apologies couldn't find a forum section appropriate for this one!

Best way to permanently fix a loose mattock head??

That depends on the way it was fastened originally and the cause of failure, but typically all that is needed is a wooden wedge, carved by hand and tapped in where the old wedge was before you removed it.

Good luck and post a photo if you have a special needs mattaock.

Luke Grainger : A late Welcome to Permies.com and our sister site Richsoil.com, on another thread I Caught that you are down under someplace!

Darn, I had two answers for you depending if you were eastern or western North America. Lets take care of the confusion and the paperwork, O.K.? look at the
space around your name, and L@@K at mine !

Below is a link to help new members get the most out of this site start here please :


http://www.permies.com/t/43625/introductions/Universal

So Our east coast the mattock head and the handle are permanently joined, usually they stay to gather until the handle is damaged when it rather than the mattock
hits the ground, when that happens eventually you have to replace the handle !

Western coast mattocks and picks had handles that detached from the Tool Head for packing on a pack animal into 'the Interior' and are only supposed to be a friction
fit !

As long as the handle head has not started to mushroom you should be able to use it that way a long time!

Though some mattocks and picks are now showing up on the market that are not meant to have the handle replaced those usually have fiberglass handles ! I don't
like them or use them!

If nothing else works you can soak the handle and tool in water to swell the wood fibers, but this is a stop gap until you replace the handle ! Good luck ! Big AL

If you have the kind that drops over the narrower grasping end of the wooden handle and settles against the wider flaring working end of the handle, a tricky procedure is to remove and heat the mattock head, but NOT SO MUCH that the steel's temper is affected. Hammer the hot expanded tool head into place and when it cools, it should be permanently snug.

A bunch of great replies and working solutions, thank you kindly.
I think I'll give the heating up idea a go, after-all that's how they used to fit wagon wheels steel/iron treads and also barrel fasteners!

NEVER stick a tool with a wooden handle in water to let it swell up. What happens is the plant cells absorb the water, when it drys, the cells collapse and your handle has shrunk...the last thing you want is a five pound hunk of metal doing anything but staying on that handle.

See the wranglerstar YouTube channel to see how to properly shape and fit a handle for an axe, shovel, etc.