The $40 brick hammer I nearly tossed in the dumpster

I grabbed a cheap Estwing knockoff off a pallet at a flea market in Tampa, figured it would last a week at most. Three months into a retaining wall job in Brandon, the head started wobbling on the handle, real dangerous with the kids running around the site. I was about to chunk it, but a buddy at the yard said to soak the handle end in water overnight and tap in a hardwood wedge, cost me maybe $2 at the hardware store. Now it's tighter than my day-one hammer and honestly hits cleaner for splitting bricks. Anyone else ever resurrect a beater tool like that, or do you just bite the bullet and buy new when the head loosens up?

2 comments

2 Comments

noahgreen1mo ago

Well, that pilot hole bit is mostly right, but you really don't need it on a softwood handle like hickory or ash. I've tapped wedges into dozens of handles without drilling and never split one, you just gotta stop tapping the moment you feel it bite. Drilling actually takes away wood that the wedge needs to grip, so it can make the fix looser over time. The water soak is the real trick though, that swells the fibers tight, wedge just holds it there. I did the same thing to a cheap hammer last year and it's still going strong, no pilot hole needed.

david_reed221mo ago

My grandpa used to say the same thing about his old Plumb hatchet, swore by the water soak trick for any wooden handle that got loose. He learned it from a mason who did the courthouse steps back in the 60s, so the method's been around for ages. Also heard a guy on a podcast say you should drill a small pilot hole before you tap in the wedge, keeps the wood from splitting clean through, which saved me once on a framing hammer. Soaking works for the fibers to swell up, but the wedge gives it that permanent bite, sounds like you did it right. Nothing wrong with fixing a tool that still has good steel in it, most folks toss stuff way too early these days. You get any more life out of that head since you tightened it up, or is it about ready to retire anyway?