Toolmakers hammer

[morrisman]

The toolmakers hammer was mentioned somewhere I was reading . I'd not heard of it .

Apparently a handy thing to own - It is used for marking centres I think ? Mike

[Stustoys]

$100..... I'd want to have a few spots to punch....... but then I'm a tight wad.

http://www.starrett.com/metrology/product-detail/Precision-Measuring-Tools/Precision-Hand-Tools/Precision-Shop-Tools/Other-Shop-Tools/815

Stuart

[cba_melbourne]

You must mean Toolmakers Pin Hammer:
http://www.ratebeer.com/beer/toolmakers-pin-hammer/253674/

[jhovel]

I wonder how long the magnifying glass will last in the hammer head?
314304

[rodm]

This raises an interesting point. How many of you use a hammer for positioning jobs? I use a hammer a lot for positioning jobs on the mill or fitment of parts as I seem to have more control with a gentle tap of a hammer than I do for any other method.

[Michael G]

How many of you use a hammer for positioning jobs? I use a hammer a lot for positioning jobs on the mill or fitment of parts as I seem to have more control with a gentle tap of a hammer than I do for any other method.

I have a small (soft faced) deadblow hammer that I use for seating parts in my mill vice. A hard mammer can mark parts. Occasionally I will use it if trying to locate things for clamping.


The toolmakers hammer was mentioned somewhere I was reading.

Apparently a handy thing to own - It is used for marking centres I think?

MEW have a construction article on one at the moment. I think the handy part is that you can check where the centre punch is and then tap it without having to reach around and find another tool. As Joe says, you wonder how long the lens will last in the head. I'd also be concerned that it would get scratched floating around in the tool box. I don't want to have a fitted case for every tool I own.

In the proper sequence of things you scribe the lines, mark the intersection with a prick punch then deepen these with a centre punch before drilling. Given the lightness of the hammer, I'd suggest that it is only for that light prick punch tap and you use your normal walloping device for the heavier centre punch marking.

Michael

[Anorak Bob]

This raises an interesting point. How many of you use a hammer for positioning jobs? I use a hammer a lot for positioning jobs on the mill or fitment of parts as I seem to have more control with a gentle tap of a hammer than I do for any other method.

I have a small Thor leather faced hammer I use for tapping on drawbars, belting stuff down in the mill vice and general positioning - http://www.thorhammer.com/Hammers/Rawhide/Hammer_id_01-008 so I didn't really need this when I saw it at the newly opened BCF store in Belmont - http://m.bcf.com.au/Product/Supa-Peg-Peg-Hammer-Orange/338004 IMHO pretty good value if someone was chasing a gentler alternative to a steel faced hammer.

BT

[BaronJ]

This raises an interesting point. How many of you use a hammer for positioning jobs? I use a hammer a lot for positioning jobs on the mill or fitment of parts as I seem to have more control with a gentle tap of a hammer than I do for any other method.


I use a 1.5" diameter leather hammer for seating work in the vice and general adjustments. As far as marking centres is concerned I made an optical centre punch which works very well. The hard part of that of course is polishing the slight dome on the top of the 1/2" plexiglass rod.

[bollie7]

"This is a very practical tool that is just as much at home on a toolmaker’s bench as it is on a businessman’s desk." From this I can only assume that Starrett expec the hammer to spend more time on a desk than in a tool box? :?

All I've ever used for prick punching (no smart a*** comments here please. I can hear them already. lol) is a small ball pein. No idea of eh weight but the dia of the flat face is only around 12-15mm
bollie7

[Ueee]

I have a small (soft faced) deadblow hammer that I use for seating parts in my mill vice. A hard mammer can mark parts. Occasionally I will use it if trying to locate things for clamping.


I don't have any hard faced Mammers in the shed. They belong with the Pappa's.

I use a deadblow type hammer (plastic sand filled) for seating things and moving them around on the mill. Also handy for assembly of things that either don't need to be pressed or are of low tolerance....

Ew

[RayG]

I've never heard of a "toolmakers hammer" I would have thought it might be a small to medium ball pein, maybe something too small to be common for blacksmithing, but too big for jewellers.. that weird looking thing with a magnifier built into the handle doesn't look right for the name.

I know a couple of hammer collectors, I must ask and see if they know. Just about every trade has it's own unique style of hammer.

These are supposed to be "Machinst's hammers"

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/39/19th_century_knowledge_metalworking_machinist_hammers.jpg

Generally I'd call these "toolmakers hammers" more so than that magnifying gimmick..

Ray

PS for setting up stuff on the mill I've got nylon hammers ( Thor? I think )

[Jekyll and Hyde]

This raises an interesting point. How many of you use a hammer for positioning jobs? I use a hammer a lot for positioning jobs on the mill or fitment of parts as I seem to have more control with a gentle tap of a hammer than I do for any other method.

I used to use the nylon side of one of those el cheapo mallets with the unscrewable ends for tapping stuff down in the mill vise, and the dodgy fabricated handle off said vise for rapping the top of the drawbar to release my tooling.

then a mates dad was clearing out his garage of junk to throw in hard rubbish, and I ended up with, among other useful things, a lead hammer. Looks to be homemade, some kind of mold formed around a piece of steel, but it's excellent for releasing the R8 taper on my mill, and tapping stuff down in the vise. Of course, I'd probably still have to grab my cheap nylon mallet if tapping on a nicely machined aluminium surface...

[Grahame Collins]

I haven't counted them but I probably have upwards of 20 hammers all told.

I must now make the confession that not one of them is a real toolmakers hammer.

I do suspect that Starret sells very few of them. If I feel constrained at all to hammer on a tool, I will do so with a soft faced hammer,a project made for a senior high school metal work shop project.

It is machined to accept "Thor" brand copper and rawhide inserts.

Otherwise my hammer collection is devoid of "real" tool makers hammer.

Sigh!!!!:C

Grahame

[ventureoverland]

I haven't counted them but I probably have upwards of 20 hammers all told.

I must now make the confession that not one of them is a real toolmakers hammer.

I do suspect that Starret sells very few of them. If I feel constrained at all to hammer on a tool, I will do so with a soft faced hammer,a project made for a senior high school metal work shop project.

It is machined to accept "Thor" brand copper and rawhide inserts.

Otherwise my hammer collection is devoid of "real" tool makers hammer.

Sigh!!!!:C

Grahame

Hi Grahame,
I have been wanting to make a soft face hammer for a while but didn't know which insert faces to choose.

I see the Thor faces are readily available but I suspect they need to be pressed in.

Do you have any photos / details of the hammer you made?

My other thought was to buy faces that have a threaded stud on the end.

I'd like copper and rawhide ends, but I don't have a press.

Thx
J


Thx
Jon

[Grahame Collins]

Hey Jon,

The inserts were just pressed in,
The were standard ThOR spares bought off the hook at Mc Ginns in Mackay.They are probably not on the hook in most stores and will likely need to be ordered. I think from memory diam was 30mm but will look for hammer in the shed later to confirm size.They had run out of rawhide ones at the time I made mine, so Iused the copper insert and Aluminium instead of rawhide.

The secret of a nice heft for hammer was to bore out the guts of the handle. Gives it a nice "strike' A good size vice should substitute for a press.

Grahame

[ventureoverland]

Thanks Grahame, just the sort if info I needed.


Thx
Jon

[Grahame Collins]

Some of the hammers had high impact plastic inserts ( some kids could n't afford the inserts) as well and some of them were drilled and tapped.

Grahame

[variant22]

I have a few of those Thor hammers. Rawhide, plastic, copper and wood faced. Something about being made in the UK that appeals to me.

The plastic ones are the replaceable face type: http://www.thorhammer.com/Hammers/Plastic/

The hardwood type are really nice: http://www.thorhammer.com/Mallets/Hardwood/

[tanii51]

ive just discovered the lead hammer the first one i made was way too heavy the second about half the size great for removing tight arbors and a small one would be great for smaller stuff the only thing you can hurt is your fingers
john

[Grahame Collins]

Found this while looking for drawing on HD

Its a 2011 or so and I don't see them anymore at Bunnings but gives you an idea.

Inserts for soft faced Hammer Project
Hammer sockets could be changed to suit below
Spares at Bunnings for THOR Hammer a top quality British Hammer
2per Pkt about $17 to $19
Fineline no 5761825 rawhide faces
Fineline no 5765675 copper face

[Grahame Collins]

I found the drawing for the soft faced hammer with the screw in inserts.

It is from the net and and its in Imperial so you will need to covert it to millimeters.
In boring out the handle, I remember we drilled and tapped after, to screw in a small plug to finish it off.

The insert design we ended up with was a screw insert of 40mm UHMW plastic ,I think it was designated SA66.I think what we used the other side was Ali as some of kids did not want to buy the expensive Thor parts .The plastic was cheap but it had to be the UHMW sort as the other sort just smashed.

Grahame

[Oldneweng]

Found this while looking for drawing on HD

Its a 2011 or so and I don't see them anymore at Bunnings but gives you an idea.

Inserts for soft faced Hammer Project
Hammer sockets could be changed to suit below
Spares at Bunnings for THOR Hammer a top quality British Hammer
2per Pkt about $17 to $19
Fineline no 5761825 rawhide faces
Fineline no 5765675 copper face

Are you saying these spares are still available at Bunnings Grahame, or that you don't see them as well. I would like to get some soft heads and make a hammer to suit.

Dean

[ventureoverland]

Are you saying these spares are still available at Bunnings Grahame, or that you don't see them as well. I would like to get some soft heads and make a hammer to suit.

Dean

I just checked the Bunnings site and couldn't find them under "Hammers".

[ventureoverland]

I found the drawing for the soft faced hammer with the screw in inserts.

It is from the net and and its in Imperial so you will need to covert it to millimeters.
In boring out the handle, I remember we drilled and tapped after, to screw in a small plug to finish it off.

The insert design we ended up with was a screw insert of 40mm UHMW plastic ,I think it was designated SA66.I think what we used the other side was Ali as some of kids did not want to buy the expensive Thor parts .The plastic was cheap but it had to be the UHMW sort as the other sort just smashed.

Grahame

Thanks Grahame.


The PDF you posted is the same one as I'd already found. I had planned to amend the design to accommodate the 32mm Thor faces (rawhide and copper). I had a look on the Thor website and found there instructions for replacing heads. There they show a simple press fit for the Rawhide and a lip on the copper side - meaning that the copper is pressed into the aperture and under use can deform behind a small lip. I thought I could replicate this arrangement.

I can't see me needing to remove the copper anytime soon and if I do the head could be unscrewed from the shaft, put in the 4-jaw and the copper removed from behind the lip.

I guess the next question is what would be a suitable material for the head and shaft? I have some bog-standard mild-steel and some 1045 Carbon Steel. Would the mild be too soft and the 1045 too brittle?

Thx
Jon

[Grahame Collins]

I just checked the Bunnings site and couldn't find them under "Hammers".

The websites are about as useful as a screen door in a submarine for my money.Things I notice in the shop often aren't there on their website.

Bunnings have the annoying habit of stocking something really useful ,right up until the time you need it,then the sods remove it.

I mentioned the date as when I think I found them but may have been earlier. The data was recorded when I purchased samples for the project and was circa 2011.

The fineline nos are what you need.Ring Bunnings up and quote those finelines No's to them and then sit down as the price will probably put you in shock.

I have noticed brass and copper prices in recent years then have gone through the roof.

As as far m/s goes yeah!maybe not it does not finish machine too well for some and it's a soft face hammer not a walloping hammer so steel choice is nominal.Will it be a user tool or a good looker show pony? From memory I think we used cold rolled so it had a "finish" already. Looks good with a knurled handle and the rest will get a patina over time.

Grahame

[Grahame Collins]

Are you saying these spares are still available at Bunnings Grahame, or that you don't see them as well. I would like to get some soft heads and make a hammer to suit.

Dean

The spares are not there in Bunnings now, but if you ring them they might get them on special order.Bunnings and others use those numbers (fineline number) to identify product,so if you quote them ,they might be able to come back with a price. If you see the entry I recorded what I paid for them.which was $17 & $19.


Heres what they are now at one of the bolt mobs

https://www.bolt.com.au/thor-hammer-m-81.html

Grahame

[Oldneweng]

The websites are about as useful as a screen door in a submarine for my money.Things I notice in the shop often aren't there on their website.

What, no flies at sea?


Bunnings have the annoying habit of stocking something really useful ,right up until the time you need it,then the sods remove it.

They are a long way from alone in that matter. Tuesday we were looking at achitrave for our renovated bathroom. They had a space for 90 x 19, in a timber called Durian which apparently has a real stinky fruit. Anyway it was the closest they had to a nice hardwood. I am not much of a fan of mdf. I am not sure why. Besides we spent a huge amount of time stripping the paint off the oak sash windows. There was some 70 x 19 in stock, but the 90 x 19 had meranti in it with one piece of timber that could have been Durian but the lable was not helpful. the 70 is too narrow. I am going to have a look at the specialist timber supplier next time I am in the Mount.


I mentioned the date as when I think I found them but may have been earlier. The data was recorded when I purchased samples for the project and was circa 2011.


I wondered if the date also applied to the parts.


I mentioned the date as when I think I found them but may have been earlier. The data was recorded when I purchased samples for the project and was circa 2011.


If they are that expensive I will make some. I already have a plastic head replacement on a cheap throwaway hammer. Guess I didn't throw it away!

I will have to think how to fit leather to a head.

Dean

[ventureoverland]

I will have to think how to fit leather to a head.

Dean

I found this on the Thorhammer site. Has good info on how it should be done and diagrams to show what the head itself needs to end up like.

I figured a 32mm Thor face insert would want a 40mm OD head. Does that sound about right?

J

[BaronJ]

The spares are not there in Bunnings now, but if you ring them they might get them on special order.Bunnings and others use those numbers (fineline number) to identify product,so if you quote them ,they might be able to come back with a price. If you see the entry I recorded what I paid for them.which was $17 & $19.


Heres what they are now at one of the bolt mobs

https://www.bolt.com.au/thor-hammer-m-81.html

Grahame

At those prices you'd need a second mortgage.:o:o:o