dave b Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 I have this old brass Gray Canada mallet that belonged to a beloved older machinist we worked with. It has been given to a coworker for remembrance. it has no handle , I cannot find any illustration of it anywhere and hope somebody can help me to reproduce a handle for it and pit it back in service. Does anyone know what the handle should look like? image:3618 image:3619 image:3620 image:3621 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandyDan Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 I had and may still have one that looked like this. Yours seems to fasten together from the side. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandyDan Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stick486 Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 that's a soft face dead blow hammer Dan.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morris Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 I'll have to respectfully disagree with Stick. I am not sure if that is a Dead Blow hammer that Dan is showing, but a "Split Head Hammer" with a rawhide insert. I suppose it may be used for a dead action, but its primary use is simply a hammer/mallet that has interchangeable inserts for different jobs. A soft faced hammer as Stick has suggested is typically a mallet with a urethane striking surface. I may be wrong, but prove it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 Can't open Dave's pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandyDan Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 Dave's is a split head hammer just the same. His looks like a poor design and may have not sold well. I say poor design because I can't figure how they would have secured the handle to it. I took one of Dave's pictures and am posting it here as they will open in some browsers but not others. Here is a link to the hammer I pictured above. Scroll down the page and see the selection of faces which can be bought for it including copper and brass. http://www.hammersource.com/Iron-Solid-and-Split-Head-Hammers/ Here is one of Dave's pictures. Dadio 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morris Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 10 minutes ago, HandyDan said: I took one of Dave's pictures and am posting it here as they will open in some browsers but not others. Dan, what browser are you opening Daves images with? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandyDan Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 1 minute ago, John Morris said: Dan, what browser are you opening Daves images with? It opens in the paint program with "Edge" as a browser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
schnewj Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 Perhaps this will help... Non-marring mallets AND hammers. http://www.garlandmfg.com/mallets/split.html I have one with rawhide faces, which I never use. However, I have seen several different faces that can be used in this type of head: rubber, lead, brass, plastic... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Howe Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 Thanks, for the pictures Dan. Paint leaves me and my Kindle out. And my real 'puter is in for a colonoscopy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stick486 Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 4 hours ago, John Morris said: A soft faced hammer as Stick has suggested is typically a mallet with a urethane striking surface. I may be wrong, but prove it! you no doubt looked to the two links and see that there are soft faces for the split head hammers/mallets.. and for good measure... http://www.carbideprocessors.com/wiha-83288-split-head-mallet-replacement-housing-3-1/ this style of a split head can have lead shot in it... that makes it a dead blow... install soft faces... and if you take the shot out of hammer, slit them w/ a knife, use the shot as split shot to fish w/ and then yur old man catches up w/ ya... ewww.... THOR SPH275 SPLIT HEAD HAMMER 7.1/2LB PLASTIC This Thor split head hammer is a heavy duty soft faced hammer which is suitable for assembly, maintenance and repair industries. The design allows for quick replacement of the handle or faces. The split cast iron head is secured by 2 socket head cap screws. Size: 5. Diameter: 70 mm (2 3/4 in). Weight: 3625g (7 1/2 lb). Stock CodeTHOSPH275 https://www.rjpryce.com/Products/thor-hammers-and-inserts/THOSPH275 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Morris Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 6 minutes ago, Stick486 said: you no doubt looked to the two links and see that there are soft faces for the split head hammers/mallets.. and for good measure... No, I remember dad's split head hammers he used for assembling bee hive boxes, I remember he had the rawhide inserts, hardly a dead blow hammer, but more of an assembly hammer as Dan's is. I guess it could be a dead blow if it had the shot inserts. But Dan's hammer as shown is not a dead blow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stick486 Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 granted... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpadave52 Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 @dave b First and most important, Welcome to the Patriot Woodworker. Glad you found us and even more happy you jumped right in with a tough question. Looking at your first picture, I would say any handle (preferably hickory, ash or oak) would be satisfactory as long as the engage end to the handle was turned close to round with the OD slightly larger than the ID opening of the fully closed head. Hard to tell w/o seeing the head ends opened. You should be able to do that by removing the screw. Likely the handle hand portion was more oval in shape and maybe up to 1-1/2X larger than the head clamp opening. The engage end may even have had a slight "ball" shape versus straight??? I would speculate the head inserts are bronze or copper versus brass looking at the way they are cast and the type of mushrooming. Bronze &/or copper were (still) more typical as machinist, tool maker, machine repair versus brass simply because they were less likely to splinter or chip. While all are considered non-marring and non sparking, we never allowed brass in our manufacturing environment for reasons mentioned. In your picture below, I surmised the tool was originally manufactured by Gray Tools based on the name/model number on the head. While Gray is still in business, I could not find a catalog listing for a hammer like this currently. Hope this helps some... Don't hesitate to ask follow up questions and let us know how the story ends. Lot of curious folks based on the responses. BTW...I think your picture files are missing the .jpeg extension on the files... John Morris and dave b 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HandyDan Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 (edited) Here is a link to an old Gray-Bonney tool catalog. Page 69 shows a similar hammer. Bonnie Gray is a Canadian born tool co. 1941 Bonney Gray Catalog #141.pdf https://shopgraytools.com/pages/our-heritage Edited November 17, 2017 by HandyDan Grandpadave52, John Morris and dave b 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpadave52 Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 38 minutes ago, HandyDan said: Here is a link to an old Gray-Bonney tool catalog. Page 69 shows a similar hammer. 1941 Bonney Gray Catalog #141.pdf Bingo! You nailed it Dan...catalog numbers match. Thanks for the catalog. I love perusing through them. I'll have to check some of the old Bonney tools I have that were my grand-dads...I believe most were from the 40's. Years ago, Bonney made tools for Deere & Co with John Deere name on them... Ratchets, sockets, wrenches, various pliers...ratchets were junk, but sockets and wrenches and most of the pliers were pretty good. I still have/use several Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Smallpatch Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 (edited) Wow, I could tell right quick why I never was around one of them ever. A two dollar ball peen can do the work of all them different heads if a person has the right touch. A dead blow has a load of bb's or buck shot in the middle. Edited November 17, 2017 by Smallpatch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandpadave52 Posted November 17, 2017 Report Share Posted November 17, 2017 @dave b...if you look at @HandyDan's link at the hammer on page 69, it is an identical match... I would speculate the handle end which goes into the head was turned very similar to the replaceable face ends as shown. You should be able to use your current bronze ends as a pattern to turn/make a new handle end...dimensions may or may not be identical but at least you have a pattern. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dave b Posted November 18, 2017 Author Report Share Posted November 18, 2017 Wow! Thank you so much! This has filled in the blanks for me. The hammer head has SO much sentimental value to us. We loved the guy who left it behind and want to honor it and him appropriately. That looks like an ash handle I think. I have some perfectly straight grained ash that would be great for this. I was concerned over just how thin the handle must become within the head where the screww goes through it and supppsed that it may have had a metal handle. But this puts that question to rest. Thanks all for your interest and help with my request. I appreciate all the time you all have given me! Dave Cal, Grandpadave52, John Morris and 1 other 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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