In our last post in the “how to remove railroad ties without really trying” series, we examined the right prybar/action bar for the project.  Now we’ll take a look at finding the right sledge hammer.

The primary purpose of the sledge hammer is to let the hammer head do all of the hard work so you don’t have to — something that I’m sure everyone can agree is a good thing!  To that end, there are a lot of various weights, sizes and shapes of sledge hammers.  Based on the needs of the job, I feel comfortable recommending a sledge hammer with a head weight anywhere between 4 pounds and 10 pounds.  Anything more than 10 pounds would be overkill for this project and would cost considerably more than you probably want to spend.

I used my father’s old 8 pound sledge hammer (as you can see in the picture, it’s quite old and rusty) because I was still searching around for the right tool.  Don’t get me wrong - it’s a great sledge hammer, but the handle was splintered towards the hammer’s head and would snag on my work gloves.

My solution is to spend about $30 and buy the Rubbermaid Roughneck 8-Lb. Sledge Hammer.  It’s important to note that while not all sledge hammers are created equal, most are constructed well enough to handle most around-the-house and outdoors jobs.  We’re not using ours for professional demolition projects or commercial applications, so just make sure the bases are covered:

• Hardened steel head
• Cushion grip
• 4 - 10 Lb

You should be good to go.  With all the tools out of the way, let’s detail how we’re going to remove those railroad ties!