Vaughan ball peen hammers

[SRSemenza]

Does anyone know if the "regular" Vaughan ball peen hammers (hickory handle, blue head) have the correct tempering / heat treating/ or lack there of, whatever ball peen hammers are supposed to have for striking other tools?

Seth

 

[seber]

Vaughan has been making hammers for 150 years. I think it would be fair to assume they know how to do it right.

 

[rlitman]

Vaughan has been making hammers for 150 years. I think it would be fair to assume they know how to do it right.

LOL, you missed the point of the question.

But to the OP's point, I wouldn't worry about it. The important thing is to make sure that the tops of your tools are properly dressed with a radius.

 

[turbowoodworker]

^^^and safety glasses.

 

[d.mcfarland]

Does anyone know if the "regular" Vaughan ball peen hammers (hickory handle, blue head) have the correct tempering / heat treating/ or lack there of, whatever ball peen hammers are supposed to have for striking other tools?

Seth

Yes. They work great.

They are/were OEM for Craftsman and Snap-On (Blue Point).

 

[mikebaker1129]

They make hammers for Klein and SK also.

 

[redwrench60]

Yeah, they're hard as Chinese arithmetic. I have a Vaughan 48 oz. ball peen that has delt out some vicious beatings.

 

[ChrisLS8]

I have both Vaughan and Estwing and they are equally good at delivering blows

 

[SRSemenza]

Thanks,

I was considering some others that don't seem to be done correctly. Reports of cracked heads and such. I like the feel of the Vaughans, I like the even dome shape as opposed to some others (like the Estwings) that are more "pointed" shape. And the Vaughans are nicely priced as well.

Seth

 

[SRSemenza]

I see that Vaughan has two lines that appear the same except price. Commercial ... wood handle, blue head. And Pro wood handle, black head.

Anyone able to compare them? What's the difference?

Seth

 

[2000-cvpi]

Vaughn is the oem for the Craftsman ball peen hammers. They are still easily available and cheaper than box stores with a coupon.

 

[d.mcfarland]

I see that Vaughan has two lines that appear the same except price. Commercial ... wood handle, blue head. And Pro wood handle, black head.

Anyone able to compare them? What's the difference?

Seth

All Vaughan hammers are the same. Different paint for different retailers basically.

Best value currently would be Craftsman if you can use some kind of discount through Sears.com

Blue Point would have the best warranty (in my opinion), but the price reflects that.

 

[4Kings]

I love Vaughan hammers. Most of mine are the Craftsman variety but have a few Vaughan's mixed in.

Any how, it's been ages since I looked through sears.com and I came across this.

https://www.sears.com/craftsman-5-pc-hammer-set/p-00938074000P?rrec=true

IMO this is a smokin deal for a fairly complete set of ball peen hammers plus the bonus soft-faced hammer.

 

[bwringer]

Thanks,

I was considering some others that don't seem to be done correctly. Reports of cracked heads and such. I like the feel of the Vaughans, I like the even dome shape as opposed to some others (like the Estwings) that are more "pointed" shape. And the Vaughans are nicely priced as well.

Seth

Aarrgghhh, you've touched on one of my (very minor) pet peeves -- pointy balls.

I was strongly considering an Estwing ball peen hammer a few days ago, but all the examples on the rack had a distinct point on the ball. Worse, the grinding on the balls was very uneven, and the points on each were in a different place.

Kind of a shocking lapse on what is otherwise a stellar US brand, TBH.

I mean, if I'm whacking something with the ball end, I want a nice smooth round dent, not a pointy dent that could turn into a weak spot or cause problems later.

And this thread has also explained why my old Craftsman ball peens have nice round balls. I never considered or knew who the OEM was.

 

[dutchgray]

Vaughan uses a pair of robots to grind their ball peins, so they should all be ground correctly.

 

[SRSemenza]

For the sake of clarity here are three different Vaughan wood handle ball pein hammer types. I know they brand them for different vendors but these are all Vaughan branded and fall into three price categories. I used amazon links simply for convenience but the price structure is similar at other retailers.

Highest price Pro's Choice line https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00G0PLL84/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Mid price Commercial line (note the description seems to be borrowed from the Pro Choice. Probably an Amazon mistake). https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00018AP1U/?tag=atomicindus08-20


Lowest price https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000X26UFO/?tag=atomicindus08-20

Seth

 

[SRSemenza]

Vaughan uses a pair of robots to grind their ball peins, so they should all be ground correctly.

That's good to know. And explains why they all look good, smooth, and even on display racks from one to the next.

Seth

 

[bwringer]

Vaughan uses a pair of robots to grind their ball peins, so they should all be ground correctly.

Innnnteresting. The Estwing ball peens were pretty obviously hand ground and honestly very janky and inconsistent.

Their hammers are otherwise fantastic -- wonder why they don't have some sort of machine to handle this? Or maybe Estwing just concentrates on claw hammers.

Good to know who's making the good stuff.

 

[unbridledid]

Does anyone know if the "regular" Vaughan ball peen hammers (hickory handle, blue head) have the correct tempering / heat treating/ or lack there of, whatever ball peen hammers are supposed to have for striking other tools?

Seth

I will post a video.

Starting at 3:30.

 

[unbridledid]

Does anyone know if the "regular" Vaughan ball peen hammers (hickory handle, blue head) have the correct tempering / heat treating/ or lack there of, whatever ball peen hammers are supposed to have for striking other tools?

Seth

Starting at 3:30. I had not reached the five post count in order to be

able to post a link.

 

[SRSemenza]

I contacted Vaughan about the different lines. According to Vaughan they are all the same hammers. Which I suspected, but at noticeably different price points and all with the Vaughan (as opposed to Craftsman or whoever) name on them and different logos it appears as though they are different product lines. They are not.

Seth

 

[SRSemenza]

Pretty well settled on the Vaughan for the smaller sizes. Thinking maybe Wilton for the larger ones.

Do the Wilton have an even well rounded ball? Or is the more pointed type?

EDIT-
Found the answer in some clear video shots. Looks smooth, even, and round.

Seth

 

[d.mcfarland]

You're very focused on the rounded peening side. Do you do a lot of rivet work?

For large sizes, you would be better off with a drilling hammer or just a general Wilton BASH.

 

[3oheight]

I’ve had the set of craftsman labeled ones that I have been using for years, I believe the same set 4kings posted, been super happy with them. I use them all the time.

 

[HenryAZ]

I used Vaughan hammers exclusively during my 20-odd years of working custom millwork. These were all traditional "wood" hammers, curved nail claw of different weights. Since retiring a delving more into metal work, I have also been using the Vaughan ball peen and engineers' hammers. It's a brand I intend to stick with, as their quality has been bar none. I'm sure there are other good brands, but I am staying with a known good and proven one.

 

[neophyte]

Does anyone know if the "regular" Vaughan ball peen hammers (hickory handle, blue head) have the correct tempering / heat treating/ or lack there of, whatever ball peen hammers are supposed to have for striking other tools?

Seth

There’s a ‘How It’s Made’ TV show episode that shows the production of Estwing hammers.

There’s also this video from tubalcaine/mrpete222 showing a factory visit to Vaughan Which shows the production of hammers.

Both manufacturers appear to use a liquid salt or maybe lead hardening bath to heat the hammer heads before quenching. This tends to produce very tough steel given my experience with steel that has been hardened using a liquid bath method.
As far as pointedness of the ball head, it varies by manufacturer. Vaughan seems to ise a rounded design, as I believe Estwing does. Ball peen designs that are more pointed used to be more common since the pointed head was used for precisely setting rivets, or tapping out pins. Some manufacturers still use the pointed design.