Robatoy wrote:


I need four.
16 Oz Estwing claw hammer with leather wrapped handle.
24 Oz Estwing Long, framer.
2 pound dead blow. I also have a 1 pound for assembly.
Big ol' ballpeen , guessing at 3 lbs.

All of which I have owned forever.

I've had a go-to hammer since forever, and it's a 20oz Stanley. I've framed
with it, trimmed and finished with it, and used it for all sorts of unintend
uses. It's just my buddy when it comes to hammers. That said, like you, I
have a selection of hammers. I have 6 ball peen hammers (Harbor Freight
set) that I use for the ugly, dirty stuff. I really do not like using my
go-to hammer for dirty work, so it does not get exposed to sheet metal or
steel work, etc. I also have a selection of dedicated purpose body hammers
for body work. These guys don't get used for anything else. The face of a
body hammer is something one protects, because its shape is important. Then
of course, there's the BFH. This guy gets used a lot and is loved in a very
different way. I don't have to feed it special treats, I don't have to be
nice to it, I can just grab it and let things get brutal. It seems to love
that treatment. I think it's a 3 pounder, and I know it's about all I can
control with one hand and an energetic swing. Then finally, I have the big
guns - a couple of 6 pounders which see only occassional use. Definitely
not one hand hammers... Funny thing is that there are probably only a few
times that those 6 pounders ever really accomplished a hammer task that the
3 pounder couldn't do. So - I don't reach out both hands for those very
quickly.



Then I have a rubber mallet, a wooden mallet, 2 sledges, a triangular
rotating head small hammer, a brass hammer.

Yupp - I have a rubber mallet. Somehow, I can't bring myself to consider it
a hammer.


THEN a HF grade 3 dollar one in case somebody wants to borrow a
hammer.

I have an orphan hammer too - a 16oz Stanley that I consider to be my wife's
hammer.

--

-Mike-

Mike Marlow wrote the following:
Michael Kenefick wrote:

Get the HFT hammers. If they break before your job is done return
them. Get a few of the fiberglass and a few of the wood. Keep the
list updated as the "lastability" of the HFT hammers.

As a kid we used rocks to nail bent nails to build club houses. The
rocks help up.


I personally hate both wood handles and fiberglass handles. I prefer steel
handles. Pretty much a matter of choice. I wouldn't buy an assortment
unless you want to buy different weight hammers. For most casual work, a 20
or 22 oz hammer will cover it all.



When I first got a P/T job with a general contractor, I showed up with
the usual homeowner's wood handled claw hammer. The others were using
regular framing hammers. A couple had Estwings, I liked the way the
Estwings rang when hitting the nails, so I bought 3 of them. One 22 oz.
smooth faced, one 22 oz. milled face, and a 14 oz. drywall hammer.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

Bill wrote the following:
dpb wrote:

Then, in regards to your comment upthread about them being "persuaders"
for most anything; you definitely do _not_ want to abuse a claw hammer
used by using it as a machinist's or in place of a ballpeen hammer--you
should have an assortment there as well, from gentle 12-16oz to serious
of 2-3lb, again, just how large to go depends on what sort of
application(s) one has for them.

Please excuse my naivety How is the business end of a claw hammer
different than that of a ballpeen hammer?

Say I want to bend some 1/8" thick 1/2" (soft) steel stock for instance.
I take it from your post that this would be disrespectful to my claw
hammer, but (somehow) less so to a ballpeen hammer.

Something I've seen other people do is to actually pound on the end of a
wrench with a hammer to loosen a stuck nut. Maybe they wrapped cloth
around it first, I'm not sure. Cardinal sin???

I actually don't own any "serious" hammers (yet), but I'm sure I would
use one if it was nearby. I'm inspired by the commedian Gallagher's
"Sledgo-matic". : )

Bill


You can hammer nails with a ball peen hammer, but you might find it
impossible to pull out a bent nail with a ball peen hammer.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:43:32 -0400, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:

Bill wrote:


The shattering is/was a primary concern. I could never foresee all of
the uses (or misuses) that I find for a hammer. Nobody mentioned this,
but hammers help overcome stubborness...wherever you find it.


No - BIGGER hammers help to overcome stubborness...

Spare the sledge, spoil the child, eh?

--
....in order that a man may be happy, it is
necessary that he should not only be capable
of his work, but a good judge of his work.
-- John Ruskin

On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:08:34 -0400, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:

Robatoy wrote:


I need four.
16 Oz Estwing claw hammer with leather wrapped handle.
24 Oz Estwing Long, framer.
2 pound dead blow. I also have a 1 pound for assembly.
Big ol' ballpeen , guessing at 3 lbs.

All of which I have owned forever.
Then I have a rubber mallet, a wooden mallet, 2 sledges, a triangular
rotating head small hammer, a brass hammer.

Yupp - I have a rubber mallet. Somehow, I can't bring myself to consider it
a hammer.

My polyurethane mallet is my favorite hammer, and I have probably 20
hammers of various types, from 3oz to 3lb, and 5 and 10lb sledges.


THEN a HF grade 3 dollar one in case somebody wants to borrow a
hammer.

I have an orphan hammer too - a 16oz Stanley that I consider to be my wife's
hammer.

There ya go.

--
....in order that a man may be happy, it is
necessary that he should not only be capable
of his work, but a good judge of his work.
-- John Ruskin

On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:41:23 -0400, willshak
wrote:

You can hammer nails with a ball peen hammer, but you might find it
impossible to pull out a bent nail with a ball peen hammer.

A ball peen hammer's face has a slight crown to it. They suck for
hammering nails.
--
Jack Novak
Buffalo, NY - USA

On 8/16/2011 7:20 AM, dpb wrote:
....
OBTW, the other thing wrt to using a ballpeen or machinists hammer
instead of a claw hammer for mechanical work is that the weight balance
is better for the purpose; they just feel better when used for the
things they were designed for than does a claw hammer which isn't
intended for the purpose.

--

Ed Pawlowski wrote:

"Bill" wrote in message
...
dpb wrote:

Then, in regards to your comment upthread about them being "persuaders"
for most anything; you definitely do _not_ want to abuse a claw hammer
used by using it as a machinist's or in place of a ballpeen hammer--you
should have an assortment there as well, from gentle 12-16oz to serious
of 2-3lb, again, just how large to go depends on what sort of
application(s) one has for them.

Please excuse my naivety How is the business end of a claw hammer
different than that of a ballpeen hammer?

Say I want to bend some 1/8" thick 1/2" (soft) steel stock for instance.
I take it from your post that this would be disrespectful to my claw
hammer, but (somehow) less so to a ballpeen hammer.

Which end are you considering the business end? They are designed for
different business on one end. They do handle differently. If you look
at the nail striking end, the ball peen has a longer thick end while the
claw hammer tapers back much sooner. The bp does not seem as accurate
for nails and the balance is different.

Thank you. My recollection is consistent with your explanation. I'll
check this again for myself at Sears.

Nova wrote:
On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:41:23 -0400,
wrote:

You can hammer nails with a ball peen hammer, but you might find it
impossible to pull out a bent nail with a ball peen hammer.

A ball peen hammer's face has a slight crown to it. They suck for
hammering nails.

Actually, I more or less learned that when I was a little kid--being
attracted to the size of the smaller ball peen. Remember when a 16oz
hammer seemed heavy to use?

I remember too when it was a lot of work to dig a full shovel-full of
dirt. Having grown some since, I enjoy digging full shovel-fulls of
dirt..lol.

Bill wrote the following:
Nova wrote:
On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:41:23 -0400,
wrote:

You can hammer nails with a ball peen hammer, but you might find it
impossible to pull out a bent nail with a ball peen hammer.

A ball peen hammer's face has a slight crown to it. They suck for
hammering nails.

Actually, I more or less learned that when I was a little kid--being
attracted to the size of the smaller ball peen. Remember when a 16oz
hammer seemed heavy to use?

I remember too when it was a lot of work to dig a full shovel-full of
dirt. Having grown some since, I enjoy digging full shovel-fulls of
dirt..lol.


Just wait a few years. You'll be reverting to the half full shovel in
time. :-)

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On 8/16/2011 12:17 PM, Larry Jaques wrote:
On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:08:34 -0400, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:

Robatoy wrote:


I need four.
16 Oz Estwing claw hammer with leather wrapped handle.
24 Oz Estwing Long, framer.
2 pound dead blow. I also have a 1 pound for assembly.
Big ol' ballpeen , guessing at 3 lbs.

All of which I have owned forever.
Then I have a rubber mallet, a wooden mallet, 2 sledges, a triangular
rotating head small hammer, a brass hammer.

Yupp - I have a rubber mallet. Somehow, I can't bring myself to consider it
a hammer.

My polyurethane mallet is my favorite hammer, and I have probably 20
hammers of various types, from 3oz to 3lb, and 5 and 10lb sledges.

Holy Cow, it's C-less touting the advantages of polyurethane! I'm shocked, I
tell ya, shocked! Next thing is you'll be telling us it has a stained cherry
handle too! :-)

--
See Nad. See Nad go. Go Nad!
To reply, eat the taco.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/bbqboyee/

On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 16:05:20 -0500, Steve Turner
wrote:

On 8/16/2011 12:17 PM, Larry Jaques wrote:
On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 12:08:34 -0400, "Mike Marlow"
wrote:

Robatoy wrote:


I need four.
16 Oz Estwing claw hammer with leather wrapped handle.
24 Oz Estwing Long, framer.
2 pound dead blow. I also have a 1 pound for assembly.
Big ol' ballpeen , guessing at 3 lbs.

All of which I have owned forever.
Then I have a rubber mallet, a wooden mallet, 2 sledges, a triangular
rotating head small hammer, a brass hammer.

Yupp - I have a rubber mallet. Somehow, I can't bring myself to consider it
a hammer.

My polyurethane mallet is my favorite hammer, and I have probably 20
hammers of various types, from 3oz to 3lb, and 5 and 10lb sledges.

Holy Cow, it's C-less touting the advantages of polyurethane! I'm shocked, I

No, no, it's a rubber mallet. That's all. I'm -not- coating anything
in ugly plastic, thankyouverymuch.


tell ya, shocked! Next thing is you'll be telling us it has a stained cherry
handle too! :-)

Don't EVEN go there!@, turkey.

--
....in order that a man may be happy, it is
necessary that he should not only be capable
of his work, but a good judge of his work.
-- John Ruskin

dpb wrote:
On 8/16/2011 7:20 AM, dpb wrote:
...
OBTW, the other thing wrt to using a ballpeen or machinists hammer
instead of a claw hammer for mechanical work is that the weight balance
is better for the purpose; they just feel better when used for the
things they were designed for than does a claw hammer which isn't
intended for the purpose.

--


This reminds me of a question that occurred to me while I was watching
the blacksmiths at the state fair the other day. They were positioning
the flat end of a ball peen hammer on the red hot iron (which was on the
anvil of course, and hitting the ball end of that hammer with another
hammer to help flatten the iron. They did this over and over, and it
felt "wrong" to me, but I didn't ask or say anything. What's the verdict?

Bill

On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 06:10:43 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski" wrote:


"Bill" wrote in message
...
dpb wrote:

Then, in regards to your comment upthread about them being "persuaders"
for most anything; you definitely do _not_ want to abuse a claw hammer
used by using it as a machinist's or in place of a ballpeen hammer--you
should have an assortment there as well, from gentle 12-16oz to serious
of 2-3lb, again, just how large to go depends on what sort of
application(s) one has for them.

Please excuse my naivety How is the business end of a claw hammer
different than that of a ballpeen hammer?

Say I want to bend some 1/8" thick 1/2" (soft) steel stock for instance.
I take it from your post that this would be disrespectful to my claw
hammer, but (somehow) less so to a ballpeen hammer.

Which end are you considering the business end? They are designed for
different business on one end. They do handle differently. If you look at
the nail striking end, the ball peen has a longer thick end while the claw
hammer tapers back much sooner. The bp does not seem as accurate for nails
and the balance is different.

ISTR that the angle between the head and the handle is not zero with a claw
hammer. The head is angled something like 3degrees toward the handle to
compensate for the arc of the swing. If it the angle were zero, nails would
tend to bend outward. Ballpeen hammers aren't used in the same way so aren't
angled. Cheap hammers may not have this right, either. OTOH, it seems like
it shouldn't be difficult to get right *once*.

Your not driving framing nails. Stick with the 16 oz.

--------------

"Bill" wrote in message ...
Yes, I was considering different hammer weights (12, 16, 20 oz).
I'm not sure that I'd want to reach for a 22 oz hammer for molding or
brads, though I don't have much experience with the former (yet!)

I use my Estwing claw hammers for everything. Today it was chipping brick
away to fasten a railing fastening plate to pillars made from rock-faced
brick. Done it many times and they still drive framing nails just fine but
then they are only a few decades old yet.

Just drag the faces over some rough sandpaper once in a while, to remove the
polish, and the nails don't tend to slip off when struck.
-------------

"willshak" wrote in message
...
When I first got a P/T job with a general contractor, I showed up with
the usual homeowner's wood handled claw hammer. The others were using
regular framing hammers. A couple had Estwings, I liked the way the
Estwings rang when hitting the nails, so I bought 3 of them. One 22 oz.
smooth faced, one 22 oz. milled face, and a 14 oz. drywall hammer.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:21:55 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 01:17:52 -0400, Bill
wrote:

dpb wrote:

Then, in regards to your comment upthread about them being "persuaders"
for most anything; you definitely do _not_ want to abuse a claw hammer
used by using it as a machinist's or in place of a ballpeen hammer--you
should have an assortment there as well, from gentle 12-16oz to serious
of 2-3lb, again, just how large to go depends on what sort of
application(s) one has for them.

Please excuse my naivety How is the business end of a claw hammer
different than that of a ballpeen hammer?

Say I want to bend some 1/8" thick 1/2" (soft) steel stock for instance.
I take it from your post that this would be disrespectful to my claw
hammer, but (somehow) less so to a ballpeen hammer.

It would be disrespectful to any hammer. Use a brake or bender, silly.

Whoa, Larry, whoa!!! You been smokin' some of that whacky backy? A man of
your experience should know that the proper response to a statement like that
would be that he needs to go out and acquire a forge, anvil, dozens of tongs and
hammers, couple of leg vises, trip hammer and a water wheel with mill dam to
power it. Get hold of yourself, man! Your response required he only add one or
two new tools to the shoppe.

It's much easier on the steel, too, creating less splitting and
shearing in the bend. Fast bends rip it, slow bends finess it,
Grasshoppa.


Something I've seen other people do is to actually pound on the end of a
wrench with a hammer to loosen a stuck nut. Maybe they wrapped cloth
around it first, I'm not sure. Cardinal sin???

Use a stick/club, not a hammer, if you can't get an impact on it.

Use a 5 foot piece of 2 inch schedule 40 pipe (aka a cheater bar).


I actually don't own any "serious" hammers (yet), but I'm sure I would
use one if it was nearby. I'm inspired by the commedian Gallagher's
"Sledgo-matic". : )

Since it's a wooden head, he actually uses a mallet-o-matic.

On Mon, 15 Aug 2011 03:32:47 -0400, Bill wrote:


I need some ordinary hammers (12, 16, 20 oz).

Are these tools in the "you get what you pay for" category?

Howdy Bill.

There are very few tools that are not in some aspect of the "you get what you
pay for category". I think this factoid was discussed in one of the hand plane
threads late fall last year. Hammers are the same as hand planes in this
respect, only you hold them different.


The 16oz claw hammer I've been using is sort of a family heirloom,
having belonged to my grandfather.

Like clamps, you can't have too many hammers. SWMBO claims I took up
blacksmithing years back just to have an excuse to have a whole new stable of
hammers (and tongs, anvils, leg vises, etc), but she tends to exaggerate.

For carpentry, I like the 24 oz Estwing framing hammer. I also like my yellow
handled 20 oz smooth Stanley rip hammer and an ancient Stanley deep claw, mainly
because of the octagonal wood handle. Just a super hammer to hold. For light
work I use pin or brad air nailers while the glue dries. (Just kidding. I don't
stain cherry either.)

I don't recall ever chipping a hammer working wood. I have broken a cheap ball
peen hammer and chipped a cheap 2 lb engineer's hammer with mi****s working
metal.

Why not add hammers to your rust hunt list along with planes and chisels and
saws and clamps (etc.) at the weekly yard sales/fleas, and just pick them up as
you find them? Sometimes you can get a good hammer or axe head for pocket
change and then rehandle it. Some people don't want to bother with rehandling a
tool, but it is not a big deal.

BTW, Anyone heard of the MWTCA ("Midwest Tool Collectors Association")?

It seems you are headed down the slippery slope at a dead run. So to speed your
decent, let me suggest you check out the Oldtools mailing list:

http://ruckus.law.cornell.edu/mailman/listinfo/oldtools


Contact me off list for two guys who have been very good at supplying me with
old tools for a couple years. Note I have carefully concealed my real email
address.


Regards,
Roy

On Aug 15, 3:32*am, Bill wrote:
I need some ordinary hammers (12, 16, 20 oz).

Are these tools in the "you get what you pay for" category?

Perhaps you could briefly explain why I should consider spending $70 or
more, when I could probably find all 3 for around $10 at HF.
If you can think of a reason related to safety (I'm afraid of flying
metal) or the tool's lifetime I would be persuaded by that.

Check how well the tool is finished. A hammer with a
roughly finished shank will raise blisters. Spend a
couple of dollars more, or pick up a mill file on your way
out to smooth down the edges.

On Aug 16, 2:56*pm, dpb wrote:
On 8/16/2011 7:20 AM, dpb wrote:
...
OBTW, the other thing wrt to using a ballpeen or machinists hammer
instead of a claw hammer for mechanical work is that the weight balance
is better for the purpose; they just feel better when used for the
things they were designed for than does a claw hammer which isn't
intended for the purpose.

--

The handle design varies, too. Hickory handled silversmiths'
hammers have oval, teardrop-shaped grips. In use, you hold
them loosely so they can pivot about the center of the teardrop,
giving constant striking force and constant rhythm -- with not
much practice, you can use said tool to raise (or sink) a flat
copper disc into a perfect hemisphere.

Roy wrote:

Say I want to bend some 1/8" thick 1/2" (soft) steel stock for instance.
I take it from your post that this would be disrespectful to my claw
hammer, but (somehow) less so to a ballpeen hammer.

It would be disrespectful to any hammer. Use a brake or bender, silly.

Whoa, Larry, whoa!!! You been smokin' some of that whacky backy? A man of
your experience should know that the proper response to a statement like that
would be that he needs to go out and acquire a forge, anvil, dozens of tongs and
hammers, couple of leg vises, trip hammer and a water wheel with mill dam to
power it. Get hold of yourself, man! Your response required he only add one or
two new tools to the shoppe.

Yeah, I like your attitude! Especially, the water wheel! ; )

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:25:08 -0500, Roy
wrote:

On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:21:55 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

It would be disrespectful to any hammer. Use a brake or bender, silly.

Whoa, Larry, whoa!!! You been smokin' some of that whacky backy? A man of
your experience should know that the proper response to a statement like that
would be that he needs to go out and acquire a forge, anvil, dozens of tongs and
hammers, couple of leg vises, trip hammer and a water wheel with mill dam to
power it. Get hold of yourself, man! Your response required he only add one or
two new tools to the shoppe.

As so many of you idjuts are married, I try to suggest single (or
multiple small) tool purchases so they will fly past SWMBO's irate
replies when you wish to do something manly and bold. For the single
man, definitely go for a whole new -stable- of toys. I'm single and
half my living room is littered with my toys.
Bwahahahahahaha! YMMV.


It's much easier on the steel, too, creating less splitting and
shearing in the bend. Fast bends rip it, slow bends finess it,
Grasshoppa.


Something I've seen other people do is to actually pound on the end of a
wrench with a hammer to loosen a stuck nut. Maybe they wrapped cloth
around it first, I'm not sure. Cardinal sin???

Use a stick/club, not a hammer, if you can't get an impact on it.

Use a 5 foot piece of 2 inch schedule 40 pipe (aka a cheater bar).

Even better. I had an ovulated piece of pipe I'd use on smaller
wrenches in tight spaces. About 14" long, it would nearly triple the
effective length of the wrench. Then I bought a MAC front-end ratchet
set and those Chebby suspension nuts became piece of cake/duck
souplike.


I think I'll make an HF Tool Run today. Pittsburgh Pro hammahs are on
sale for $2.99, and I needs me wunna them new, non-waffle faced toys.

--
....in order that a man may be happy, it is
necessary that he should not only be capable
of his work, but a good judge of his work.
-- John Ruskin

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:51:55 -0400, Bill
wrote:

Roy wrote:

Say I want to bend some 1/8" thick 1/2" (soft) steel stock for instance.
I take it from your post that this would be disrespectful to my claw
hammer, but (somehow) less so to a ballpeen hammer.

It would be disrespectful to any hammer. Use a brake or bender, silly.

Whoa, Larry, whoa!!! You been smokin' some of that whacky backy? A man of
your experience should know that the proper response to a statement like that
would be that he needs to go out and acquire a forge, anvil, dozens of tongs and
hammers, couple of leg vises, trip hammer and a water wheel with mill dam to
power it. Get hold of yourself, man! Your response required he only add one or
two new tools to the shoppe.

Yeah, I like your attitude! Especially, the water wheel! ; )

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and how many of you will be _allowed_ to do any of
that, hmm?

Silly married critters, I swear...

--
....in order that a man may be happy, it is
necessary that he should not only be capable
of his work, but a good judge of his work.
-- John Ruskin

Larry Jaques wrote the following:
On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:25:08 -0500, Roy
wrote:

On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:21:55 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

It would be disrespectful to any hammer. Use a brake or bender, silly.
Whoa, Larry, whoa!!! You been smokin' some of that whacky backy? A man of
your experience should know that the proper response to a statement like that
would be that he needs to go out and acquire a forge, anvil, dozens of tongs and
hammers, couple of leg vises, trip hammer and a water wheel with mill dam to
power it. Get hold of yourself, man! Your response required he only add one or
two new tools to the shoppe.

As so many of you idjuts are married, I try to suggest single (or
multiple small) tool purchases so they will fly past SWMBO's irate
replies when you wish to do something manly and bold. For the single
man, definitely go for a whole new -stable- of toys. I'm single and
half my living room is littered with my toys.
Bwahahahahahaha! YMMV.


I'm married and my living room is lettered with toys.
They're not mine tho. They're my grandson's toys who we daycare 3 days a
week.



It's much easier on the steel, too, creating less splitting and
shearing in the bend. Fast bends rip it, slow bends finess it,
Grasshoppa.


Something I've seen other people do is to actually pound on the end of a
wrench with a hammer to loosen a stuck nut. Maybe they wrapped cloth
around it first, I'm not sure. Cardinal sin???
Use a stick/club, not a hammer, if you can't get an impact on it.
Use a 5 foot piece of 2 inch schedule 40 pipe (aka a cheater bar).

Even better. I had an ovulated piece of pipe I'd use on smaller
wrenches in tight spaces. About 14" long, it would nearly triple the
effective length of the wrench. Then I bought a MAC front-end ratchet
set and those Chebby suspension nuts became piece of cake/duck
souplike.


I think I'll make an HF Tool Run today. Pittsburgh Pro hammahs are on
sale for $2.99, and I needs me wunna them new, non-waffle faced toys.

--
...in order that a man may be happy, it is
necessary that he should not only be capable
of his work, but a good judge of his work.
-- John Ruskin


--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

Stuart wrote:
In ,
wrote:

This reminds me of a question that occurred to me while I was watching
the blacksmiths at the state fair the other day. They were positioning
the flat end of a ball peen hammer on the red hot iron (which was on the
anvil of course, and hitting the ball end of that hammer with another
hammer to help flatten the iron. They did this over and over, and it
felt "wrong" to me, but I didn't ask or say anything. What's the
verdict?

"NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!!!!"

Says my blacksmithing daughter, "it's b****y dangerous".

"A proper 'flatter' isn't that expensive"!


Thank you for your answer!

Bill

Properly hardened the hammer transfers most of the striking energy to
driving the nail.
Improperly hardened they transfer less energy or fill you with
splinters.

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 10:18:20 -0400, willshak
wrote:

Larry Jaques wrote the following:
On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 00:25:08 -0500, Roy
wrote:

On Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:21:55 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

It would be disrespectful to any hammer. Use a brake or bender, silly.
Whoa, Larry, whoa!!! You been smokin' some of that whacky backy? A man of
your experience should know that the proper response to a statement like that
would be that he needs to go out and acquire a forge, anvil, dozens of tongs and
hammers, couple of leg vises, trip hammer and a water wheel with mill dam to
power it. Get hold of yourself, man! Your response required he only add one or
two new tools to the shoppe.

As so many of you idjuts are married, I try to suggest single (or
multiple small) tool purchases so they will fly past SWMBO's irate
replies when you wish to do something manly and bold. For the single
man, definitely go for a whole new -stable- of toys. I'm single and
half my living room is littered with my toys.
Bwahahahahahaha! YMMV.


I'm married and my living room is lettered with toys.
They're not mine tho. They're my grandson's toys who we daycare 3 days a
week.

The evil feminine mind shows a favoritism, doesn't it?


--
....in order that a man may be happy, it is
necessary that he should not only be capable
of his work, but a good judge of his work.
-- John Ruskin

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 05:48:33 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:51:55 -0400, Bill
wrote:

Roy wrote:

Say I want to bend some 1/8" thick 1/2" (soft) steel stock for instance.
I take it from your post that this would be disrespectful to my claw
hammer, but (somehow) less so to a ballpeen hammer.

It would be disrespectful to any hammer. Use a brake or bender, silly.

Whoa, Larry, whoa!!! You been smokin' some of that whacky backy? A man of
your experience should know that the proper response to a statement like that
would be that he needs to go out and acquire a forge, anvil, dozens of tongs and
hammers, couple of leg vises, trip hammer and a water wheel with mill dam to
power it. Get hold of yourself, man! Your response required he only add one or
two new tools to the shoppe.

Yeah, I like your attitude! Especially, the water wheel! ; )

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and how many of you will be _allowed_ to do any of
that, hmm?

Silly married critters, I swear...


You're a cold, cruel man, Larry.

Roy wrote:
On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 05:48:33 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:51:55 -0400,
wrote:

Roy wrote:

Say I want to bend some 1/8" thick 1/2" (soft) steel stock for instance.
I take it from your post that this would be disrespectful to my claw
hammer, but (somehow) less so to a ballpeen hammer.

It would be disrespectful to any hammer. Use a brake or bender, silly.

Whoa, Larry, whoa!!! You been smokin' some of that whacky backy? A man of
your experience should know that the proper response to a statement like that
would be that he needs to go out and acquire a forge, anvil, dozens of tongs and
hammers, couple of leg vises, trip hammer and a water wheel with mill dam to
power it. Get hold of yourself, man! Your response required he only add one or
two new tools to the shoppe.

Yeah, I like your attitude! Especially, the water wheel! ; )

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and how many of you will be _allowed_ to do any of
that, hmm?

Silly married critters, I swear...

Come on now, Larry. Do you have a water wheel with a milldam?
My wife would be the first one to say "lets buy it!"--that's sort of a
character flaw she has...lol. Roy has expensive ideas!
Good ones, but expensive...



You're a cold, cruel man, Larry.

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:17:04 -0500, Roy
wrote:

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 05:48:33 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:51:55 -0400, Bill
wrote:

Roy wrote:

Say I want to bend some 1/8" thick 1/2" (soft) steel stock for instance.
I take it from your post that this would be disrespectful to my claw
hammer, but (somehow) less so to a ballpeen hammer.

It would be disrespectful to any hammer. Use a brake or bender, silly.

Whoa, Larry, whoa!!! You been smokin' some of that whacky backy? A man of
your experience should know that the proper response to a statement like that
would be that he needs to go out and acquire a forge, anvil, dozens of tongs and
hammers, couple of leg vises, trip hammer and a water wheel with mill dam to
power it. Get hold of yourself, man! Your response required he only add one or
two new tools to the shoppe.

Yeah, I like your attitude! Especially, the water wheel! ; )

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and how many of you will be _allowed_ to do any of
that, hmm?

Silly married critters, I swear...


You're a cold, cruel man, Larry.

Ah, you betcha! evil grinne

--
....in order that a man may be happy, it is
necessary that he should not only be capable
of his work, but a good judge of his work.
-- John Ruskin

On Thu, 18 Aug 2011 07:20:24 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:17:04 -0500, Roy
wrote:

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 05:48:33 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:51:55 -0400, Bill
wrote:

Roy wrote:

Say I want to bend some 1/8" thick 1/2" (soft) steel stock for instance.
I take it from your post that this would be disrespectful to my claw
hammer, but (somehow) less so to a ballpeen hammer.

It would be disrespectful to any hammer. Use a brake or bender, silly.

Whoa, Larry, whoa!!! You been smokin' some of that whacky backy? A man of
your experience should know that the proper response to a statement like that
would be that he needs to go out and acquire a forge, anvil, dozens of tongs and
hammers, couple of leg vises, trip hammer and a water wheel with mill dam to
power it. Get hold of yourself, man! Your response required he only add one or
two new tools to the shoppe.

Yeah, I like your attitude! Especially, the water wheel! ; )

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and how many of you will be _allowed_ to do any of
that, hmm?

Silly married critters, I swear...


You're a cold, cruel man, Larry.

Ah, you betcha! evil grinne

To keep this on topic, you need to know these guys were fishing out of a wooden
boat one of them had built. Boat was probably made of cherry and painted
yellow....


Four married guys go fishing. After an hour, the following conversation
took place:

First guy: "You have no idea what I had to do to be able to come out
fishing this weekend. I had to promise my wife that I would paint every room in
the house next weekend."

Second guy: "That is nothing, I had to promise my wife that I would build her a
new deck for the pool."

Third guy: "Man, you both have it easy! I had to promise my wife that I would
remodel the kitchen for her."

They continue to fish. When they realized that the fourth guy has not said a
word, they asked him. "You haven't said anything about what you had to do to be
able to come fishing this weekend. What's the deal?"

Fourth guy: "I just set my alarm for 5:30 am. When it went off, I shut off my
alarm, gave the wife a slap on her ass and said: "Fishing or Sex?" and she said:
"Wear sun-block."

On Thu, 18 Aug 2011 17:13:19 -0500, Roy
wrote:

On Thu, 18 Aug 2011 07:20:24 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 21:17:04 -0500, Roy
wrote:

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 05:48:33 -0700, Larry Jaques
wrote:

On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:51:55 -0400, Bill
wrote:

Roy wrote:

Say I want to bend some 1/8" thick 1/2" (soft) steel stock for instance.
I take it from your post that this would be disrespectful to my claw
hammer, but (somehow) less so to a ballpeen hammer.

It would be disrespectful to any hammer. Use a brake or bender, silly.

Whoa, Larry, whoa!!! You been smokin' some of that whacky backy? A man of
your experience should know that the proper response to a statement like that
would be that he needs to go out and acquire a forge, anvil, dozens of tongs and
hammers, couple of leg vises, trip hammer and a water wheel with mill dam to
power it. Get hold of yourself, man! Your response required he only add one or
two new tools to the shoppe.

Yeah, I like your attitude! Especially, the water wheel! ; )

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and how many of you will be _allowed_ to do any of
that, hmm?

Silly married critters, I swear...


You're a cold, cruel man, Larry.

Ah, you betcha! evil grinne

To keep this on topic, you need to know these guys were fishing out of a wooden
boat one of them had built. Boat was probably made of cherry and painted
yellow....

And you called _me_ cold and cruel, you flatulent fiend?


Four married guys go fishing. After an hour, the following conversation
took place:

First guy: "You have no idea what I had to do to be able to come out
fishing this weekend. I had to promise my wife that I would paint every room in
the house next weekend."

Second guy: "That is nothing, I had to promise my wife that I would build her a
new deck for the pool."

Third guy: "Man, you both have it easy! I had to promise my wife that I would
remodel the kitchen for her."

They continue to fish. When they realized that the fourth guy has not said a
word, they asked him. "You haven't said anything about what you had to do to be
able to come fishing this weekend. What's the deal?"

Fourth guy: "I just set my alarm for 5:30 am. When it went off, I shut off my
alarm, gave the wife a slap on her ass and said: "Fishing or Sex?" and she said:
"Wear sun-block."

Yeah, sounds about right from what I've heard from most married folks.


--
....in order that a man may be happy, it is
necessary that he should not only be capable
of his work, but a good judge of his work.
-- John Ruskin

Larry Jaques wrote the following:
On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:51:55 -0400, Bill
wrote:

Roy wrote:

Say I want to bend some 1/8" thick 1/2" (soft) steel stock for instance.
I take it from your post that this would be disrespectful to my claw
hammer, but (somehow) less so to a ballpeen hammer.
It would be disrespectful to any hammer. Use a brake or bender, silly.
Whoa, Larry, whoa!!! You been smokin' some of that whacky backy? A man of
your experience should know that the proper response to a statement like that
would be that he needs to go out and acquire a forge, anvil, dozens of tongs and
hammers, couple of leg vises, trip hammer and a water wheel with mill dam to
power it. Get hold of yourself, man! Your response required he only add one or
two new tools to the shoppe.
Yeah, I like your attitude! Especially, the water wheel! ; )

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and how many of you will be _allowed_ to do any of
that, hmm?

Silly married critters, I swear...


I give my wife a certain amount of money a month (it's over $1k, of
which her car payment, and credit cards, would be included). What she
does with the rest of it is her business. What I do with my money (after
household expenses, utilities, food, bills, and repairs) is my business.

--

Bill
In Hamptonburgh, NY
In the original Orange County. Est. 1683
To email, remove the double zeroes after @

"willshak" wrote in message
m...
I give my wife a certain amount of money a month (it's over $1k, of
which her car payment, and credit cards, would be included). What she
does with the rest of it is her business. What I do with my money (after
household expenses, utilities, food, bills, and repairs) is my business.

=================

Ours works similarly to that except when I run out of cash I have to perform
well in the bedroom, and the wife gives me more.

Times can be tough but it all works out in the end.

--

Eric

On Fri, 19 Aug 2011 14:26:05 -0400, willshak wrote:

Larry Jaques wrote the following:
On Wed, 17 Aug 2011 03:51:55 -0400, Bill
wrote:

Roy wrote:

Say I want to bend some 1/8" thick 1/2" (soft) steel stock for instance.
I take it from your post that this would be disrespectful to my claw
hammer, but (somehow) less so to a ballpeen hammer.
It would be disrespectful to any hammer. Use a brake or bender, silly.
Whoa, Larry, whoa!!! You been smokin' some of that whacky backy? A man of
your experience should know that the proper response to a statement like that
would be that he needs to go out and acquire a forge, anvil, dozens of tongs and
hammers, couple of leg vises, trip hammer and a water wheel with mill dam to
power it. Get hold of yourself, man! Your response required he only add one or
two new tools to the shoppe.
Yeah, I like your attitude! Especially, the water wheel! ; )

Yeah, yeah, yeah, and how many of you will be _allowed_ to do any of
that, hmm?

Silly married critters, I swear...


I give my wife a certain amount of money a month (it's over $1k, of
which her car payment, and credit cards, would be included). What she
does with the rest of it is her business. What I do with my money (after
household expenses, utilities, food, bills, and repairs) is my business.

It's all in one bucket. I make it and she spends it. ;-) There is never any
friction about what I spend on tools. She'll sometimes kid me, particularly
when we're in Atlanta (Rockler, Woodcraft, PeachTree, and Highland - not in
that order), but nothing I don't dish back.

Watch these guys use hammers of all kinds:


http://vimeo.com/1582825


--
www.e-woodshop.net
Last update: 4/15/2010
KarlC@ (the obvious)

Swingman wrote:
Watch these guys use hammers of all kinds:


http://vimeo.com/1582825

Which really brings home the idea that so much of what we think about
hammers (as reflected in this thread), is relative to what we know - what we
use. These guys used hammers and saws and planes that we don't commonly
use, but put them to some pretty good use. How many woodworkers here would
have drawn a plane down a piece of wood like that guy did? Just goes to
show - so much of what we think is not all that relevant - it's just a
reflection of what we're used to.

--

-Mike-

On Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:03:20 -0500, Swingman wrote:

Watch these guys use hammers of all kinds:


http://vimeo.com/1582825

Cool. I love the gossamer shavings of those planes, too.
Another nice thing about the worksite: no radio blaring.

--
....in order that a man may be happy, it is
necessary that he should not only be capable
of his work, but a good judge of his work.
-- John Ruskin

"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:03:20 -0500, Swingman wrote:

Watch these guys use hammers of all kinds:


http://vimeo.com/1582825

Cool. I love the gossamer shavings of those planes, too.
Another nice thing about the worksite: no radio blaring.


Interesting comment about the radio. There was a nice rhythmic sound of
them working.

On Fri, 19 Aug 2011 23:37:27 -0400, "Ed Pawlowski"
wrote:


"Larry Jaques" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 19 Aug 2011 18:03:20 -0500, Swingman wrote:

Watch these guys use hammers of all kinds:


http://vimeo.com/1582825

Cool. I love the gossamer shavings of those planes, too.
Another nice thing about the worksite: no radio blaring.


Interesting comment about the radio. There was a nice rhythmic sound of
them working.

Right, music unto itself. And no grating commercials.

--
....in order that a man may be happy, it is
necessary that he should not only be capable
of his work, but a good judge of his work.
-- John Ruskin