Good health, gentlemen steampunkers!
We drive the wedge with a hammer, having previously lubricated it with PVA glue. 
The result of the work done. The advantage of such an assembly of the tool is obvious; firstly, it does not dry out, and secondly, it acts as a shock absorber during operation. 
An ax assembled using the method described above. The rubber gasket is clearly visible. 
The method has been tested over the years, my grandfather’s ax, after restoring the handle, served well for many years... when it fell into my hands, I poured into it my vision and attitude towards the tool and changed the handle, now it looks like this. 
I restored this hammer, the head was homemade and very unsuccessful - the hole for the handle was very small and narrow, I had to widen it, the metal was very difficult to process, and I decided to use the old method, using a strip of rubber from a car camera as a seal... 
The red seal is not rubber, it is a cap, matched to the diameter of the handle of a small hammer, I don’t know what it is made of, but it is elastic, the assembly method is the same. 
Some of these hammers are still waiting their turn to be upgraded with a rubber product...
Good luck in your creativity!
Keep your instrument in in perfect order, love him and he will answer you back
And finally, instructions for use... I advise you to read it, it's fun.
What do a hammer, an ax and a mallet have in common? Of course, the principle of operation and device. For such a tool you need a very reliable handle that will not let you down at the most crucial moment. Traditionally, the end is used to strengthen the handle. However, there is another very interesting way.
It all starts with the right handle. You can purchase it at the store or make it yourself from hard wood. The following species are suitable: oak, birch, maple, rowan, beech, ash, dogwood, and some others. The only “but” is that the rings at the end should be positioned longitudinally, not transversely. Such a handle will serve faithfully for much longer. It is also generally accepted that driving a wedge into the handle to secure the tool weakens it. As an interesting and reasonable alternative, you can consider fixing with rubber.
First, the handle should be prepared. We prepare the side with a smaller cross-section for the hole of the tool using a knife, file and sandpaper. The landing part must fit freely into the hole and match its length.
After this, we take a piece of rubber and treat it with lithol to facilitate the fitting process. We use a wooden block to strike with the opposite end of the handle on a stable surface. After making sure that the tool head is seated, we remove excess lithol and rubber.
After all the work done, you need to take PVA or “Moment” glue and apply it (very carefully) to the interface between the hammer mounting hole and the handle. This will strengthen the connection and also provide an additional level of protection from harmful influences. environment, including dampness and water.
All wooden handles on hand tool, I make it from well-dried birch, including for hammers. For hammers weighing 300-400 grams, a rectangular block, 350 millimeters long, with sides 40x30, is sufficient. Measure the internal jaw of the hammer head. After finishing, you should get a block with sides approximately 35x25. On one side of the block, mark the center (with lines from corner to corner). Around this center, build a rectangle with sides equal to the hole on the hammer in width and height. Bend the edges and faces of the block with a plane from the back of the future handle to the sides of the rectangle drawn at the end. Chamfer the corners and round them. Using sandpaper, adjust the front edge of the handle to the size of the hole in the hammer so that it fits tightly.
The lines at the end of the handle that we drew to construct the rectangle will now become marks for the place of the wedges. Take a chisel and make notches along them, so that the notches do not reach closer than 5 mm to the edge of the handle, otherwise the wedges may split the handle.
We drive in wedges crosswise - first wooden and then iron. For a wooden wedge I use resinous pine; it “sticks” well to the birch handle.
None paints and varnishes I don’t use it for impregnation. I don't feel comfortable when the handle slides. A new handle mounted on a hammer, including its end parts, is impregnated a couple of times with clean machine oil, drying a day between layers. The handle of such a hammer does not absorb water, even if left in the rain, it does not make your hand freeze in the cold season, and as a kind of aesthetic addition, it has a beautiful amber color - this color is obtained from staining birch with oil.
To ensure that it does not fly off the handle during operation, but sits on it securely and firmly, it is enough to just place it correctly on the handle once.
Lever
First, about the dimensions: the hammer handle should be oval in cross-section, from 250 to 350 mm long, smoothly tapering to the end on which the hammer head is mounted.
The best wood for making handles is birch, beech, oak, ash, maple, hornbeam or rowan. It is completely unacceptable to make hammer handles from species with easily splintered wood: pine, spruce, aspen or alder.
Hammers with metal and plastic handles are now available for sale. They completely avoid the problem of fitting the head onto the handle, but for some reason I prefer hammers with wooden handles. They are warmer to the touch, feel more secure and comfortable in the hand.
Most often, hammer handles are made from birch wood. If you plan the handle yourself from a thick birch branch, it must be dried in a warm, shady and well-ventilated place.
Do not try to dry wood using artificial heat sources: electric fireplaces, air heaters, radiators. With such drying, the wood inevitably cracks and loses its strength.
If the wooden handle for a hammer is not sufficiently dried, over time it will dry out and decrease in volume, and the head will dangle on it, constantly threatening to fly off the handle of the tool.
Fitting the hammer head onto the handle
Insert the thin end of the handle into the hole in the hammer head. The ideal would be to fit the head on the handle with a certain force or, as the masters say, “with interference.”
If the handle turns out to be a bit thick, process its thin end first with a rasp and then sandpaper. As a result, the end of the handle should be a gentle cone. Having attached the hammer head to the handle, make sure that it is strictly perpendicular to the center line of the handle.
Holding the handle vertically, with the head of the hammer up, strike it with the back wide end against a hard surface from top to bottom. With each blow, the head of the tool will slowly but surely fit onto the expanding handle, becoming stronger and stronger on it.
The immobility of the head during subsequent impacts will indicate that it has “sat” firmly enough on the handle.
Wedging the hammer handle
Prepare a place for a wooden wedge. To prevent the wedge from moving to the side and damaging the handle, use a narrow chisel to make a notch about 5 mm deep at an angle of 30 0 to the longitudinal axis of the hammer.
A wooden wedge is a blade about 3 mm thick, about 15 mm wide and 30 to 50 mm long. The wedge should gradually taper towards the front, but its end should be blunt.
After the wooden wedge is driven into the handle approximately 15-20 mm, use a hacksaw with small tooth saw off the upper part of the handle protruding from the head of the hammer so that it protrudes beyond the head by 2-3 mm.
Cut the second wedge from a strip of metal, the same shape and size as the wooden one, but much shorter, no more than 20 mm long.
Hammer it into the handle at the same angle of 30 0 to the longitudinal axis of the hammer, but on the other side of the center line.
After the metal wedge is completely driven “flush” into the handle of the hammer, the work on arranging the hammer can be considered completed.
Good luck to you! May everything work out for you!
To ensure that the hammer does not fly off the handle during operation, but sits on it securely and firmly, it is enough to just place it correctly on the handle once.
Lever
First, about the dimensions: the hammer handle should be oval in cross-section, from 250 to 350 mm long, smoothly tapering to the end on which the hammer head is mounted.
The best wood for making handles is birch, beech, oak, ash, maple, hornbeam or rowan. It is completely unacceptable to make hammer handles from species with easily splintered wood: pine, spruce, aspen or alder.
Hammers with metal and plastic handles are now available for sale. They completely avoid the problem of fitting the head onto the handle, but for some reason I prefer hammers with wooden handles. They are warmer to the touch, feel more secure and comfortable in the hand.
Most often, hammer handles are made from birch wood. If you plan the handle yourself from a thick birch branch, it must be dried in a warm, shady and well-ventilated place.
Do not try to dry wood using artificial heat sources: electric fireplaces, air heaters, radiators. With such drying, the wood inevitably cracks and loses its strength.
If the wooden handle for a hammer is not sufficiently dried, over time it will dry out and decrease in volume, and the head will dangle on it, constantly threatening to fly off the handle of the tool.
Fitting the hammer head onto the handle
Insert the thin end of the handle into the hole in the hammer head. The ideal would be to fit the head on the handle with a certain force or, as the masters say, “with interference.”
If the handle is too thick, sand its thin end first with a rasp and then with sandpaper. As a result, the end of the handle should be a gentle cone. Having attached the hammer head to the handle, make sure that it is strictly perpendicular to the center line of the handle.
Holding the handle vertically, with the head of the hammer up, strike it with the back wide end against a hard surface from top to bottom. With each blow, the head of the tool will slowly but surely fit onto the expanding handle, becoming stronger and stronger on it.
The immobility of the head during subsequent impacts will indicate that it has “sat” firmly enough on the handle.
Wedging the hammer handle
Prepare a place for a wooden wedge. To prevent the wedge from moving to the side and damaging the handle, use a narrow chisel to make a notch about 5 mm deep at an angle of 30 0 to the longitudinal axis of the hammer.
A wooden wedge is a blade about 3 mm thick, about 15 mm wide and 30 to 50 mm long. The wedge should gradually taper towards the front, but its end should be blunt.
After the wooden wedge is driven into the handle approximately 15-20 mm, use a fine-tooth hacksaw to saw off the upper part of the handle protruding from the head of the hammer so that it protrudes...
