Rigster Hatchet vs. Carpenter Hatchet questions

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thunderstick

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I was looking online for the traditional differences between the design and usage of a rigster vs. carpenter hatchet and could not find anything. You can't even find a definition for "rigster." Typically the rigsters have a longer handle (17-19"), sometimes with a double-bit flair at the end, and have a 28 oz. 3-1/2" bit. The carpenter's hatchet (or half-hatchet) has a 12-14" handle and a 22 oz. 3-1/2" bit. Sometimes the rigster has a waffle face which would relegate it more to rough framing type work, but not always.

What was the traditional usage of the one style versus the other?
 
I thought a rigging hatchet was for shake shingle roofing. I wouldn't think it would be much good for general chopping, wrong profile, lack of mass. But good for splitiing shakes.
 
Eric Sloan seems to divide all old hatchets except hewing hatchets into shingling, with blades flared above and below the eye, and lathing, with a flat top for hammering close to ceilings.
Then you get what I believe are called half-hatchets, flared downward only but shorter and broader than a lathing hatchet tends to be. The modern riggers and carpenters are of this shape, it seems to me.
Then the modern shingling hatchet has also gone flat-topped, with holes to put pegs in or something to check the exposure of your shingles and keep the lines straight.
The hewing hatchet has a chisel-edge for hewing stuff flat. Also called broad hatchet, because it's the little brother of the broad axe. (Some people may call the old shingling hatchet a broad hatchet because it's broader than the half-hatchet, but I believe axe-forumites reserve "broad" for a hewer.)
Opinions may vary, and some may be sounder than mine.
 
Riggers hatchet/axe is a longer heavier version of the carpenters hatchet. When stick framing we used to use a riggers axe to lop off the corner of the ceiling joists where it protruded above the rafter/roof line. We always used the riggers axe because it s heavier weight and longer handle also made it great for sinking 16s.

All the houses we frame now are huge meaning wood I beams for the long rafter runs (up to 40 feet) and the rafters usually sit on top of the ceiling joists so the roofline won't slope down into the header area where everyone feels compelled to have keystones, arch top windows, etc. My riggers axes stay in the tool trailer now days but I just used one of my old Plumb carpenters hatchets today to relief some wood on the corner of an I beam hip rafter to allow it to "plane in" to the adjoining roof line. Normally use a power planer but we were very high up and didn't want to fool with getting power up there. Will try to remember and drag them out of the tool trailer tomorrow and take a pic.

The reason the larger versions are referred to as riggers axes is because framers (or riggers) used them when building oil derricks (or oil rigs) from wood years ago. When production/tract framing became the norm back in the 50-60s framers liked the riggers axe because it was great at pounding 16s and lopping off the corner of ceiling joists....plus there weren't many true framing hammers around back then.

Steve
 
Many years ago the riggers were the sailors who attended to the rigging of the sails. In commercial construction a rigger is someone who specializes in hoisting and setting in place heavy objects or pieces of equipment.

From a contractor forum somebody indicated that (in my summary form):
"the original rigger ax was used to build wood oil derricks. When that industry slowed and housing boomed in California many riggers went there to frame and used their rigging axes--because they could sink 16p nails in 1 or 2 swings. The ax bit was used to rough shape irregularities in framing lumber. Then because of a few accidents, and OSHA issuing some fines for using rigging axes for framing, many carpenters lopped off their sharp edges. Vaughan responded by introducing a California framing hammer which essentially duplicated the rigger's ax with claws instead of a bit. The rigging ax then was largely replaced by the California framing hammer."
Vaughan seems to be the top name with Plumb being next for riggers hatchets.

Here in the East when I was apprenticing as a commercial building carpenter, the old timers always kept a carpenter's hatchet in their toolbox. They did not use it as a framing hammer but used it to to rough shape framing lumber or make wood stakes if electric and a saw was not nearby. In that era experienced carpenters were paired with apprentices and laborers and scattered out over large areas of the jobsite. Electric and saw stations were interspersed throughout, but depending on where you might be working there might be no electric for a saw nearby (cordless did not exist) and there were always a limited number of company power tools. In these situations the handsaw and the hatchet performed many tasks quite efficiently--if they were kept sharp. I don't recall any carpenters using a riggers hatchet--they were always carpenter's hatchets and seldom carried on the tool belt or used as a hammer. Only if they were going to have regular usage off the ground would someone carry them on their belt to keep them readily available--but generally a sharp hatchet on the tool belt was considered a safety hazard.
 
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thunderstick said:
Many years ago the riggers were the sailors who attended to the rigging of the sails. In commercial construction a rigger is someone who specializes in hoisting and setting in place heavy objects or pieces of equipment.

From a contractor forum somebody indicated that (in my summary form):
"the original rigger ax was used to build wood oil derricks. When that industry slowed and housing boomed in California many riggers went there to frame and used their rigging axes--because they could sink 16p nails in 1 or 2 swings. The ax bit was used to rough shape irregularities in framing lumber. Then because of a few accidents, and OSHA issuing some fines for using rigging axes for framing, many carpenters lopped off their sharp edges. Vaughan responded by introducing a California framing hammer which essentially duplicated the rigger's ax with claws instead of a bit. The rigging ax then was largely replaced by the California framing hammer."
Vaughan seems to be the top name with Plumb being next for riggers hatchets.

I always used Vaughan's. If I remember right True tempers had smaller faces set farther out. I don't remember the particuliars on Plumbs. Vaughn had a bigger face than others set closer to handle. A better design.
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Forester33 said:
I thought a rigging hatchet was for shake shingle roofing. I wouldn't think it would be much good for general chopping, wrong profile, lack of mass. But good for splitiing shakes.
Click to expand...

There are shingle hatchets specific for that purpose.
I'm not positive the true purpose of a Riggers axe, but I know many people confuse riggers axes, half hatchets, shingle hatchets, lathe hatchets and box hatchets as " roofing hatchets.
There are even many that look the same such as Far builders hatchets, many different trades with many specialized tools that can tend to look the same sometimes.
 
A rigger is often concerned with the construction of what's called a "box crib" or cribbing tower.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Box_crib

These are temporary structures used to support heavy loads. The are typically made from pairs of 4' long 6x8 timbers but larger heavier boxes are also built on larger projects. Sometimes a timber needs to be notched to fit under a component that needs support. That's where the hatchet comes in. Atop the cribs other sized lumber is often needed to match a particular height. These 'shimming' layers are held in place with 16-penny duplex nails. That's where the hammer face comes in.

Riggers also attach diagonal braces with duplex nails. Special wood wedges are a mainstay of riggers. These are 3-1/2" wide by 1" thick tapering to zero. Pairs of wedges are driven in point to point fill in any remaining gaps needed to support the load. These wedges are also held in place with duplex nails, either 8-penny or 16-penny. The weight and length of a riggers aze make them a good hammer for driving those wegdes tight.

In short the rigger (among other things) is a specialized carpenter that works for heavy hauling and erection companies. His unique work causes him to choose a unique hammer/hatchet tool. Rigging is hard heavy work and riggers pride themselves on being some of the strongest toughest men on the jobsite.
 
In the days of hand tools tradesmen had highly developed eye-hand coordination and the ability to use tools free hand very efficiently. I learned to sharpen drill bits on a belt sander because if you caught some masonry with a bit in the middle of a job you simply sharpened it. A young friend of mine declared you cannot possibly sharpen a drill bit by hand where both edges will uniformly cut. I said while I can't guarantee perfectly symmetrical cutting edges I can guarantee both edges cutting better than a factory grind. Of course I had to prove it with long steel "dual" shavings. The same guy could not imagine how I could uniformly sharpen a chainsaw chain--same thing--I can guarantee longer shavings than a factory sharpening--and I had to prove it. He was a very sharp and techy guy with figuring things out, but he had little experience with free hand efficiency. His dad owns a shop and everything is done with a jig.

These old hand tools are a joy to work with--but they do require eye-hand coordination to be efficient. The same is true for a Rigger's hatchet--until you see it in action with an experienced hand you cannot fully appreciate their usefulness.
The hand tool skills are being lost with today's tradesmen.
 
Hi thunderstick. I had this same question back in 2016. So, I wrote a paper analyzing 34 different hatchet patterns, including the rig builders hatchet. Here is a link to the paper https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BytL-vgqWOybbEViVTFEV2xmZTY4NHRndUNoMnQ5X3FXcTBV/view?usp=sharing. One common misconception in hatchets is the name "carpenters" hatchet. In all of my research, I never saw an advertisement or catalog that called any hatchet a "carpenters hatchet." Most people are referring to a half hatchet when they say carpenters hatchet. I believe the name carpenters hatchet was coined because most people using these hatchets were wood workers/carpenters. I hope you enjoy the paper. :)
 
Landodnal said:
Hi thunderstick. I had this same question back in 2016. So, I wrote a paper analyzing 34 different hatchet patterns, including the rig builders hatchet. Here is a link to the paper https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BytL-vgqWOybbEViVTFEV2xmZTY4NHRndUNoMnQ5X3FXcTBV/view?usp=sharing. One common misconception in hatchets is the name "carpenters" hatchet. In all of my research, I never saw an advertisement or catalog that called any hatchet a "carpenters hatchet." Most people are referring to a half hatchet when they say carpenters hatchet. I believe the name carpenters hatchet was coined because most people using these hatchets were wood workers/carpenters. I hope you enjoy the paper. :)
Click to expand...
That's great @Landodnal , thank you for sharing it!. The one labeled Tobacco Hatchet looks like a common half hatchet and not the light weight steel hatchets that I have seen labeled as tobacco hatchets or knifes. Did that picture and label come out of a Keen Kutter catalog? I am no expert in any of this just wondering about that one and it's use.
 
Landodnal said:
Hi thunderstick. I had this same question back in 2016. So, I wrote a paper analyzing 34 different hatchet patterns, including the rig builders hatchet. Here is a link to the paper https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BytL-vgqWOybbEViVTFEV2xmZTY4NHRndUNoMnQ5X3FXcTBV/view?usp=sharing. One common misconception in hatchets is the name "carpenters" hatchet. In all of my research, I never saw an advertisement or catalog that called any hatchet a "carpenters hatchet." Most people are referring to a half hatchet when they say carpenters hatchet. I believe the name carpenters hatchet was coined because most people using these hatchets were wood workers/carpenters. I hope you enjoy the paper. :)
Click to expand...

Here is a link that shows the carpenter's hatchet as part of the half-hatchet family. In my area there were more Stanley hatchets than any other brand. Plumb was probably number 2 in popularity.
http://www.yesteryearstools.com/Yesteryears Tools/Stanley Axes.html
 
FWIW, 1955 snip:

E3OsYc1.jpg



Bob
 
The European manufacturers use the carpenter term also to describe the thin bladed version that is used by timber framers.

I tend to think that in America the half-hatchet was the general family name and the individual trade names were part of that family. As a result, in time the usage of "half hatchet" disappeared and you just called the hatchet by its primary trade name. That was certainly the case in my early years of construction.
 
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