Rig Axe

[catspa]

Parker (great question ^^),

Both the poll-to-head (poll slightly angled on head), and poll-to-handle are angled slightly in favor of the hammer poll use; much the same as a bit can be angled on an axe.

Y’know, I’ve never noticed that just by looking at them, but last night I got out all my riggers and laid them inside a framing square like you did. Sure enough, they all hang slightly closed like you demonstrated.

So then I checked my California framers. Some have it, others are straight. My current favorite Douglas is straight.

My 28oz rigger is the same head you showed, but somebody spliced it onto a 14” curved handle (poorly). I seldom use it because I dislike that handle. I need to rehang it on a decent haft and get it useful again.

Parker

 

[Spey]

Y’know, I’ve never noticed that just by looking at them, but last night I got out all my riggers and laid them inside a framing square like you did. Sure enough, they all hang slightly closed like you demonstrated.

So then I checked my California framers. Some have it, others are straight. My current favorite Douglas is straight.

My 28oz rigger is the same head you showed, but somebody spliced it onto a 14” curved handle (poorly). I seldom use it because I dislike that handle. I need to rehang it on a decent haft and get it useful again.

Parker

Cool you tested/checked my comments. Appreciate the reply back.

I remember when I bought my first Hart Cal-Framer (straight handle with a 23oz head). I had initially resisted as considered it a Pimp hammer for wannabes (want-a-look-cool's), but as OSHA was pushing the California mandates outlawing our framing-axe's thought I'd swallow my pride and try one. It was so clean (polished steel and those sexy long slender legged claws, narrow waste, and fat head ...). The drop of 5oz in head weight made it fast and nimble in hand, and felt delicious. It took me a while to figure out why it commonly 'set' a nail slightly angled away from me. Like I referenced above, "In my experience; when hammers do not have this type of handle cant, I find the first strike of a nail tends to push the nail head away from user", having the head perpendicular to the haft created issues for me that I had to mentally/physically compensate for (had to consciously remind myself to place hand beyond the head of the nail. Situation was exacerbated when nailing below foot level (standing on stud/plate nailing), and especially when reaching out (nailing rafter tails, setting barge rafters, etc.).

In all honesty, the face of that Hart was also much more flat as compared to the gentle curved face of my Riggin-Axe. Regardless, 28oz Vaughan was/is the superior nail sinker in my experience. Once I wore the waffles fairly flat on that Hart the situ with nail strikes was so bad it got retired from framing duties.

RE: your 28oz rigger with canted head and curved handle mod., sounds to have a compounding issue (canted head AND curved handle, doubling up on the cant). Sounds as if previous user created a hammer with a double cant, and I can see how that would really suck performance wise (probably why original owner passed it along). If you look at my pic with framing square, you might notice how there is also a bit of cant built into the head (framing square clearance along top of head increasing towards the bit), that I referred to in that post.

 

[catspa]

RE: your 28oz rigger with canted head and curved handle mod., sounds to have a compounding issue (canted head AND curved handle, doubling up on the cant). Sounds as if previous user created a hammer with a double cant, and I can see how that would really suck performance wise (probably why original owner passed it along).

The handle is installed curved to favor the blade side, so it really sucks for driving nails. My plan is to hang a straight haft perpendicular or close to it, so it’ll have the head cant only.

I carry a very worn mini shingler (also a Vaughan) for general remodeling and handyman duty, which makes up over 75% of my work. Just love that little thing. The framing square shows that it’s hung perpendicular but has about a 4 degree face cant, and I’ll be shooting for a scaled up version of that.

Parker

 

[Hickory n steel]

I never really noticed it before but it seems about all V&B rip claws and framers have at least a slightly closed hammer face.

My 1950's Craftsman hammertooth ( a modified V&B 999 ) is pretty noticeable.

I've got 2x #999, 2x #99, and 3x #9 little pro, I'll have to check them and see but I'm pretty sure they're all closed.

I don't think anybody really understands the rip claw/ framer like Vaughan & Bushnell, they've been at the very top since the 1880's or so.
It seems the only thing anybody else could really do was make 'em more complicated and expensive, Hart did have a lot going for them though.

 

[rjdankert]

I am a fan of Vaughan tools and this thread has me curious about the evolution of the current Vaughan Rigbuilder Hatchet. In general I tried to look at the types of hatchets with hammer polls and a head weight in the 22-28 oz. range produced by Vaughan. The following catalog snips are from Vaughan (https://www.vaughanmfg.com/Custom.aspx?id=5883794f-e973-411e-80bc-298b9dcee5fd) except the ca 1982 catalog which was found on Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/vaughan-catalog-no-582r/page/n19/mode/2up). "Dropped" or "added" refers to what I found in the previous catalog listed.

I could not find any types of axes in the Vaughan catalogs prior to 1923.


1923
This catalog did not have a specific "Rig" model.

Half Hatchet No. 1, 2, & 3 (plain face):

Half Hatchet No. 62 (bell face):

1930
No. 62 (bell face) is dropped. Car Builders', Rig Builders' and Tradesman's are added.

Car Builders' and Rig Builders':

Tradesman's (single and double bevel):

1940
No. 99 Professional Carpenter's added.

No. 99:

1950
Tradesman's, No. 3 Half, and No. 3 Car Builders' are dropped (as are a couple of apostrophes).

Half Hatchet:

Car Builders (or Carpenters Half) and Rig Builders:

1957
No. 99 is dropped. Half becomes Standard Pattern Half in only one size (No. 2).

Carpenters Half (Car Builders), Rig Builders, and Standard Pattern Half:

1982
Rig Builder's gains some weight. Standard Pattern Half becomes Carpenter's Half (and a couple of apostrophes come back).

Carpenter's Half:

Rig Builder's (and smooth face Car Builder's):

2009
Rig Builder's gets Hickory or Fiberglass handles. Car Builder's is dropped.

Rig Builder's and Carpenters Half:

Current (April 2022)
Alternate fiberglass handle dropped.

Professional Rigbuilder Hatchets:

Bob

 

[Square_peg]

Regardless, 28oz Vaughan was/is the superior nail sinker in my experience. Once I wore the waffles fairly flat on that Hart the situ with nail strikes was so bad it got retired from framing duties.

I built houses for about a dozen years as a young man. My favorite framer was the Vaughan 24oz, still have it. That was as much as I needed. If I used a heavy blow to set the nail I could drive a 16 sinker with 1 additional blow. But I wouldn't risk that except when showing off. Typical was 1 blow to set a sinker and 2 blows to drive it home. In the 1980s I worked for a contractor that didn't have a framing nail gun. We hand banged everything. One day while building interior walls for a large rambler I drove a full 50 pound box of sinkers by myself. I wore the face of that Vaughan 24 so smooth that you'd have to look carefully around the edge of the face to find a trace of waffle.

 

[catspa]

Thanks for sharing that research, Bob. It’s great to trace the history of our favorites, and narrow down the era when different changes occurred.

Parker

 

[garry3]

Most of what you see will be neutral or slightly closed. I think it was the True Temper line of Dynamic, Tomahawk that were made little too closed I thought.

Just depends on it's uses. Here is my favorite drywall hammer. It's very open on the poll and very closed on the blade. They got it right...

 

[Hickory n steel]

I would love to find one of those #99 professional carpenters hatchets, I've never heard of them before and I bet they're pretty rare.
I'll probably never find one but I think I may make it a mission of mine to get one.

The interesting handle isn't gonna happen but maybe I can find one of these heads.

 

[garry3]

I am a fan of Vaughan tools and this thread has me curious about the evolution of the current Vaughan Rigbuilder Hatchet. In general I tried to look at the types of hatchets with hammer polls and a head weight in the 22-28 oz. range produced by Vaughan. The following catalog snips are from Vaughan (https://www.vaughanmfg.com/Custom.aspx?id=5883794f-e973-411e-80bc-298b9dcee5fd) except the ca 1982 catalog which was found on Internet Archive (https://archive.org/details/vaughan-catalog-no-582r/page/n19/mode/2up). "Dropped" or "added" refers to what I found in the previous catalog listed.

I could not find any types of axes in the Vaughan catalogs prior to 1923.


1923
This catalog did not have a specific "Rig" model.

Half Hatchet No. 1, 2, & 3 (plain face):

Half Hatchet No. 62 (bell face):

1930
No. 62 (bell face) is dropped. Car Builders', Rig Builders' and Tradesman's are added.

Car Builders' and Rig Builders':

Tradesman's (single and double bevel):

1940
No. 99 Professional Carpenter's added.

No. 99:

1950
Tradesman's, No. 3 Half, and No. 3 Car Builders' are dropped (as are a couple of apostrophes).

Half Hatchet:

Car Builders (or Carpenters Half) and Rig Builders:

1957
No. 99 is dropped. Half becomes Standard Pattern Half in only one size (No. 2).

Carpenters Half (Car Builders), Rig Builders, and Standard Pattern Half:

1982
Rig Builder's gains some weight. Standard Pattern Half becomes Carpenter's Half (and a couple of apostrophes come back).

Carpenter's Half:

Rig Builder's (and smooth face Car Builder's):

2009
Rig Builder's gets Hickory or Fiberglass handles. Car Builder's is dropped.

Rig Builder's and Carpenters Half:

Current (April 2022)
Alternate fiberglass handle dropped.

Professional Rigbuilder Hatchets:

Bob

They have made the best rigging axe ever and the worst drywall hammer ever.
A real Jekyll and Hyde thing.

 

[garry3]

I would love to find one of those #99 professional carpenters hatchets, I've never heard of them before and I bet they're pretty rare.
I'll probably never find one but I think I may make it a mission of mine to get one.

The interesting handle isn't gonna happen but maybe I can find one of these heads.

Makes a guy wonder why it was ever dropped. Looks so much nicer than a standard half.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Makes a guy wonder why it was ever dropped. Looks so much nicer than a standard half.

It's single bevel with the curve of a broad hatchet ( found a couple examples ) and I suspect that made it less of a general use tool which didn't sell as well.

I definitely want one, it would be way more useful to me than a standard much heavier broad hatchet.

 

[garry3]

It's single bevel with the curve of a broad hatchet ( found a couple examples ) and I suspect that made it less of a general use tool which didn't sell as well.

I definitely want one, it would be way more useful to me than a standard much heavier broad hatchet.

Do you have a flooring hatchet? They are pretty nice too.

 

[Hickory n steel]

Do you have a flooring hatchet? They are pretty nice too.

Not one that hasn't been sharpened half away.

What's the typical weight range for a flooring hatchet?

 

[garry3]

Not one that hasn't been sharpened half away.

What's the typical weight range for a flooring hatchet?

I'm really not sure. I know I have weigher one with out a haft before but I can't remember what it was. I am getting 32oz with the handle on a Plumb.