making hammers + other stuff

[Doc Nickel]

Just made a hammer over Christmas as a gift.

(Link to post.)

I drilled it, then used an endmill to turn the round hole into an oval. After that, I just clamped the head in the vise longways (gripping the faces of the hammer) and tilted it sideways a bit (pure eyeball, that-looks-bout-right) and milled the edges of the oval into a slight taper.

Then I clamped it in the vise t'other way and again just tilted it by eyeball and milled the ends of the oval into a taper.

It was rough, ugly and nasty, but I cleaned it up into a reasonably smooth hourglass shape with a rat-tail file. Didn't take long.

Then I set the handle in with epoxy and the wedges. I doubt it'll ever come out.

Doc.

[Thrud]

Very nice hammer Doc - good polish on the faces - hope the lucky slob that got it appreciates the effort - I know I would...

Nice Hammers George.

I have about 40 hammers right now - I think I need some more. Good hammers are a bitch to find these days - so are hickory handles for that matter.

One of the handiest hammers I have is a Nupla with interchangable faces - I turn Pure Aluminum (dead soft) and bronze faces for it along with plastic as I need them. I have not made lead faces yet, put I plan on making a mold for it. I use copper hammers quite a bit - mostly on copper assemblies (don't ask) - I turn the heads as required.

[Doc Nickel]

Thanks Thrud. The bodyman in question did indeed appreciate it. Liked the heavier-than-usual heft, and I put a better polish on the faces than any of his high-dollar commercial hammers could ever hope for.

It won't stay polished, of course, but the bodyman isn't the type trying to make perfectly smooth, non-bondo, no-filler invisible seams either. It's mostly straight repair/insurance work and a bit of custom work.

For regular hammers, I've gotten a handful of ball-peens of various sizes from the local pawn shops for around a dollar apiece. Pop on a new $4 handle from the hardware store and sand off the oogies on the face, and you have a nice $5 hammer.

Doc.