hammer.
Pouring lead hammers was one of the tasks I was given during my apprenticeship (I did a stretch in the machineshop, where lead hammers were used for various tasks). The task was done about twice a year, the stores had hundreds of hammers, and there were about 20 to be remade when I was given the job. It would have been a great way to spend a cold winter shift, but in my case it was a hot August day iirc.
Although a kit with mold and handle is a bit more expensive than just buying a hammer, if someone near you already has a mold, then all you need is some lead and a handle. A regional “group buy” would make sense here.
Has anyone got a mold? It’s one of those things that I keep an eye out for when I’m at flea markets and such.
I saw the molds Dick mentioned when I was looking for ideas and techniques on the internet. It’s a brilliant design. With the melting pot and mold being a single unit melting the lead also preheats the mold. If one were planning on making many hammers it would be a worthwhile investment.
Nice work. Making and fixing one’s stuff trumps just buying it!!!
Yeah, Over done at times, I’m guilty of that…
I’ve read of that coating in canned goods and the campaign to eliminate it. Not only messes up castings, but those that consume the food.
My daughter fusses at me for using canned stuff and not fresh. I gotta admit, she is right. But, a can of peaches, cold from the fridge is so tasty…
My “hammer rack” includes:
A much battered lead head.
A much battered brass head.
No “knock off’s” for them to service. But there heft over steel has it’s use.
It has occurred to me that a cow hide mallet might ease the pain on slick knock off’s. Might not have the needed “heft” though.
I made a coupe of “rustic” posts sporting little solar lamps for my front “jungle”. Big sledge to drive them home, yet not batter the 3/4’ hole I drilled for the little lamp???
The link for the mold kit is the one I bought. Well worth it along with a couple of handles. All reuseable along with extra lead wheel balance weights. Shipping however would preclude sending it around and back as it was not that expensive. If I remember, the mold, two handles and shipping was well under $100.
That was what I was thinking with “Regional group buy”. I’m guessing here, but I suspect if someone within a reasonable driving distance from you sent you a message asking “OK if I show up with some lead, a new handle and my propane torch at your place?”
If 3 guys around… Wichita, for example, split the cost of the mold and bought a handle each they’d be in lead hammers for good. If they bought two handles they could even have a “Sunday hammer”. If they bought more handles they might even capture the whole Kansas market for lead hammers!
Ah, inflation has not been kind. Today two handles and a 4 lb. hammer mold from McMaster Carr will set you back $143.50 + shipping. Oddly enough the three pound mold and two handles is about $10 more.
Oh well, been a while. Still a good deal in the long run, especially if you work on the cars all the time. If you get the mold, don’t use pipe unless you put a bolt through it to hold the lead on and seal it as the liquid lead will flow down the handle. I speak from experience. I don’t mind letting anyone use it if they are in the area. Just bring a bottle of propane and some lead with your handle(s). A standard hardware propane bottle will do about 6 hammers. I got the 5 pound by the way. If you are going to hit something with it, might as well make it count!!
Way back when, one of my insaurance agent client’s hobby was target shooting with a 38 revolver. He and onters so inclined gathered in his back office and made lead bulllets. A plumber’s pot provided both ladle and the heat.
In olden times, waste pipes were cast iron with bell mouths or joinery. The gap was packed with “oakum” and the sealed with molten lead.
Sound like the perfect tool for making lead hammers…
