If you’ve got a wood-handled hammer and the head is wiggly, jiggly, wobbly, or loose, here’s a tool hack to fix a hammer fast.
All you need to fix a loose hammer head is another hammer. Ironic? Yes. Easy? Yes.
You’ll also need some boiled linseed oil and a bucket.
OK, let’s fix a hammer. First thing is to draw the hammer head back up the handle where it should be. To do this: Hold the loose hammer upside down and whack the end of the handle with another hammer. Don’t ask me why this works, but it does. Smashing the head back down the handle—because that makes intuitive sense—does not work.
Once you’ve drawn the hammer head up the neck of the tool, rest it head-down in a shallow bath of boiled linseed oil overnight.
The wood (often hickory) handle can get dried out or slightly compressed from season change, in some cases, or just lots of use.
Like the Egyptians quarrying stone by soaking wooden rods drilled into massive blocks (I might be reaching here), the overnight oil bath will swell the wood enough to tighten it back up. And this tool hack will fix a hammer and get you whackin’ and smackin’ like a boss.