Vaughan Hammers

[LOW1]

I was wandering through the tool department at the local Menards and saw that it was now carrying Vaughan hammers. Had a nice selection and i picked up a hefty cross peen one. I really dislike steel handled hammers and would probably prefer a good composite material for a handle but the wooden Vaughan handle seems nice so far. Menards did not seem to have many of their house brand mastercraft hammers on the shelf. It's nice to see Menards start carrying other name brands.

 

[Buckgnarly]

Prefer wood over steel 100%....love my Vaughn framing and ballnpeens!

 

[GrantCee]

Wood > Fiberglass > Steel.

I have a couple of wood-handled Vaughan framing hammers; one is a few years old, the other I bought used 30 years ago. The older one has a serrated face, which has held up very well through the decades.

Also have a Vaughan ballpeen, but it's not as well made as the Martin versions I have.

 

[mikebaker1129]

Vaughn makes great hammers! Often rebranded by other companies.
Gravik is their brand for 2nds that are not quite good enough for the Vaughn branding.
I like the Graviks also.

 

[Hack Fabrication]

Love my Vaughan hammers!

 

[u2slow]

Never cared about a brand per-se... I just know I've become attached to the wooden axe-handle style in a framing hammer.

My current one is a 21oz Dead-On/Deathstick(?... was on sale, Lol) and its been through a lot in the past 20 years.

 

[qqzj]

I have a lot of vaughan wood hammers under the Craftsman name. They're all pristine. Too nice to use. I only use fiberglass hammers for a balance of self protection and durability

Sent from my Pixel 3 XL using The Garage Journal mobile app

 

[RedneckWelder]

I have a 32 oz Vaughn ball peen that is by far my favorite hammer to use at work.

I like it so much I bought an identical one for my father a few years ago.

The thing that it really has going for it is the handle is original and as tight as the day I got it 6 years ago. They put a quality wooden handle on their hammers and it holds up well.

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

Years back I worked as a industrial carpenter, form work mostly. I would chew the edge off the face chipping concrete to snap lay out lines. They would last about a year . the Vaughn lasted best and was the best balanced. The Estwings were dangerous for my left hand, they were so poorly balanced. The metal tube and rubber Stanleys were OK.

 

[neophyte]

Vaughan is one of the major manufacturers of hammers and pry bars in the USA.
They used yo manufacture sll or most of the Craftsman USA made hammers.
The hammer faces are hardened in a liquid salt bath( this is a very good thing, and also hiw Estwing hardens their hammers)
I’m not sure how well the Vaughan single pieced forged hammers hold up against the Estwing.
Supposedly Vaughan is the largest manufacturer of striking tools in the world.

 

[neophyte]

I should probably mention that Vaughan flat pry bars(ie. Super Bar, Stubby bar, etc. are top notch) Vaughan also still makes those thin sheet metal type windo pry bars that Hyde sells, but the Vaughan version is still US made.

 

[Ton ton]

I'm happy to see a claw hammer thread on garage journal.

 

[JoeMcGov]

Old Vaughan 22oz with a tight grained handle in my nail bags for decades.

 

[CJM8515]

i have a few craftsman hammers-all made by vaughn. nice stuff. ball peen, claw, mallet, etc.

 

[jeffmoss26]

great stuff!

 

[jeepinerdeep]

I've got a Vaughan brass hammer and a little 10 oz claw hammer. Quality tools.

I wonder if they were the OE for the Blue Point stuff from the 90's? They seem the same.

 

[anndel]

I have some claw and ball peen Vaughans and a bunch of Grayviks (Vaughan Factory 2nds) from HJE. Love 'em all.

 

[mikebaker1129]

I've got a Vaughan brass hammer and a little 10 oz claw hammer. Quality tools.

I wonder if they were the OE for the Blue Point stuff from the 90's? They seem the same.

Yes,and Armstrong and Craftsman.

 

[mv213]

I love the little 13-oz soft-face (rubber one side, plastic other side) mallet. Hard to find replacement tips for the head, though.

 

[dutchgray]

Wood > Fiberglass > Steel.

This.
When I started working 15 years ago it was near impossible to get a wood handled carpenters hammer in this country, apart from a cheap 16oz claw from a diy shop, there were a couple of shops you could order one from.
Now its pretty easy to get one on line or a dedicated tool shop but go into a builders merchants and most likely they won't have them.
I did alot of damage to my elbow with an Estwing. Now I use a titanium (the Dalluge thats the Douglas pattern) or a Vaughan riggers hatchet mostly.

 

[ZRX61]

Steel handles transfer the shock straight to your shoulder & elbow joints...

 

[Monte]

 

[mikebaker1129]

I love the little 13-oz soft-face (rubber one side, plastic other side) mallet. Hard to find replacement tips for the head, though.

Vaughn and Zoro both carry the tips.

 

[neophyte]

Does the Hickory/rubber plug actually help with vibration?

 

[abachman]

There is a great video of a tour of the Vaughan factory here in Illinois. Tubalcain is the moderator and does the tour. Estwing hammers are made in that factory.

 

[abachman]

Here is the info on the video....

Hopefully this link works. Otherwise just Google tubalcain vaughan hammer

 

[Skin]

Vaughan thread means half the posts need to misspell the name. Its an unwritten rule.

 

[71goldss]

I have a few. Picture was taken a few years ago. Most have wear on them now, and love em all!

 

[Monte]

Does the Hickory/rubber plug actually help with vibration?

I don´t have a regular steel hammer without that feature for comparison. But i notice "micro vibrations" going through the hand. Metal core/nylon outer handle hammers seems similar, glass fiber better, wood best (imho). A forged steel hammer will last forever though...

 

[tarbellb]

Vaughan and Estwing, both great hammers.

 

[Ton ton]

I prefer estwing sure strike. But the v brand is cool too.

 

[GrantCee]

A forged steel hammer will last forever though...

But the rubber handle won't. Given the number of them with split handles I see at the local scrapyard, it appears they can't be replaced.

That gives them a shorter life than a wood-handled hammer, which can be re-handled again and again.

 

[AceofSpad3s]

I use a craftsman wood handled Vaughan if I am driving nails, I use the metal estwings for demo.

 

[mv213]

Vaughn and Zoro both carry the tips.

Thanks!

 

[bwringer]

I like Vaughan's ball pein hammers. They have smooth round balls.

Estwing ball pein hammers are really pretty, but most have pointy balls. That's just wrong, and a really great way to permanently screw up whatever you're hammering with sharp little dents. If you can rummage around on the shelf, sometimes you can find a good round-balled example; their grinding is pretty variable. Estwing makes generally great stuff, and I've always wondered why they don't correct this.

Menard's also stocks a large selection of Channel-Lock, Knipex, and even Orbis on the shelf. Some good stuff in there.

And a lot of Chinese ****, too. Generally their house brand "MasterForce" stuff is pretty serviceable, and a few things like screwdrivers are US-made. The "Tool Shop" brand stuff is universally dreadful.

 

[Monte]

But the rubber handle won't. Given the number of them with split handles I see at the local scrapyard, it appears they can't be replaced.

That gives them a shorter life than a wood-handled hammer, which can be re-handled again and again.

Google "Paracord handle wrap"

 

[Downwindtracker 2]

A ball peen is used, get this, for peening over rivets . The hammer end flattens the rivet end, and ball peen sets the flattened portion against the washer. A good looking rivet looks like a flower. You can't do that with a pointy ball end.

 

[mrpizza]

I have a Vaughn super bar that takes some serious abuse. I love that thing.

I have an estwing framing hammer. I'll have to check out the Vaughn

 

[GrantCee]

A ball peen is used, get this, for peening over rivets . The hammer end flattens the rivet end, and ball peen sets the flattened portion against the washer. A good looking rivet looks like a flower. You can't do that with a pointy ball end.

It's also used for forming sheet metal into useful shapes, particularly with dapping (forming) dies. Just like peening rivets, you can't do any sort of decent work if the ball is at all pointy.

 

[redwrench60]

Vaughan makes my favorite wooden handled hammers. I’ve got several ball peens in different weights, a framer, a finisher and even a big rig axe for smashing in those big nails and doing rough work. Great quality at a fair price. They’re handles and fitting are excellent. They make a really nice looking fiberglass rip hammer I keep taking myself out of for some reason.