Will a claw hammer work as a makeshift "wedge puller?"

[Greg Blackburn]

I don't have a wedge puller and my old method of removing my CVA's wedge isn't going to work on my TC's. The CVA, I pushed it from one side (with my thumb? don't recall for sure) and then pulled it out with my thumb and finger.

The TC's though, not going to happen that way! Can I just use a claw hammer, perhaps padded to prevent marring the wood, or will I bend the brass wedge head?

 

[SDSmlf]

Have never used a wedge puller. Just tap or push out.

 

[Griz44Mag]

TOTW has a brass wedge punch - just for grins I ordered one. It's a neat little tool that lets you gently tap the wedge out.
I filed a notch on one side of mine and use that to knap a flint while in the lock.

 

[Ames]

I use a flat popsicle stick to push or tap if needed.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I think a claw hammer, used as you would for pulling nails, would likely scratch up your escutcheon plates and probably dent the wood. It would probably work, but I wouldn't use it.

I think you are better off driving the wedge out, either with a commercial brass tool like the one in post #3, or improvise one of hardwood or plastic. I have used a "leg" from a spring-type wooden clothespin, whittled down a bit as needed, and it worked well.

I would not use a clawhammer for tapping on the drift, either. A wood, rubber, plastic, or rawhide mallet would be the right tool for that job.

It's a lot easier to prevent dents than to fix them.

Good luck!

Notchy Bob

 

[Griz44Mag]

I use a flat popsicle stick to push or tap if needed.

I tried that once but they melted before I got to the point where I needed the stick.....

 

[appalichian hunter]

Claw hammers are for nails not wedges in a rifle stock, as mentioned by others make a small wood type drift the cloths pin type is much better than a hammer.

 

[mooman76]

I have used a screw driver. Rather than pry it out I tap the opposite end with the handles which gives me enough room to get the blade in the other side. Then I can get the blade under the edge and rock the screw driver back and forth until I get it out far enough to pull it out. If you have two you can use the second on to pry it out.

 

[ZUG]

All I have to say is - "BUBBA TOOL" used by "BUBBA"

 

[SDSmlf]

Worked with guys who’s go to tool was a hammer. Everything they worked on was treated like a nail. A lot of collateral damage incurred. Save the claw hammer for framing a house or something. You wouldn’t use your muzzleloader to pound a nail, would you?

 

[Tom A Hawk]

I use a flat popsicle stick to push or tap if needed.

Me too.

 

[hanshi]

A claw hammer would work on pulling out a wedge about as well as it would work killing flies on a baby's head.

 

[Carbon 6]

I've always used a screw driver as a punch, but if you squeeze the stock and barrel together with your hand next to the pin, a lot of times they will pull right out with your fingers.

 

[ppg1949]

I’ve used one side of a clothes pin with success. But that was before I bought a wedge puller. A small brass punch will work too.

 

[Okie Hog]

TC used to include a combination wedge pin puller and nipple wrench with their rifles. Now sellers want big bucks for that tool:

https://rmcoxyoke.com/product/wedge-pin-puller/
Buy yourself a tack puller at Ace Hardware or ebay:

https://www.ebay.com/i/252427486600...1291&msclkid=95df94e5160817b52fa9cba48a9e92eb

 

[Jaeger]

One of the blades on the old GI folding screwdriver tool (might have been used with the M 1 Garand?) works great as a blade to tap out a wedge. Not PC at all, but they are very handy!

 

[Grenadier1758]

Will the claw of a claw hammer work to pull the wedge on a tight T/C wedge?

While the simple answer is yes, this is another case of identifying a process that works (poorly), but as part of a brainstorming process can be presented for analysis. The claw hammer is not the proper tool to use in wedge removal. Use of the claw or the hammer face can mar the brass escutcheons inlaid in the stock. There are better alternatives. I use the wooden handle of a turnscrew to tap the nose of the wedge to push the head away from the stock. Usually I can grab it and remove it without further difficulty. I may have to use the blade of the turnscrew to push it further out.

The T/C wedge puller tool shown by @Okie Hog has both the hammer and the claw. It is a tiny hammer suitable to move the wedge out of position. The claw is flat and fits under the head of the wedge to pull the wedge out the rest of the way with out damaging the oval inlays.

 

[Carbon 6]

I’ve used one side of a clothes pin with success

That's pretty resourceful.

 

[LawrenceA]

Usually when I have trouble with 1 wedge the other is out already.
Generally I can get the tight one moving but not out.
I found that the "edge of the head on the wedge" I had out would fit behind the "head on the tight wedge".
I could then lever it out easily using the blade of the loose wedge as a handle and the head as a pivt and lever (the same as the head on a hammer).

 

[AZbpBurner]

100 years ago, folks could just go sit on a stump & think out an answer for themselves. Seems today we're losing that ability.