The present invention relates generally to a welding slag hammer.
Large construction steel erection projects require a variety of tools and accessories in order to produce a high-quality job in a minimum amount of time. One (1) of these tools that have been used for generations is that of the slag hammer. Such hammers are used to remove extra weld splatter and hard slag consisting of excess steel, flux, and other contaminants that exist near the side of weld. These hammers also typically permit a user to maneuver bolt holes into alignment and separate touching steel components by use of a wedge incorporated into the hammer's handle.
Most slag hammers typically use a sharp pointed head to break through the crust of the slag. Of course, over time, such points become broken or dull, and require sharpening or even total replacement of the hammer. This not only is a costly endeavor, but slows down the work process while a new hammer is procured. Accordingly, there exists a need for a means by which the pointed head on a slag hammer can be ensured at all times in an effort to address the problems as described above while providing a chisel face, a pointed handle for aligning steel bolt holes, wedge and other accessories as would typically be found on a slag hammer. The use of the welding slag hammer meets all these needs in a manner which not only provides for fast easy work, but saves time and cost associated with total hammer replacement.
The inventor has recognized the aforementioned inherent problems and lack in the art and observed that there is a need for a welding slag hammer.
It is therefore the purpose of the inventor to provide a hammer comprising a head having a tip aperture located within a front end, a chisel located at a rear end, an impact area located on an upper face, a front shoulder disposed adjacent to the front end, a rear shoulder disposed adjacent to the rear end, a handle protruding perpendicularly from the head between the front shoulder and the rear shoulder of the head, and a tip configured to be removably secured within the tip aperture.
The head and the handle of the hammer may both be forged from a unitary piece of steel. In an alternate embodiment, the head and the handle may be forged from a unitary piece of strengthened steel. The hammer's front and rear shoulders may be configured to enable the hammer to be removably stowed within a scabbard of a support structure.
The aforementioned handle may taper to a spike at its lower end while an attachment aperture may run through an upper end of the handle at an angle perpendicular to the head. The handle may also further comprise a pair of grooves positioned on opposite sides and running parallel to each other. The spike may also have a wedge tip at its distal end.
The tip may also have a middle portion capable of securing the tip within the tip aperture and a pair of opposing distal ends which taper from the middle portion. Some tip embodiments have a retention device which is configured to secure the tip within the tip aperture. These tips may also comprise carbon steel and be zinc coated. In certain embodiments, the tip aperture comprises female threads and the middle portion of the tip comprises male threads.
The advantages and features of the present invention will become better understood with reference to the following more detailed description and claims taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which like elements are identified with like symbols, and in which:
The best mode for carrying out the invention is presented in terms of its preferred embodiment, herein depicted within
The terms “a” and “an” herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one (1) of the referenced items.
Referring now to
The welding slag hammer 10 is also provided with a vertical chisel 25 on the back end 17 and opposite the replaceable tip 15 located on the front end 12 as would be expected with a conventional slag hammer. Both the replaceable tip 15 and vertical chisel 25 would be used to remove weld splatter and to remove hard slag remaining after welding operations. The welding slag hammer 10 is also provided with a tapered spike 30 which is located at the lower handle portion 44 that functions as a spud wrench and may be used to wedge the welding slag hammer 10 into place and/or align bolt or pin holes. The tapered spike 30 allows the welding slag hammer 10 to also be used a “T”-handle pry bar.
Two (2) grooves 35 are provided along the handle 40 to prevent the welding slag hammer 10 from slipping or spinning in a gloved hand during usage. The handle 40 is approximately one-and-a-quarter inches (1¼ in.) in diameter. A front shoulder area 45 and back shoulder area 47 are each formed between the handle 40 and a head 50 to allow the welding slag hammer 10 to be easily stowed in the scabbard of a tool belt or loop of work pants. Finally, the lower portion of the tapered spike 30 is provided with a wedge tip 55 to allow the welding slag hammer 10 to get between two (2) surfaces and pry them apart prior to lifting them apart.
Referring now to
Referring next to
Referring finally to
The preferred embodiment of the present invention can be utilized by the common user in a simple and effortless manner with little or no training. It is envisioned that the welding slag hammer 10 would be constructed in general accordance with
At this point in time, the welding slag hammer 10 could be used as a conventional slag hammer to remove weld splatter and provide general post welding cleanup operations. Such operations would utilize the replaceable tip 15 and the vertical chisel 25 of the welding slag hammer 10. The welding slag hammer 10 may also be used for other assembly operations such as duplicating the action of a spud wrench or bull pin to align steel prior to bolting or welding. Prying and chiseling operations would be provided by the tapered spike 30 and the wedge tip 55. Such actions could also be amplified by hammering action upon the flat impact area 75 should additional leverage or force be required. These various work activities continue in a cyclical manner until the spike end 90 becomes too damaged to perform a proper job.
To replace or rotate the replaceable tip 15, the user would first loosen and remove the retention device 20 by following an inverted travel path ‘t” 95. Next, the replaceable tip 15 is removed by following the same rotational path as the retention device 20. The replaceable tip 15 can either be rotated, should the opposite spike end 90 be non-worn, or it can be replaced by a new replaceable tip 15. The replaceable tip 15 is placed into the head 50 of the welding slag hammer 10 by a tightening action as defined by the travel path ‘t” 95, followed by the retention device 20 in a similar manner. At this point in time, the welding slag hammer 10 is ready to return to use as defined above. Such usage, rotation, replacement process continues in a cyclical manner.
The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention have been presented for purposes of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed, and obviously many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teaching. The embodiments were chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its practical application, to thereby enable others skilled in the art to best utilize the invention and various embodiments with various modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated.
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
9465 | Houston | Dec 1852 | A |
817512 | Palmer | Apr 1906 | A |
874730 | Bolderl | Dec 1907 | A |
1121085 | Fitzgerald | Dec 1914 | A |
1449136 | Yates | Mar 1923 | A |
2423189 | Honhart | Jul 1947 | A |
2501757 | Cagle | Mar 1950 | A |
2938412 | Walker | May 1960 | A |
3821824 | Pilcher | Jul 1974 | A |
5237715 | Bane, III | Aug 1993 | A |
5255575 | Williams | Oct 1993 | A |
5526719 | Chen | Jun 1996 | A |
5983430 | Clark | Nov 1999 | A |
6298512 | Hagen | Oct 2001 | B1 |
6347562 | Gerber, Jr. | Feb 2002 | B1 |
6536308 | Thorne et al. | Mar 2003 | B1 |
6539824 | Wedhorn | Apr 2003 | B2 |
6604728 | Boydon | Aug 2003 | B1 |
6901823 | Ernesti | Jun 2005 | B2 |
20060019589 | Wangler | Jan 2006 | A1 |
20100281621 | Moritz | Nov 2010 | A1 |