A colourful toy hammer that really works!
Archive for Hammer for toolbox
Hammer head and handle, in the following photos we will see how we can make these.
The handle is a piece of soft wood, such as pine, a piece of dowel would be easier. If you choose this than get some half inch dowel from the hardware store. But a piece of softwood, about 2 by 2 centimeter square and about 30cm long is fine. You have to shape the end that fits in the head.
The head is a piece of oak or any hardwood is fine, it is about 4 centimeter square and about 6 cm high. You can choose any size that feels comfortable. You need to drill a hafl inch hole or about 12 millimeter. If you don’t have the tools, ask an adult friend or drop in at your nearest cabinet maker’s shop or cerpenter’s shop, they will help you, IF you ask in a friendly manner and explain what you need it for!
The end of the handle has been rounded, the slivers must be removed before assembly.
We shaped the end of the handle as near the final diameter as possible with a small hand planer, but a chisel or knife could be used as long as it is safe and done under adult guidance. The end was then pushed into a washer or steel plate with a hole of the same nominal diameter as the hole in the hammer head.
It is quite possible to fashion the end with no other tool that a knife or chisel, it does not really matter if it is perfectly cylindrical as long as it is slightly larger than the hole in the hammer heas so that it fits tightly.
Clean off the slivers. The rest of the handle can remain square with rounded edges for convenience. If you use a piece of half inch dowel wood then you don’t have to do anything to it. BUT it is more fun to make things from scratch…
The hammer head is a piece of hardwood
The hammer head should be made of a piece of hardwood for added weight. We drilled a hole with a diameter of one half inch or about 12 mm in diameter. It does not really matter as long as the hole and the end of the handle that has to fit in the hole has the same outside diameter as the hole. Use a little carpenter glue to hold the handle and head together.
The finished toy hammer. we made this as part of the toolbox.
This toy hammer really works with small nails and other children’s work. The child should be mature enough to handle this and adult guidance is recommended. At the Boys and Girls Club we made this as part of the toolbox. The toolbox project can be found in the sidebar, just click the name and you will see how it is assembled.
