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The Hammer

A_Pmech

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The Hammer - Now with pricing and ordering details.

OK GJ'ers you asked for it and here it is:

A 100% American-made hammer with no girly plastic handles to crack, or wood handles to fall off, no Chinese materials, and a level of quality that will make Snap-On jealous.

You can bet nobody else in your shop has one of these:

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Knurling close-up:

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Interchangeable head close-up, with Nylon head removed:

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8oz. Vaughan VB-308 ball peen, for scale:

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ALL materials used in the hammer are of US origin. Yes, including the Loctite:

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Hammer Specs:

ALL US MATERIALS

Handle: 7075-T6 Aircraft Aluminum, through-drilled for lightness.
Head: 4130 Aircraft Chromoly
Head weight: 8oz (with plastic faces)
Head to handle fit: FN-5 shrink fit. (The handle is .002" +- .0005" larger than the hole it fits in.) Additionally, the head mounting screws engage the handle. The screws are set with "Permanent Grade" Loctite #271.
Marking: Hammer may be marked with the maker's name and hammer weight.

Faces that ship with the hammer:

Extruded Nylon, Hardness Approx. 118 Rockwell R-scale
2024 Aluminum, Hardness Approx. 120 Brinell
4130 Chromoly, Hardness Approx. 197 Brinell

What you get in the box:

One hand-made 8oz interchangeable face hammer and one each Nylon, 2024 Aluminum and 4130 Steel faces.

Additional Faces:

Additional faces are $12.50 each. Nylon, Aluminum and 4130 Steel currently available.

BRASS FACES ARE NOW AVAILABLE!

These faces will be made from alloy 360 Brass and are priced at $15.00 each. They cost slightly more than the Aluminum, Steel, and Nylon faces due to the cost of the material.

Hammer faces will ship in a Small Flat Rate box for $4.90 if they are ordered separately from The Hammer.

Warranty:

No warranty is expressed or implied, this is a made-to-order product.

Returns:

I will allow returns and a refund of the purchase price less shipping within ten days of your receiving the hammer. It must be returned undamaged and unused, with all faces and in the original packaging. Return shipping is your responsibility.

What are these hammers for?

These are machinist's hammers. As such, they are built with precision in mind. Like any precision instrument, they are NOT for wailing away on seized semi-truck wheel bearings. If you want to do that, get a Chinese 10lb sledge from the farm store.

They are for precise work, where control and feedback is important, such as:

Seating bearings
Punching gaskets
Driving pin punches
Setting taper pins
Loading spindle bearings
Engine assembly
Center punching
Firearm repair
Fixture adjustment
Aircraft repair

New developments:

I'm currently working on a face mold which will allow you to cast your own babbit, lead, and polyurethane faces. As you know, soft faces don't last long since they're designed to take the abuse instead of the delicate part you're tapping on. With the mold, you'll be able to pour your own soft faces to fit the hammer.

I've already tested the mold and it works great.

To Order:

PM me here or email me at [email protected] with your name, address and quantity of hammers desired. Payment is required up-front to secure a production slot. I will provide you with my address and Paypal ID. Payment is accepted by cashier's check or Paypal.

Once I have ten orders I will begin a production run. You may request your money back at any time BEFORE the production run is started.

Discount:

Until further notice, if you promise to post an honest review of "The Hammer" or "The Punch" online, I will pay for shipping within the lower 48 states, a $10.70 value. Outside the lower 48 states I'll extend a $10.70 discount on the actual shipping cost.

This offer cannot be combined with any other offer and supersedes all other offers.

HAND-MADE IN THE U.S.A

Price:

$129.90 plus shipping ($10.70 USPS Flat-Rate) Outside the US will be actual postage.
 
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A_Pmech

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How is the head secured to the handle?

An FN-5 shrink fit, which is sufficient to hold things together by itself. A significant amount of tonnage would be required to pull the handle out of the head.

Because I'm a belt-and-suspenders guy, each of the face studs engages the handle stub providing a second retention method. The studs are driven into the Aluminum handle and secured with permanent grad Loc-Tite.
 
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Vinko

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Nice. Now if only other toolmakers would give us material specs.

What are the specs on the nylon?
 

TheToolMan

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Jun 19, 2008
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N.J.
I want one. I dont care how much it costs. Can we see a better pic of the knurling?
 

speed bump

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Butte Montana
Can't say as that would be a hammer I would want to use very much. It would be to hard on the wrists, arms, elbows and any other joint.
 

chadster1

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Terrell, Texas
An FN-5 shrink fit, which is sufficient to hold things together by itself. A significant amount of tonnage would be required to pull the handle out of the head.

Because I'm a belt-and-suspenders guy, each of the face studs engages the handle stub providing a second retention method. The studs are driven into the Aluminum handle and secured with permanent grad Loc-Tite.

What is the country of orgin of the Loc-tite used? :bounce:
 

speed bump

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Good grief, you're not driving railroad spikes with it 16 hours a day.

I'm interested in seeing the details, too.

I never said anything about that but if you end up beating on something hard like steel all of that energy is transferred directly into you arm without any damping. If you doubt me take a piece of metal and hit another piece of metal with it, chances are it stings pretty good and if you do it a few more times then the rest of your arm start hurting. This is why Estwings have the rubber handles (although you still need to be careful, if you hit something and get something close to a critical freq the hammer will still vibrate like you arm pretty bad, generally the ones that are the worst are the brand new looking Estwings you find in pawn shops for good prices).

The last steel hammer I made was for some of the maintance guys at the mine and it had a hollow handle that was filled with foam and the warehouse guys made a custom grip for it to where you could almost use it as much as a wood handled hammer. (of course this was a 16lb sledge to).
 

mjozefow

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Apr 9, 2009
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Lafayette, IN
I'm pretty sure the handle is hollow. And knowing the attention to detail A_Pmech puts into everything he does, I think we can rest assured he has thought of the vibration issues. I'm fairly sure that was why he switched from the original taper design. That and weight savings.

I'm in for at least one.
 

Sloper0204

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Oct 25, 2009
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UT/WY
The last steel hammer I made was for some of the maintance guys at the mine and it had a hollow handle that was filled with foam and the warehouse guys made a custom grip for it to where you could almost use it as much as a wood handled hammer. (of course this was a 16lb sledge to).
I used to knock up hammer unions all day for work. My most used hammer was an old 5lb sledge that, after breaking too many wood handles, we bought a piece of barstock and had it machined to fit the head with a bevel on the top, we welded it up solid on both sides.

The vibration never bothered me, and when you're knocking up a hammer union to hold 15,000psi you're putting some effort into it.
 
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A_Pmech

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I'm working on additional, detailed photos now.

I'll post the photos and additional details of the construction, along with answering questions later today.
 

mkdive

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Oct 11, 2008
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VERY NICE!!!! Put me on the list for wanting to get one from you....

Muffinman.....your cramping my style....... er, nice avatar ya got there?!

Side note MM, the logo you have as your avatar is for the musical & piano side of Yamaha, (not the motor side of Yamaha).
 
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tj90

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Sep 20, 2009
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WOW - I think I know what the wife can get me for Christmas!
 

scooby074

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Very nice.

Id love one, but it would hurt the one i made's feelings.:)
 

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Vinko

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Looks very fine, quality product. If I were to purchase one, I'd prefer a sharper knurling. But knurling's a personal thing anyway...
 
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A_Pmech

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Looks very fine, quality product. If I were to purchase one, I'd prefer a sharper knurling. But knurling's a personal thing anyway...

Vinko,

The knurling is sufficient to provide grip, but not impede tactile feedback as a heavily knurled surface will.

However, if you prefer a more developed knurl I can accommodate you. It is, after all, a hand-made product.
 

MD11

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for anyone wanting a precision hammer, this will be an awesome tool, now lets get those 10 orders in so I can get mine made! Go Go Go!
 
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A_Pmech

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Saving pennies now :D

Any chance of getting a spare Chromoly head with a slight crown?

Certainly!

Additional faces are $12.50 each in Nylon, Aluminum, or 4130 Chromoly. Alternatively, I can customize the standard 4130 face that comes with the hammer.

Specify the crown dimensions and I will make it.
 

Vinko

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Vinko,

The knurling is sufficient to provide grip, but not impede tactile feedback as a heavily knurled surface will.

Thanks, that's a good point, for this particular application. Something really, really heavy and I think a wood rasp knurl wouldn't impede feedback, but I haven't thought it through.
 
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bushhawg73

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Jun 22, 2008
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722
Location
Columbia, Missouri
Very nice work. I only wish I could afford to add it to my collection now. The time of year is just not right for me. It is really nice to see what a person can make with the right skills and effort.

Thanks again John

Gary
 

MD11

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Are you close to the 10 orders A_P? Hope we get to that 10 number soon! Can't wait for mine!
 
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