In the past version of my website the most popular section by far wasn’t about my artwork, rather it was about my cheap, easy fix for loose hammerheads. I found that rather amusing. My guess is that it was showing up rather high in ranking with the major search engines. Will that happen again? I don’t know, but we shall see. Regardless I think this is information many folks will find quite useful so I’m going to reconstruct the page to share it.
Ok, so as you might have guessed by now I hammer a lot. That means I tend to beat my hammerheads loose, if they don’t already begin that way. Loose hammerheads bug me. It’s especially annoying when you lose the head on the back swing! This short little series covers what I have found to be a quick, cheap, and effective fix.
The Supplies
I call this my one-dollar fix, though it can cost a bit more these days. It can really be summed up in two words, “super glue”. I tried other expensive epoxies, and hammering in new wedges. Those just didn’t hold up to the daily pounding my hammers do. In this photo I have the supplies I need to fix a bunch of hammers. Really you just need the glue and the hammer if you want to be very frugal about it. However, I’ve found this process can be rather messy as you use generous portions of glue. So I recommend gloves to avoid recreating any bad super glue comedy skits. I also recommend a scrap sheet of paper or cardboard to lie the glued hammer heads on while they set up. The glue has a tendency to run and could mess up a nice table or workbench. Finally, in my experience, a tube of super glue is pretty much a one-shot use item. Sure you can cap it off, but whenever I go back to use what’s left it’s dried up or the nozzle is thoroughly plugged. Hence, I save up a few hammers and do a group all at once. In my experience you can get six to eight fixed from one tube. I also need to note that you want the liquid type super glue NOT the gel type! The gel type doesn’t work well for this.
Gluing the Top
Ok, so here’s what I do. First I make sure the hammerhead is basically on with its wedge so it doesn’t pull off, but rather just wiggles around. I admit, I’ve been a lazy slacker and just popped the head back on and glued it. While I’ve never had any trouble with this it just seems better to use the wedge first, as inadequate as it is. Then put on the gloves and crack open the tube of super glue. I should say that I prefer the “expensive” stuff to the dollar store 3 for a buck tubes. The cheaper ones seem to take longer to set up. Of course, if you’ve got an hour or so to wait they are just fine. Then I squirt a generous portion all around the top seam where the wood meets the metal. What I like about super glue as compared to epoxy is that it comes out very liquid, like water. This allows it to really soak into the wood. Go ahead and drench it!
Gluing the Bottom
Now do the same thing to the bottom edge of the hammer. Some glue from the top may have oozed down. That’s ok. In fact, that’s good. It means it’s working its way completely around the hammerhead, bonding to the maximum surface available. Hose down the bottom edge just like you did with the top. If the hammerhead can spin around to a weird angle in relation to the ergonomics of the handle be sure to properly align it immediately after laying in the glue, before it sets up.
Wiggle that Head
Next, before the glue sets up, I give the head a good wiggle. This is to try and work the liquid glue around into all the interior spaces I can. Some heads wiggle more than others. If your hammerhead doesn’t wiggle much that is actually a good thing. This means it’s fairly tight to begin with. Again make certain the head is aligned properly with the handle or you’ll seriously regret it later. Then carefully set it down on the scrap paper and move on to the next hammer.
Regluing a Head
I wish I could say this fix was permanent, but it’s not. I find I have to redo my chasing hammer and my workhorse raising hammers every year or two. Considering I’m raising and chasing as a full-time job I don’t think that’s too bad. Also they never seem to get as loose as they were the first time. The glue line just breaks and allows a slight wiggle. I haven’t had a glued head actually fly off yet. (Mind you, I’m not saying it isn’t possible. I just haven’t experienced it.) To reglue the head just squirt more around the seam between the wood and metal as you would the first time. You won’t have the satisfaction of watching it soak into the wood like before but wiggle it a bit and the glue gets back down into the cracks forming a new bond.
Large Gaps
Some handles fit snugly and other have large gaps. What I like to do with those that have bigger gaps is go back for a second or third round once the glue has set up and thickened some. Usually this is only takes a couple minutes. You can glue another hammerhead while waiting. This builds up the empty spaces providing more support and a stronger bond. It’s also a nice way to use up what’s left in the tube. So after you’ve glued all your hammers let them sit for a while to cure and fully harden. Those that have thicker applications and filled gaps will take longer. As I mentioned before, the quality of the super glue you used will also affect the drying time. With poor quality stuff I’ve had to wait up to an hour. With high quality glue I’ve waited no more than 5 minutes and started wailing away on a raised vessel. That particular head, much to my amazement, has never come loose. Well, there’s my quick, cheap fix for wiggly hammerheads. Happy gluing!
To update this section a bit let me add that I have found that Loctite brand of liquid superglue seems to work especially well. As an added bonus I’ve even been able to reuse the bottle after opening it. Let me emphasize again that you want the liquid type NOT the gel type! With most brands it seems a tube is a single use item because it dries and clogs up. The cheaper stuff does still work but for a little bit more I can get a much better product. This is what I have in my studio right now. Loctite Liquid Professional Super Glue. (For full disclosure the above is an affiliate link where I’ll earn a small commission for qualifying sales. Your costs shouldn’t be altered by this at all though.)
This is extremely useful. Now I just need to find the locktite super glue. 6 months of the year, approximately, the hammerheads are firm, because of the rainy season beginning May. Then the dry season and almost all the heads waggle. I live in Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico, where I came to learn more about repousse from Coco Castillo Jr. (Built a house and studio on the roof of the house in which Diego Rivera stayed when in Taxco, Trotsky’s decaying house above, neither elegant however)
Anyway, I thank you very much for your sharing this information.
Alexandra
P.S. A few days ago I bought two of your pieces. I cannot have them in my possession until I can get north for my two week annual trip, postponed because of the virus. Eagerly waiting !
Greetings Alexandra. The locktite works great, but if you can find any other brand of liquid super glue there it should work too. If it were me I would probably wait until your dry season to superglue the hammer heads. If they are firmly fixed during that period they should be great for the rainy season too!
I did get your order for the one Luminous Relic vessel which I shipped off to the address you requested. 🙂 I’m guessing you got the second one from one of my galleries? I’m sure they’ll take good care of you too! Thanks so much!! Hopefully you don’t have to have your annual trip north postponed too long.
Cool that you get to be in an area such major historical figures have been in!
best regards,
David
Hello David,
I sadly have to wait until I can go north to pick up the 2 vessels. I had them sent to a jeweler friend meanwhile….I will probably have to use force to have him relinquish them.
I am eagerly waiting for hammers from Saign Charlestein that will be sent to me in Taxco with a hefty duty, but I’ve waited so long to be able to order I couldn’t wait longer.
Unfortunately Taxco’s days of fine silver jewelry are over. This year two of the few remaining shops of quality work closed and one of the last old silversmiths died. All that remains are hundreds of stores with bins of quickly made quantity work and only 2 or 3 good stores. The 1930-1950 era was a creative time in Taxco for sure. I love the work of that period.
I spent a wonderful week as the only student of Coco Castillo’s son, also Coco, to learn more repousse. Like many who do quality work of the old style, he can not earn a living in silver work. Now the style of the contemporary “one of a kind” work is very angular and architectural. Incredible craftsmanship but I personally don’t care for the style. Large and unwearable necklaces, that is if the wearer cares about having any mobility.
I had my shop at the los Castillo Ranch for a couple of years (I/’m a friend of the family) but the risk of robbery was high (no one there nights and weekends) and the dampness from the river in the rainy season caused bad rusting, even with TLC protective goop used on hammers & stakes etc. Now my shop is next to my little house and I can work all hours without a 3/4 hour drive to and from.
So…I have had my hammers sitting in the sun for a few days, just wiggled them all to see who is loose and now will go glue. It is the dry season here now, the reverse of up north. Got the locktite through Amazon.
Thank you. I’m so eager to have the Luminous Relic vessels…maybe I’ll go north in April or May. (I’ll can get the vaccine)
Best regards, alex
So sad to hear the quality work being done in that region is all but gone. Perhaps trends will shift back again at some point. Making a living with repousse work is challenging because it is so time consuming to do. I feel fortunate to get to spend so much time at the craft.
Having a shop to work in right by your home is so much nicer I think than needing to travel off to work. That’s something I’m fortunate to have as well. Unfortunately I do suffer from dampness in certain times of the year in my studio. My tools can be less than pristine as a result.
I think you will really love the tools from Saign! They are not only beautiful but function so well! Nice that you aren’t waiting for your trip north to get those. Too bad about the duty to be paid though. Hopefully when you do finally get to CA to collect your vessels your friend decides he needs to replace them with ones of his own. 🙂 Wonderful that he is willing to hold them for you! Oh, and I do believe the Luminous Relic piece you got from LaFontsee Gallery was the one I was using to try out the prototype hammers developed with Saign. I raised several during that period, but I think that was the one I used for my hammer chasing tests.
May all your hammer heads tighten up quickly and easily. Happy holidays to you.
best regards,
David