Hammer Time
Will Niccolls
talk more than construction.
What's your favorite hammer?
Back when I was getting interested in carpentry and construction, I picked
up a Hart 16 oz. "trimmer", it has a great feel and it looked damned good
to. I like the claw that is straight rather than curved and the chromed
head. Gave one to a non-construction buddy for home use and he said it was
too beautiful to use...
So when I got a job on a framing crew I picked up a Hart Framer. I think it
was 25 oz and had a fancy curved handle, like a hatchet handle. Had a nice
balance and a large striking surface but was too damned heavy for me, of
course I didn't think so as a young guy. I broke the handle and replaced it
with a straight one. Hart made beautiful hickory handles. One
disadvantage of the Hart design is the short distance from the striking
suface to the handle--its easy to hit the handle on a board when nailing in
tight spots.
Then I got a job with a framer that really knew what he was doing. He
worked fast without mistakes and didn't tolerate less from his crew. He
thought my Hart was a pretty boy hammer and that the only framing hammer
worth having was the Vaughan 24 oz framing hatchet. I had to agree with
him. It has an very balanced feel and even though it was heavy for me (I'm
140lbs) it swings very true. It was hard to miss the head with that thing.
Now I'm out of the business but I'm remodeling my own house, and I'm using
an old fiberglass handle Vaughan straight claw framing hammer, 22 oz, but
only for demolition--it's not as true as the Hart or hatchet but the
fiberglass handle can sure take a beating.
And now when I need to nail? Usually I grab the Impulse nailer but for
hammerwork I use another old Hart that I picked up at a flea market--I think
it's 21 oz. Perfect wieght for me and very balance with a big sweet spot.
Heavy enough to provide power but light enough to nail overhead without
straining.
Will Niccolls
RKP
hammer. (used them for about 12 years)
"Will Niccolls" <kn...@home.com> wrote in message
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Mark
many years that is my favorite hammer. I often feel that its less the
hammer itself and just more the one you tend to spend a lot of time
with. The hammer has seen many jobs and many new handles over the years.
I too think the Hart and new Stilleto hammers are pretty boy hammers. I
was given a Hart finish hammer and while it looked neet that was about
it. Also wouldnt really want to associate with one due to the "tool
time" association but thats just a personal thing.
This said, I have often times wondered what these new titanium hammers
that supposedly deliver a 24oz blow with much less swinging weight would
be like. We are always looking for ways to lessen the impact (pun
intended) of the trade on our bodies. I am not willing however to pay
anywhere near 100.00 much less 180.00 for a hammer. At that price you
would have to call it your favorite just to save face.
Mark
Dan Berry
"Will Niccolls" <kn...@home.com> wrote in message
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> talk more than construction.
>
> What's your favorite hammer?
If it's more than a few nails, I use a nail-gun. I have a hart framer, and
a titanium framer (a gift). In the end, it's just a hammer. Whack the nail
and it's done. IMHO, the hart axe handled framer is about the finest
whacker on the market. Last time I looked it was 25 bucks.
Dan
BugHunter
You were allowed to use a sledge for the occasional persuasion tap, but for
sinking nails you use a 16oz, even for "rough framing". Otherwise, you ain't
a finish carpenter. That's pretty old school, but somehow that was drummed
into my brain for many years and I still evaluate a carpenter by what he
carries in his belt.
Ah, you there with the 24oz hammer, you can strip those forms.... You with
the little 16oz, you can trim out these windows and doors, and install the
mantle.
A steel or fiberglass 16oz hammer was grudgingly tolerated but thought to be
inferior to a hardwood handle because there was no easy way to drill a hole
in the butt end to keep your beeswax. The trick to driving spikes all day
long was a strong arm, a two finger grip on the very end of the handle and a
well practiced swing. Dip a nail into the handle for some beeswax during a
competition or when there was an especially difficult grain. Carrying a 24oz
was just asking for a cut in pay. That thinking was going out of fashion
even when I was learning, but I was working for guys who started in the 30's
and those were their rules.
I've compromised some and now use a 16oz with a steel handle and a rubber
grip most of the time. The boss has been dead for over 20 years so I can get
away with it. After a month with a brand new hammer, the rubber handle
started to slip loose a bit and lengthen the handle about 4 inches. I would
hold it by the very end and the extra length and leverage was really helpful
for driving in spikes with my tired old arm. That was until it got so loose
that had to be re-glued. No extra leverage. It's not a bad hammer, but I
never even took the time to commit it's brand name to memory.
I reserve the old 16oz plumb with a wooden handle that my father gave me for
lighter finish work now. I'd hate to break the handle off it, because it
still bears my dad's trademark checker pattern inscribed for improved grip.
He used to run an 8 point handsaw along the shaft a couple times in each
direction and make a neat symmetrical checker pattern just like on a gun
stock. I never quite got the knack for that even though I've tried. I baby
it a bit more than it needs because the handle cannot be replaced.
I'd break the handle off a wooden hammer at least once a year. It was just
to be expected in hard use and you had to know how to put on a new handle
and make it stick. That 16oz Plumb is still the best hammer I own. It's
purely a psychological thing and not based on science or physics. It has a
history.
I'd have liked to have my dad's personal 16oz Plumb. The end was perfectly
worn, the handle well balanced and carried a fine patina from sweat and worn
skin. I believe he took it with him to his grave, because it was missing
from my inheritance.
My own 16oz Plumb hammer was my protection when we were working in the inner
city of Pittsburgh during the riots after Martin Luther King was
assassinated. We were rebuilding the front of a warehouse that had been
firebombed. Some of the locals were still loitering in the streets and made
it known that there were none to happy seeing any re-building being done.
They were still in a foul mood and expressing it with continued violence and
destruction in their own neighborhood. We hired a couple of helpers from
the local laborers union so at least we were not a conspicuously all-white
crew. But I think that my walks across the street each day to buy cigarettes
were only made safe because I carried that 16oz Plumb on my toolbelt. A 16oz
plumb in the hands of a practiced carpenter demands respect, even from a
group of street hoods with a .25 calibers in their pockets. They might be
able to get the better of you, but not without loosing a few teeth or some
skull bone before you hit the ground. I knew that, and they knew that. I
walked with confidence even when outnumbered 20 to 1. Fortunately, the
situation never escalated beyond stares and muttered slurs (by them, not by
me).
It took me a while, but I'm starting to appreciate the pneumatic nailers. I
hate carrying them around, and do not feel comfortable unless I am able to
pound in a few "real nails" in by hand. With a nail-gun, you loose what I
consider "the essential feel" as the nail is hand driven. I've grown to
actually appreciate pneumatic nailguns, and realize how essential they are
to compete these days. You can't beat them for sheathing, but I still prefer
to drive real 16's by hand about 1/2 of the time. My swinging arm is getting
a bit old and is well out of practice.
My old 16oz Plumb comes out now for finish work. It just has two many years
of practice to abandon to any new fangled technology like finish nailers. I
have a finish nailer, but it stays in the box most of the time. It's a nice
plastic box that looks like a briefcase. Makes me feel important so I take
it with me to jobs. Maybe somebody will think I'm an important lawyer with
such a nice briefcase.
I miss the musical rhythm of two or three well practiced hammers working in
unison. That's the sound of construction to me. I used to get a kick out of
the way that rhythm could put nearby infants to sleep. Our customers with
young kids used to worry that they would never take their naps with us
working on their homes. No problem. We always put those kids right to sleep
with our fine music.
My second favorite tool....
My brother-in-law use to get us some fine drafting pencils made in Germany
that we used for carpentry work. They were hard blue (with some black) on
the outside, and the lead was so hard that a single pencil would last you
for a year or more. I still have a small stub of one in a set of scribers
that I have used for over 30 years. I can't remember the name, but they cost
about $3 a piece as far back as the late 60's. Worth every cent. I'll bet
one of the architect readers could identify them by name. They were unusual
for carpenters to use.
I have some antique Disson handsaws. One or more were my grandfathers and
are probably nearly 100 years old. They have been used so much and
re-sharpened so many times that they come to a fine point and are paper thin
from wear. You can bend them and cut in an arc if you want. They are so thin
they leave nary a kerf. I never was very good at sharpening and setting a
handsaw true, even though I have all the set tools. So, I reserve these old
saws for those special projects that require a fine touch than only an old
well worn tool can provide.
My favorite new tools....
I have a Marples carving set with cherry handles and hardened stainless
alloy shafts/blades. It took me over a week to sharpen them the first time,
but they hold an edge like a razor, and only require touch up with a
Japanese water stone to keep them that way. Two or three out of a set of 12
get the most use.
I love my Dewalt 12" compound miter saw. I used to wonder why anyone would
need a cutoff saw. After using one for a year, now I know. It sure beats
the old hand miter saw that I still have. Excellent precision for rough
framing. Sharpening that 14 point back saw was a real bear. It could take at
a half a day to sharpen and set it right.
My little Milwaukee circular saw is nice and light, yet it cuts as strong as
any of those big old Porter Cables which were trashed long ago by the
inevitable dropping off of the roof. I do need a new bearing, but it's a
great saw and a pleasure to use.
I'll probably take some crap about my 24oz prejudice. So be it. I can still
drive a 16d with my 16oz with more precision and holding power (if not more
speed) than any pneumatic nailer, and out-gunning a 24oz wood-butcher was
never a problem. Most guys using a 24oz are bucking-up on it all day anyway.
I'm a firm believer in racial equality. We have come a long way since the
60's. But anybody that carries a 24oz hammer is still a second class citizen
in my book.
my $02 or $.04 or something. Just had to ramble. Cool topic.
"Will Niccolls" <kn...@home.com> wrote in message
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Napalm Heart
"Will Niccolls" <kn...@home.com> wrote in message
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I'm not a pro, but my favorite hammer is any Estwing. I'm using a 22
oz. straight claw milled face framing hammer with a "tooth" on the
back for torqueing studs around. I'm finishing the upstairs of our
Cape Cod. I've got a 16 oz. True Temper finish hammer to use on the
fine work.
David Meiland
>How about a "favorite tool" discussion? I probably like tool design and
>talk more than construction.
>
>What's your favorite hammer?
<SNIP>
I recently 'found' one of my Hart framers while opening one side of a
wall in the house. I thought it was lost, but it was merely MIA,
having been sealed in inadvertently a few years ago when I rocked the
other side.
My favorite hammer has got to the my Von Fange cabinetmaker's hammer.
It's a straightforward claw hammer with a head of beryllium copper.
Supposedly that metal makes for a head that doesn't slip off of nails
(and also makes for something one shouldn't grind or sand). I picked
up a pair of the 16 oz. versions about 12 years ago, during their
brief availability on the market. Gorgeous and very unusual hammers.
---
David Meiland
Oakland, California
http://davidmeiland.com/
**Check the reply address before sending mail
Dan G
Estwing 22 oz. straight claw if there is going to be any nail pulling.
I have not carried one for some years now, but my knee still remembers how
the end of that handle felt, swinging in the hammer loop.
--
*********************************************
Keep the whole world singing. . .
Dan
"Will Niccolls" <kn...@home.com> wrote in message
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Mark
> I can still drive a 16d with my 16oz with more precision and holding power (if not more
> speed) than any pneumatic nailer, and out-gunning a 24oz wood-butcher was
> never a problem. Most guys using a 24oz are bucking-up on it all day anyway.
I would love to see that, and would surely take a wager on it. As far
as hand nailing, sure technique could put you over a larger hammer in a
minute. A nail gun, I highly doubt, but whatever floats your boat. We
have had competitions such as this on framing jobs many times when
someone touts they can outrun a gun. The result always wound up with a
bunch of excuses and such on the losers part (mind you a gun has no
mouth so we can summize the winner in every case). I have enjoyed many a
free lunch or six pack of beer, or both, at the end of the day based on
competitions such as this. As long as both parties were good spirits it
was always a lot of fun.
That said there are great aspects of both options.
Mark
BugHunter
precisely and with more holding power than a gun. Anybody can shoot a gun
like a machine gun but the nails are often poorly placed, and too many are
used. They are 10 times faster than hand nailing, and there is no doubt of
that fact.
I might wager a six pack using a 16oz hammer against a 24oz hammer though.
I'm way outta condition, but I'd still give it a try.
"Mark" <n...@no.com> wrote in message news:3E3D4E4C...@no.com...
Rico dJour
>My second favorite tool....
>
>My brother-in-law use to get us some fine drafting pencils made in Germany
>that we used for carpentry work. They were hard blue (with some black) on
>the outside, and the lead was so hard that a single pencil would last you
>for a year or more. I still have a small stub of one in a set of scribers
>that I have used for over 30 years. I can't remember the name, but they cost
>about $3 a piece as far back as the late 60's. Worth every cent. I'll bet
>one of the architect readers could identify them by name. They were unusual
>for carpenters to use.
Nice post.
Sounds like Staedtler pencils. $3/ea is _really_ rich even today. Sounds like
your brother-in-law made a tidy profit!
http://www.artistsupplies.com/Drafting%20Supplies/Drawing_Pencils.htm
R
Mark
share a beer with me when I lose..... heheh
Mark
BugHunter
"Rico dJour" <rico...@aol.computer> wrote in message
news:20030202121754...@mb-mu.aol.com...
> Sounds like Staedtler pencils. $3/ea is _really_ rich even today. Sounds
like
> your brother-in-law made a tidy profit!
>
> http://www.artistsupplies.com/Drafting%20Supplies/Drawing_Pencils.htm
>
> R
That's the pencil! I must have been wrong about the price. My
brother-in-law actually gave them to us. My dad might exaggerated the price
to keep me from using too many of 'em. He was a bit stingy about handing
them out. I'll have to order some for myself.
BugHunter
> Ahh,.. I see,... I would surely take that wager so long as you agree to
> share a beer with me when I lose..... heheh
>
> Mark
>
anyday. But, I've been known to use it in trade for a few cold ones. If I'm
ever in WV, I'll prove that to you by hammering a few down (of both
varieties) with ya.
Will Niccolls
"BugHunter" wrote
> I was taught that to be a finish carpenter...
Nice post Bug.
Don Linsenbach
"BugHunter" <CIA00...@langley.gov> wrote in message
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9H is the hardest lead, but leaves the lightest line.
8B is the softest lead, but will leave the darkest line.
Don Linsenbach
It'll beat your leg to death, but it'll drive a 16d in 3 smax in SYP.
For light stuff I use my 30 y.o. Craftsman 16ouncer given to me by my gray
haired pappy when I was 16.
"Will Niccolls" <kn...@home.com> wrote in message
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big daddy framer
a 28 oz. vaughn at all! besides most of the jobs we do if you walk on with a
16 oz. to frame you would probaly get laughed of the site!!
"Mark" <n...@no.com> wrote in message news:3E3D4E4C...@no.com...
BugHunter
"big daddy framer" <mountain...@yahoo.com> wrote in message
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big daddy framer
Eric Ryder
everyday (he did go a good 300# himself). He made me buy a 28 to replace
the 16 that I showed up with. Musta been about 6 months before my grip quit
aching.
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