After the slats we got an instruction lesson in the machinery. There we could prepare the wood for our hammer. The head of the hammer is made of Stonebeech, a kind of wood that splinters little. The handle is Ash wood that is springy. The head of the hammer is made out of three slabs of wood glued together, with dowels through the head for extra strength. I have covered the dowels with Wengé wood that has a nice contrasting color with the white Beech hammerhead. The hammerhead sits loose on the handle so you can easily take it apart and put it away.