Dressing Hammer Faces - Ball Peen & Other Striking Hammers
- Thread starter T45
- Start date
redwrench60
Well-known member
I worry about hammers whose faces are soft enough to require re shaping or even dressing........
dkroth
Well-known member
Maybe it's just well used.
https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinte...his_is_how_accurate_i_am_with_a_hammer_after/
https://www.reddit.com/r/mildlyinte...his_is_how_accurate_i_am_with_a_hammer_after/
New USA hammers now are very rough finished from the factory, with obvious grind marks and uneven finish...they are also coated in **** (laquer/clear coat) and need to be taken down to bare metal.
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ken w.
Well-known member
I find that most hammers made now are not very well balanced. I buy a lot of old hammers at estate sales and find them much better than todays hammers. And not many of them need any face work.
redwrench60
Well-known member
I will admit to inspecting all the hammers in the rack at the store to find the one with the best balance/grinding/polishing. I don't worry about the lacquer coating. I will have it worn off soon enough.
I agree on the old hammer quality. I have several from fleas, pawns and estate sales with a lifetime of use and nary a dent in the faces. Often the craftsmanship and metal quality are excellent. I have an old USA made Ridgid 32 oz. ball peen that oozes quality, balance and symmetry. A new Hickory handle gave it a. Ew lease on life with a new owner
I agree on the old hammer quality. I have several from fleas, pawns and estate sales with a lifetime of use and nary a dent in the faces. Often the craftsmanship and metal quality are excellent. I have an old USA made Ridgid 32 oz. ball peen that oozes quality, balance and symmetry. A new Hickory handle gave it a. Ew lease on life with a new owner
I agree with this too.
For the flat face I would definitely go with option A from your diagram, specifically the upper one. I try to avoid any sharpNess in my hammer faces unless I come across a waffle faced hammer. For the peen I would go with option D because you could get into tighter spaces and more acurately peen something over.
I like the A (lower) for the flat face and C for the ball end although I'll admit after finishing a few hammers on my belt grinder the flat face ended up looking like B.
Seeing this has given me the idea to make a set of each style (since I easily have enough hammers already to do this
.
Seeing this has given me the idea to make a set of each style (since I easily have enough hammers already to do this
.DFB
Well-known member
I just did this with brand new Milwaukee branded fiberglass handled hammer right out the box. When I first tried to drive a few nails it kept glancing off the head and didn't want to drive straight and running a file on the face you could see the high spot. Cleaned it up some with a file and I'm ok with it now but I almost sent it back to ACME Tool.
China built copy of a Stiletto
I never had problems with any of my old USA hammers I have most of them for around 30 years.
Nicest ball pein I have is one that came my way at a scrap sale for our church some widow threw it out for scrap metal value. The handle had a slight spit on the end but other than that is was sound. Nice long handle and well balanced. I sanded it down refinished the wood and polished up the head. some. I have it on my vise bench now.
Two seasons ago my boss bought a load of Tekton claw hammers with fiberglass handles for sale under the tool tent. Besides the fact that there wasn't any two of the heads that set the same way on the handles, the striking faces were just horrible.
So I like my striking tool faces flat as possible like the lower picture "A". I don't care for the roundness of the edges like in the upper photo but does make for a nicer looking head finish.
China built copy of a Stiletto
I never had problems with any of my old USA hammers I have most of them for around 30 years.
Nicest ball pein I have is one that came my way at a scrap sale for our church some widow threw it out for scrap metal value. The handle had a slight spit on the end but other than that is was sound. Nice long handle and well balanced. I sanded it down refinished the wood and polished up the head. some. I have it on my vise bench now.
Two seasons ago my boss bought a load of Tekton claw hammers with fiberglass handles for sale under the tool tent. Besides the fact that there wasn't any two of the heads that set the same way on the handles, the striking faces were just horrible.
So I like my striking tool faces flat as possible like the lower picture "A". I don't care for the roundness of the edges like in the upper photo but does make for a nicer looking head finish.
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M_George
Well-known member
I have an old cross peen hammer I ground between figures B and C for drawing out hot steel on my anvil. This is called a rounding hammer in blacksmithing.
Here are some links to external sources on dressing hammer faces. It seems like an obscure topic, but I guess for serious hammer users it is a pretty standard process. My main question is about ball peins because most of the below deals foging hammers...with 1-2kg cross-pein types mainly.
https://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?/topic/9426-how-to-properlt-face-a-hammer/
Blacksmithing Basics Episode 5 - Dressing a hammer
Tips for the beginning smith: Hammer edge and face dressing
Dressing Hammer Faces: Hammer Making, Maintance and Repair
http://www.anvilfire.com/FAQs/hammer_dressing.htm
Dressing a Hammer
https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/9405-dressing-a-hammer/
https://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?/topic/9426-how-to-properlt-face-a-hammer/
Blacksmithing Basics Episode 5 - Dressing a hammer
Tips for the beginning smith: Hammer edge and face dressing
Dressing Hammer Faces: Hammer Making, Maintance and Repair
http://www.anvilfire.com/FAQs/hammer_dressing.htm
Dressing a Hammer
https://www.iforgeiron.com/topic/9405-dressing-a-hammer/