- Joined
- Mar 15, 2016
- Messages
- 708
UPDATE: rather than posting all over the place in different threads, I'm just gonna copy COTS' format and turn this into a project thread that I can update when I have new stuff or projects to share. Thanks to cityofthesouth for the inspiration, and all the knowledgable people sharing in this subforum. Comments always welcome and encouraged, I do a lot of stuff wrong, even more I do the dumb way so feel free to let me know.
I got the bug after going through the sledge hammer thread... I need an engineer's hammer / cross peen, and the stuff at the hardware stores is pretty much trash. I'd have to actually remove the handle to do the work making it a usable tool to my liking, so it was less work to find a really beat up head and start from there. My restoration standards are a bit different than what I usually see on here. I like to grind things back to straight and even, probably more straight and even than they were factory, it's just what I like to do to create the tools I want to own and use, since it's hard to buy tools in that condition anywhere. I rarely use a wire brush or vinegar soak.
So, I started with an unmarked (or so rusted the marks are gone) hammer head from the bay. 2.99 plus shipping, bidding on something no one else wants to mess with is satisfying, and after shipping I'm still at ten bucks cheaper than the junk from the box stores.
Mushrooming is pretty bad, there is some very uneven wear on the striking face, and some chips on both ends.
I started on the belt grinder at 60 grit flattening and evening, then going into the bevels.
I went from 60 grit up to 150. With some help from the spindle sander I got into the end of those bevels and evened them out. After chamfering the rest of the edges, I did a rough garnet blast all over, followed by three coats of gun blue with 0000 steel wool in between and barricade penetrating oil.
For polishing hammer faces to "good enough" I have a cheat method. Clamp my five inch random orbital upside-down in a vise and go from 220 to 320. When the grit stops cutting with the 320, it starts polishing. It's not a mirror finish, but it's perfect for a hammer IMO and takes 2 minutes with no buffing.
Added a ghetto stamp
Sketched out a profile on a scrap piece of 5/4 sugar maple. I'll use the full thickness for the shoulders and the swell.
I use the cutoff to mark my opposite cut, works better than trying to eye it.
Cut out both profiles on the bandsaw.
Rough profiled on the belt sander's 3" wheel with 60 grit. Kerf drilled and sawn.
Wedged with birch
Oiled and finished
Big booty
Comments welcome
I got the bug after going through the sledge hammer thread... I need an engineer's hammer / cross peen, and the stuff at the hardware stores is pretty much trash. I'd have to actually remove the handle to do the work making it a usable tool to my liking, so it was less work to find a really beat up head and start from there. My restoration standards are a bit different than what I usually see on here. I like to grind things back to straight and even, probably more straight and even than they were factory, it's just what I like to do to create the tools I want to own and use, since it's hard to buy tools in that condition anywhere. I rarely use a wire brush or vinegar soak.
So, I started with an unmarked (or so rusted the marks are gone) hammer head from the bay. 2.99 plus shipping, bidding on something no one else wants to mess with is satisfying, and after shipping I'm still at ten bucks cheaper than the junk from the box stores.
Mushrooming is pretty bad, there is some very uneven wear on the striking face, and some chips on both ends.
I started on the belt grinder at 60 grit flattening and evening, then going into the bevels.
I went from 60 grit up to 150. With some help from the spindle sander I got into the end of those bevels and evened them out. After chamfering the rest of the edges, I did a rough garnet blast all over, followed by three coats of gun blue with 0000 steel wool in between and barricade penetrating oil.
For polishing hammer faces to "good enough" I have a cheat method. Clamp my five inch random orbital upside-down in a vise and go from 220 to 320. When the grit stops cutting with the 320, it starts polishing. It's not a mirror finish, but it's perfect for a hammer IMO and takes 2 minutes with no buffing.
Added a ghetto stamp
Sketched out a profile on a scrap piece of 5/4 sugar maple. I'll use the full thickness for the shoulders and the swell.
I use the cutoff to mark my opposite cut, works better than trying to eye it.
Cut out both profiles on the bandsaw.
Rough profiled on the belt sander's 3" wheel with 60 grit. Kerf drilled and sawn.
Wedged with birch
Oiled and finished
Big booty
Comments welcome
Last edited: