feeling accomplished

sanch

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OK so I have just finished heat treating the 2 chasing hammer heads and have completed one of them handle and all. I love being able to make the tools I use I feel it adds to the personal part of my art the larger looking "mallets" are for my leather working "habit/hobby" I know the learning curve will be a long one but meh!! What do I care I ride an old shovelhead and she likes long slow curves! Please enjoy my work and always all comments are welcomed!
 

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Marrinan

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Beautiful tools. I am going to ruin your day. In engraving you want a bit of spring in the handle. The reason for this is that when the head hits the tool it will bounce back and hit it again. This helps drive the tool along on it's path. I wish I could show you how you hold the handle and you could choose the one that suits you best. You drive the tool with a light tapping motion holding on very lightly. Some people tap the bulb end with the pinky finger and the ring finger while holding the handle between the thumb and the first tow fingers. Bottom line is you need to thin the shaft starting right where it begins it's taper now down to where it starts to taper up to the bulb. It needs to be not much bigger that a pencil. Cabinet scraper works well for this.

When you make your second handle try that. I think you will find it become your hammer of choice. Fred
 

monk

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i like yer tools. whether or not anybody else does, is moot. it shows that you care enough to make it more of yourself, and less of the factory stuff. nothin wrong with the concept. mention was made of the springiness of your handle. i'm not sure that even exists. i have 3 hammers of my own making. none have any "spring" in them, but they work as well as i could expect. many engravers talk of this effect of springback. never having used a factory made hammer, they could be correct. i'll find out when i can afford to purchase one.
 

sanch

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Thanks for the kind words and the "advise" the beauty of what I do in making my "own" tools is that if I don't like the way they perform I can change them. I used Pair wood for the handle as that is one of the two preferred woods to make a chasing hammer handle out of @ Fred not busting my chopps at all sir your advise is taken and heeded as when I was researching which wood to use I did read about the spring effect but here is where I applied a little of what I'm hoping will transfer over from tooling leather the spring effect in my case is not an issue until it becomes one, too much spring. The overall length of the 1 1/2" face hammer is just at 10 3/4" long. the repetitious tap tap tap is nothing new to me as I stated I tool leather! the maul with the brass furniture is my go to and it is a beast as far as comparison to the dainty little chaser different configuration sure but same wrist and finger articulation and motion ironically leather tools are very small in relation to the chisel handles and I can tool a pattern fine with out looking at where the hammer strikes every time. Eyes on the business end of the tool period. Thanks again and like I said all comments are welcomed they will help me along the way!
 

grumpyphil

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I'm not a H&C guy but what Fred says is probably true. The important part though is that you made these tools. I have made, over the course of my life, perhaps 100 hammers, mallets and various other bludgeons. I love making them for their own sake and sometimes I only find out what they are appropriate for long after they are made. I've made them and modified them till now I have collection where each has a task. Once their true value is established they are a joy.
The leather handles are sweet. Keep at it
 

sanch

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Thanks Phil the leather stacked handled mauls are for my leather work, and I agree totally with what you say I have a lot of mauls round, square wooden handled leather handled different weights handle lengths even different durometer reading on the head material, so only time will tell what comes of these little dudes. I am finishing the smaller of the two hammers as I type this the handle on it is not quite like a pencil unless you compare it to a kindergarten size one! also it is far from straight it fits my hand very comfortably and balances an inch below the business end. the handle is also pear wood..thanks again!
 

Ron Spokovich

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Good choice in making your own tooling. There is truth to the hammer handle thinning out. Also, and I'll let you think about it, the grain should be oriented a certain way to minimize the remote chance of splitting. Sometime, hammer blows are firm, to say the least. Good luck!
 

sanch

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Thanks Ron, if I break it I can learn a lesson and make it better next time! the grain of these pear wood handles runs lengthwise as I used a branch (yup) and I also micro cured the wood so we'll see what type of longevity I get!!? they feel good in my hand so I'm pleased as far as "thinking about it" I have hopefully hehe! maybe not so much on the diameter of my chisel handles but meh! that's another battle and I have more .5000" 304SS to play with...This is a grand adventure in learning for me and where I can I will learn from others mistakes and success!! Experience always trumps ignorance, and ignorance produces experience!!! Thanks again for all comments!
 

Ron Spokovich

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I should've explained myself better, as to the 'splitting' possibility. Take a look at a baseball bat, for example. The grain can resemble 'layers' of wood. You can also think of it as grain running parallel to your table, or at right angles to it. When carving the handle and later affixing the head, and it happened to one of my 'store bought' engraving hammers, the grain running parallel to your work table runs you the risk of a split if the blow is extraordinarily hard. Of course, we don't strike that hard, do we? Gentle taps shouldn't be a problem, but, you might want to go that way as you'll be making your own.
 

sanch

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Clarksville,Tennessee
Ron I understood what you meant fairly well clear as mud so to say!! when I can actually get to taptaptaping im sure I will have a "feel" more of why the thin handle is a necessary "evil?" the whole idea of a flex and rebound and multiple strikes caused by this rebound sound like the "white rabbit" to the novice (me)...
 

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