# LEAD HEAD HAMMERS



## horty (Apr 19, 2020)

Hi, Had a bag of some old lead shot hanging around the shop so thought I would put it to use so I made a couple lead head hammers this morning.
Needed to take a break from another project..

Used the Fibonacci sequence to get the handle length so they feel really balanced, always needed a lead
hammer now and then..

Thanks
Tim  Have A Nice Day


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## pontiac428 (Apr 19, 2020)

That looks like a great solution using copper pipe like that.  I have a lead hammer that was owned by my dad's uncle, a tool and die maker of the old school.  When I was 5 or 6 years old, I decided that would be a great hammer to use to smash rocks into powder out on the sidewalk.  My dad put the mashed-in former tool into my tool box so that maybe 40 years into the future I could fix it.  I still use it, it's just more like a lead biscuit on the end of a stick...  

Did you fill the handle with lead, or just the head?


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## Ulma Doctor (Apr 19, 2020)

i got a new lead hammer about 7 years ago.
the head gotta weigh 3 lbs, with a black pipe handle.
i had to reshape the head after someone borrowed it without asking 
it now sits in a locked box


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## benmychree (Apr 19, 2020)

The best material for hammers is wheel balancing weights, the lead is alloyed with antimony to harden it.


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## aliva (Apr 19, 2020)

Speaking of wheel weights I used them for casting bullets for my 357mag. Worked great and free.


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## benmychree (Apr 19, 2020)

aliva said:


> Speaking of wheel weights I used them for casting bullets for my 357mag. Worked great and free.


I also use weights for bullet casting for my .38-55 high wall target rifle, but further add some tin to harden the alloy more.


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## Bi11Hudson (Apr 19, 2020)

Been casting my own lead hammers for years. While bullet casting can use hardners, I prefer a softer hammer for machine work. I have a hammer mold, don't know if it's a antique or if you need to look in a fishing supplies or gun stock outlet. I have both bullet molds and fishing weight molds, so it probably came from somewhere like that.

I use EMT, thinwall conduit, for a lot of purposes. It does have a seam so can't be used for pressure pipe. *It is* cheaper than copper pipe, *if* you have it on hand. But, it works well for hammer handles. I stuff a piece of cardboard folded up into the pipe about an inch. The pipe works well enough for chill stock with the cardboard in it. Then cut the handle for where it's used, usually around 6-8 inches. The cardboard gets left in place. I have used cheap ratchet handles, but the pawn shops are right proud of them. Like they're made of gold or something. I just have to keep an eye out for dropped ones.

Normally, I use tire weights with a little "whatever" cooked in with it. I have used a mix of lead and tin to make solder but that's usually harder than I like for hammers. Most times the "whatever" is a partial bag of shot or salvaged bullets from the downrange stops. Tin is expensive, and I don't know where one would find it in usable quantities. I misappropriated my supply a long time ago and just sit on it.

.


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## benmychree (Apr 19, 2020)

I got my tin for free so I could make a batch of babbit, a company near me gave me several hundred pounds of it that was scrap from making wine bottle foils.  For handles for my small hammers, I sharpen one end of the handle and shear it over a piece of soft end grain wood, then cross drill it and insert a cotter pin and bend it over on the split ends, for the larger hammers, I use 1/2" black pipe hammered to a flat point and weld a chain link crossways on the end, I have home made molds that are (home) made of cast iron, an old friend gave them to me many years ago.


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## horty (Apr 19, 2020)

pontiac428 said:


> That looks like a great solution using copper pipe like that.  I have a lead hammer that was owned by my dad's uncle, a tool and die maker of the old school.  When I was 5 or 6 years old, I decided that would be a great hammer to use to smash rocks into powder out on the sidewalk.  My dad put the mashed-in former tool into my tool box so that maybe 40 years into the future I could fix it.  I still use it, it's just more like a lead biscuit on the end of a stick...
> 
> Did you fill the handle with lead, or just the head?


Hi, just the head, I put a little piece of that high temp ceramic insulation right at the "T" so I could still get the handle on, I thought if I filled the whole thing the wife would have to lift it for me.
Thanks,
Tim


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