Got a New Tool!!

[Woodbloke]

Noodling through this new fangled t'interweb thingie the other evening I came across something about the late, great Alan Peters that I wasn't aware of; one of his favourite hand tools was his trusty lump hammer! This little snippet from the also late David Savage (he of contorted chair designs) also extolls the virtues of a heavy lump hammer, so I had an extended delve into the house tool box yesterday...



...and tarted up my own one. First job this morning is to hang it on the Tool Wall - Rob

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

Cor!! How do you avoid face marks and dinges on the wood you're belting?

Do you have to have a scrap piece tween Birminghsm Screwdriver and veneered surface?

Interested, Sam.

 

[TrimTheKing]

I love mine. Left it out in the rain by accident though and it needs a bit of a clean up now.

I didn’t realise David Savage had passed away. Shame, I was subscribed to his mail list and used to enjoy his ramblings. Got s couple of DVD’s from his collection too.

 

[Woodbloke]

Cor!! How do you avoid face marks and dinges on the wood you're belting?

Do you have to have a scrap piece tween Birminghsm Screwdriver and veneered surface?

Interested, Sam.

Incredible init :lol: Yep, I guess that you must have some sort of scrap between the hammer face and the job if you're going to belt seven shades of shy§e out of it :lol:

I love mine. Left it out in the rain by accident though and it needs a bit of a clean up now.

I didn’t realise David Savage had passed away. Shame, I was subscribed to his mail list and used to enjoy his ramblings. Got s couple of DVD’s from his collection too.

Apparently DS died two or three years ago Mark; not sure exactly when but he wasn't especially ancient. This old hammer of mine has taken a few beatings and general abuse over the years so I've got a Draper one with a hickory handle on my Amazon wish list that has good reviews. 1 Kg seems to be the preferred weight but there appears to be plenty of different options weight wise to choose from - Rob

 

[Mike G]

I'd love to know what problem in woodwork is solved by a lump hammer but not by a standard claw hammer or a decent mallet.

 

[TrimTheKing]

Apparently DS died two or three years ago Mark; not sure exactly when but he wasn't especially ancient.

That link you posted says at the bottom that he died early 2019...

 

[Woodbloke]

I'd love to know what problem in woodwork is solved by a lump hammer but not by a standard claw hammer or a decent mallet.

Mike, if you haven't done so, read the two linkie snippits above to see why.

That link you posted says at the bottom that he died early 2019...

Sorry for that poor info Mark, I somehow thought he died a couple of years ago. He was an interesting character and wrote some good stuff but the work he produced didn't do anything for me - Rob

 

[Rod]

I’ve got at least two of them, we used them a lot to drive in wooden pegs when marking out on site.

The damaged handle one was used for tapping in paving slabs. One of them has 2 ½ embossed on it which I assume is its weight.

I inherited lots of other hammers from my father and grandfather which I tarted up a few years ago.

Rod

 

[Doug]

Swartz brought this to the fore a few years back ironically when he started making lump hammers at a ridiculous price, it was a passing whim on Instagram though funnily enough one of his acolytes that I follow said recently it was one of his biggest wastes of money as he’d never used it.I’m sure the bloke could sell ice to eskimos

 

[AndyP]

I work on the principle that if it is made of metal than it should only hit metal. If it is made of wood then only hit wood. Hammers for nails, mallets for wood.

 

[Woodbloke]

I work on the principle that if it is made of metal than it should only hit metal. If it is made of wood then only hit wood. Hammers for nails, mallets for wood.

The Japanese definitely wouldn't agree with you there Andy; they exclusively use big steel hammers on the ends of their chisels - Rob

Swartz brought this to the fore a few years back ironically when he started making lump hammers at a ridiculous price, it was a passing whim on Instagram though funnily enough one of his acolytes that I follow said recently it was one of his biggest wastes of money as he’d never used it.I’m sure the bloke could sell ice to eskimos

I had a look at them on LAP...$90 :shock: for something that you can pick up on Amazon for less than a tenner. I'm pretty sure I'll use my resurrected lump hammer for certain jobs when I need an extra bit of of wellie - Rob

 

[Mike G]

I work on the principle that if it is made of metal than it should only hit metal. If it is made of wood then only hit wood. Hammers for nails, mallets for wood.

The Japanese definitely wouldn't agree with you there Andy; they exclusively use big steel hammers on the ends of their chisels - Rob.........

That is agreeing with Andy. That's hitting steel with steel.

 

[Woodbloke]

I work on the principle that if it is made of metal than it should only hit metal. If it is made of wood then only hit wood. Hammers for nails, mallets for wood.

The Japanese definitely wouldn't agree with you there Andy; they exclusively use big steel hammers on the ends of their chisels - Rob.........

That is agreeing with Andy. That's hitting steel with steel.

To clarify; the Japanese use big steel hammers to belt the ends of their wooden handled chisels...as do I - Rob

 

[HappyHacker]

I love my lump hammers and have a few of them of various weights. I have never used them for wood mangling though. Holding the handle close to the head does allow fine control of the blow so perhaps I should start when I need a firm blow with weight behind it.

 

[AndyP]

Much to my surprise it appears that the metal rings, typically seen on the end of the handles on Japanese chisels, are not there to be hit. These rings should be a fraction below the end of the handle and handle hit with an iron hammer.
Why the Japanese made and use their chisels this way remains unclear, to me anyway.

I have a few old “paint can” chisels that have been abused and whacked with iron and steel and the handles resemble a frayed rope.

 

[Woodbloke]

Much to my surprise it appears that the metal rings, typically seen on the end of the handles on Japanese chisels, are not there to be hit. These rings should be a fraction below the end of the handle and handle hit with an iron hammer.
Why the Japanese made and use their chisels this way remains unclear, to me anyway.

The hoop is there to limit the mushrooming effect of a heavy hammer's impact, so it forms a fairly wide pad of abused timber. As far as I'm aware, there was little work done in the past of what we know in the West as 'fine furniture' but there is a huge tradition of wooden and temple building (which are regularly re-built due to earthquake or fire damage) where much larger section timbers require the services of a heavy hammer to make joints.
The size of a hammer is also much smaller than the equivalent mass wooden maul, so one will fit much more easily into a Japanese carpenter's toolbox, which were traditionally toted around from job to job by 'the young apprentice'. I'm making an edjumakated guess here Andy but I reckon it's not far off the mark - Rob

 

[Woodbloke]

Having started the pine prototype of this 'Elka' style stool (the current 'shop project) I found that the first set of holes that I'd drilled today in the base weren't the right angle(s) so I made up a few hex section 12mm pine dowels and belted them into the 'oles with the trusty AP lump hammer. The extra 'ooooomph' was a pleasure to behold - Rob

 

[Malc2098]

I've been cutting mortises for the deck roof framing, and having read this thread, I bought both a 50mm and a 25mm chisel both on offer and with the 1" forstner roughed out the holes.

And just because of the thread, I used my lump hammer, and I found it much easier to control a small tap with the LH than a large hit with a mallet.

 

[RogerS]

I'd love to know what problem in woodwork is solved by a lump hammer but not by a standard claw hammer or a decent mallet.

You haven't seen my joints

 

[Woodster]

I’ve got a fibreglass shafted Stanley Club hammer somewhere that I’ve had for years but I rarely use it, I find the handle a bit short.

 

[selectortone]

My lump hammer sits next to my lathe. I find a gentle tap on the knockout bar works a treat when I have a reluctant morse taper. It's the mass; a gentle tap with a claw hammer doesn't have the same effect.

 

[Doug]

My lads bought me this Veritas cabinetmakers mallet for father's Day this year, so far I'm impressed with it, the brass head gives it some heft while the beech striking faces are kinder to chisels & components than steel.

Initially I didn't think I'd use it much but it has become my go to mallet.

 

[Woodster]

Looks good Doug. Handy to be able to replace the faces.

 

[Woodbloke]

My lads bought me this Veritas cabinetmakers mallet for father's Day this year, so far I'm impressed with it, the brass head gives it some heft while the beech striking faces are kinder to chisels & components than steel.

Initially I didn't think I'd use it much but it has become my go to mallet.

I looked at one of those and was quite taken with it, but I couldn't see it replacing my Japanese 'Genno' and LH for occasions when that little bit of extra 'wallop' is needed - Rob

 

[max power]

I use one all the time when driving spokes into the hubs on wooden wheels. They have to be a tight fit and using a claw hammer would have no effect on them

 

[Alasdair]

We always had a heavy hammer in the workshop, it was reffered to as 'the bunnet' (for those who don't know here in Scotland a flat cap is called a bunnet). I was told that my mortice and tenon joints should be able to be 'wafted' together with a bunnet, then the lump hammer would make an appearance. :lol: :lol: