To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

The Hammer

MD11

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 30, 2009
Messages
1,228
Location
USA
Serial #3 is still available! :bounce:

Chad, that's a hell of an endorsement coming from a Snap-On man, thank you. I know you know your tools, after all it is your business!

I had to pull out Adobe Illustrator and re-familiarize myself with it. It's been a while!



MD11,

In 1929, a horrible year to start a business, two men set out to build an electric hedge trimmer. Apparently, it worked. Yet, because of the climate of the time, the business failed. Not to be deterred the two men cut their losses, re-invented themselves and set out to build a vertical milling attachment for the horizontal mills common at that time.

The two men delivered their first vertical milling attachment in 1932. By 1938 there was such a high demand for their milling attachment they decided to build an entire machine around it. It was built by hand in their shop and painstakingly aligned to master references by hand scraping. They called their machine "The Bridgeport". Little did they know their little machine would change the course of machining history and it's name, the city in which it was built, would become synonymous with machine tool.

Today, most tools are serialized by automatic methods. These machines are designed to mark millions of parts with a unique serial number (or not). As a consequence, they have lots of extra, unnecessary zeros. Laser etching and pin marking machines have default settings placing lots of zeros in front of the number. Maybe tool companies think it makes them look bigger. Maybe they're too lazy to change the default settings.

Regardless, the first marked hammer will be numbered the same way the first Bridgeport was marked in 1938, with a number stamp, a steady hand and a good hammer: 1

Number1.jpg


:beer:


That's a cool story A_P.. I like the way you think.. translates into your product as well.
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
OP
A

A_Pmech

Well-known member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
8,002
Location
IL
That's a cool story A_P.. I like the way you think.. translates into your product as well.

Thanks, MD11. I find history fascinating, so I tend to use it at times to explain myself. The Bridgeport story was the only way I felt I could get across what I was trying to say. :thumbup:



UPDATE

SERIAL #3 IS TAKEN!

WHO WANTS SERIAL #4?


:beer:
 

MD11

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 30, 2009
Messages
1,228
Location
USA
Wow John, and talk about honest.. I over paid by $2.55 on my last order and he writes me a letter explaining it and refunds the money.. Now if only the bankers in this country were this honest.
 

Ricoch3T

Well-known member
Joined
Aug 12, 2009
Messages
74
I may have missed it but i saw the new pictures of the hammer with the brass faces. Are these available yet?
 
OP
A

A_Pmech

Well-known member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
8,002
Location
IL
Hi Ricoch,

They're available! $15 each plus $4.90 USPS Flat Rate shipping. I can fit about 8 faces into the small flat rate box.

:thumbup:

I may have missed it but i saw the new pictures of the hammer with the brass faces. Are these available yet?
 

Bull

Super Moderator
Joined
Dec 12, 2005
Messages
16,189
Location
MA
Who owns the "1" serial-numbered Bridgeport?

As a spectator, I am enjoying this thread!
 
OP
A

A_Pmech

Well-known member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
8,002
Location
IL
OP
A

A_Pmech

Well-known member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
8,002
Location
IL
I received the second hammer and the brass faces. Thanks John.

Rick

Glad to hear they arrived safely, Rick! You're not the only person who bought a hammer and had to have a second one! :bounce:

On that note, Serial #4 is still available.
 

MD11

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 30, 2009
Messages
1,228
Location
USA
Glad to hear they arrived safely, Rick! You're not the only person who bought a hammer and had to have a second one! :bounce:

On that note, Serial #4 is still available.

The 2nd ones' have been shipped already? :bounce:

I"m going to have to run out in the dark and check the mail!
 
OP
A

A_Pmech

Well-known member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
8,002
Location
IL
The 2nd ones' have been shipped already? :bounce:

I"m going to have to run out in the dark and check the mail!

Not yet! I purchased the materials this afternoon. No need to run out to the mailbox just yet... :bounce:

UPDATE:

At the moment I cannot quote a delivery time on hammers after serial #3.

This afternoon, much to my surprise, I bought my supplier out of 7075 aluminum, which is used to make the handles of The Hammer. 7075 is the highest tensile strength aircraft alloy and is thus more expensive than the other alloys.

I suspect there may be a price increase when they order in more 7075, as the material they had was NOS. If so, a price increase on The Hammer may be necessary.

I'll keep everyone updated as I find out more. For those who have already placed an order, I have sufficient materials on hand to fulfill your orders.

I have also purchased some chemical etching equipment which will allow me to mark the hammers with my logo and provide a box for the serial number to be stamped in. This is the same equipment used by Boeing, NASA, Do-All, Pratt and Whitney and numerous other companies.

With this equipment I may also be able to offer personalization! I'll know more once I've had a chance to practice with it.

:beer:
 

MD11

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 30, 2009
Messages
1,228
Location
USA
It just keeps getting better!! (except the 7075 shortage issue that is)...
 

mrb

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 31, 2008
Messages
3,734
wow do I want one of these. You wouldnt happen to need $129 worth of extension cords would you? :)
 
OP
A

A_Pmech

Well-known member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
8,002
Location
IL
UPDATE

I have a new source for Aluminum which confirmed for me late yesterday that their stock is from the USA. For the moment at least, a price increase is not required. They have old stock too!
 

MD11

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 30, 2009
Messages
1,228
Location
USA
Hopefully my coverage brought some attention to your fantastic hammer from beyond the GJ community. If not, I'll just have to try harder. =)


It's a well done write up... what John needs now is a write up in one of the mechanics journals or maybe some other industry journal... The only problem I see is if he gets too many orders that he cannot fill them with his small operation! :spit:
 
OP
A

A_Pmech

Well-known member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
8,002
Location
IL
Stuey said:
Hopefully my coverage brought some attention to your fantastic hammer from beyond the GJ community. If not, I'll just have to try harder. =)

I really appreciate your review, Stuey. I've been reading your website for some time and I think your reviews are an asset to anyone shopping for great tools! For anyone who hasn't been to Stuey's page yet, check it out:

www.toolguyd.com

:thumbup:

It's a well done write up... what John needs now is a write up in one of the mechanics journals or maybe some other industry journal... The only problem I see is if he gets too many orders that he cannot fill them with his small operation! :spit:

Those are the kinds of problems I like. ;)


UPDATE:

It looks like I have three single-digit serial numbers left!
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!

Stuey

Well-known member
Joined
Jan 8, 2008
Messages
11,034
Location
28m above sea level
I really appreciate your review, Stuey. I've been reading your website for some time and I think your reviews are an asset to anyone shopping for great tools! For anyone who hasn't been to Stuey's page yet, check it out:

www.toolguyd.com

:thumbup:



Those are the kinds of problems I like. ;)


UPDATE:

It looks like I have three single-digit serial numbers left!
Thanks!

Truth be told, I have yet to fulfill the ideals I had in mind when starting ToolGuyd. There is still a lot of work to be done, but thankfully since everything about the site is in my control, there is (knock on wood) plenty of time to do it in.

One of the things that I never anticipated is how much I enjoy sharing unique topics and amazing tools like yours with the world. Well, the small world that follows ToolGuyd, but still...

A random suggestion - have you considered offering your hammer for sale on etsy? It's not what you would call a conventional sales outlet, but your tool is homemade!
 
Last edited:
OP
A

A_Pmech

Well-known member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
8,002
Location
IL
UPDATE

I've been working on faces and there's a little collection of them starting to grow around here:

lotsoffaces.jpg


That's not all of them either!

I'm also working on putting in a stock which will help shorten order times and give me more time to finish preparing "The Punch" for sale.

:beer:
 
OP
A

A_Pmech

Well-known member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
8,002
Location
IL
So that's why you've been so quiet lately! lol

That's part of it, MD11. :)

All the faces are done and more materials are inbound!

Here are most of the finished faces:

finishedfaces.jpg


Today I've been working on hammer heads. As soon as they're done, I'll begin handles. :beer:

Heads in progress:

headblanks1.jpg
 

MD11

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 30, 2009
Messages
1,228
Location
USA
Looks like a good inventory build up John.... good for the economy!

When does S/N #1 ship out? :bounce:
 
OP
A

A_Pmech

Well-known member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
8,002
Location
IL
It's coming!

The etching process I bought was a commercial marking process and just didn't have the clarity I was looking for. So, I've spent the better part of the past two weeks inventing an entirely new process, which works a LOT better.

I'm still refining it, but here's a test mark:

etching.jpg


I want to make sure the etching process is 100% right before I start marking hammer heads!
 

MD11

Well-known member
Joined
Oct 30, 2009
Messages
1,228
Location
USA
that looks far nicer than I expected John... very professional.
 
OP
A

A_Pmech

Well-known member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
8,002
Location
IL
Nice Job...What is different about this process?

In short, everything!

I redesigned the process to produce a much clearer and deeper mark than the commercially available processes allow.

:thumbup:

MD11 said:
that looks far nicer than I expected John... very professional.

Thanks!

Now that I have this pretty well squared away, I'm getting back to making the actual hammers tomorrow. :beer:
 

fatrhino

Well-known member
Joined
May 3, 2006
Messages
156
Location
Rochester
In short, everything!

I redesigned the process to produce a much clearer and deeper mark than the commercially available processes allow.

:thumbup:


Any plans for making a post detailing the failed etching process/equipment and the new process? I don't mean to pry if you're trying to keep it a business secret or anything. Just something that seems interesting to me
 
OP
A

A_Pmech

Well-known member
Joined
May 8, 2007
Messages
8,002
Location
IL
Any plans for making a post detailing the failed etching process/equipment and the new process? I don't mean to pry if you're trying to keep it a business secret or anything. Just something that seems interesting to me

Hi Fatrhino,

I wasn't planning to. For now at least, it's a secret. :)


Here's a video I've been meaning to post that I thought GJ'ers might like. My Edlund drill has a plugging reverser for high-speed tapping. I can tap 10-32 at 4,000 RPM. This is how I tap faces for "The Hammer", although not quite so fast. The hole is blind and the tap comes to within about .035" of the bottom of the hole. The reverser repeats to better than .005".


Sure beats a tap wrench. :bounce:

You can see the reverser switch assembly in this photo:

jointjigger.jpg
 
To avoid these ads, REGISTER NOW!
Top Bottom