easy straight peen hammer

[arftist]

The cross pein hammer, aka blacksmiths hammer is very handy, but sometimes a straight pein is better for a certain job. Needing a straight pein in a hurry one day, I took an engineers hammer, left the handle intact, locked the head in a vice, and using a hand held grinder with a cutoff wheel, cut the head to the shape of a straight pein. I cut carefully, to not raise the temperature enough that it would "lose its temper" i.e. need to be rehardened and tempered. I then finished shaping the head on a belt sander, giving me a usable tool, far faster than making one from scratch.

[HWooldridge]

Good tip - an easy way to convert a tool without forging. I might also add that on a conventional square faced hammer, the two edges parallel to the handle are essentially straight peens. I have a little 2 lb hammer that I dressed to have about 3/4" radii all the way around - the only "flat" spot is squarely in the center of the face and even that is a large radius, while the peen side is a regular cross pattern (although a very large radius across the face, about 3"). This hammer is a drawing fool and will pull a point in nothing flat - especially if working over the far side of the anvil; it's essentially a set of double drawing dies.

[ThomasPowers]

You could hammer a plug into the handl hole and then just turn it over and slit and drift a handle one that way.

Frankly I'd rather spend the time forging than grinding!

At a recent meeting, a fellow had a hammer he wanted to be made into a 45 deg pein. Popped it into the forge and then used the forging press for a couple of bumps and it was done. Heat treat isn't that hard for a hammer---lots easier than for a knife.

[skunkriv]

Another tool easily converted to a straight pein hammer is a handled cold cut. Cut the very end off of the chisel end in the chop saw and grind to finish (or just grind all the way). You have to harden both ends because the struck end of the hot cut was not originally hardened at all. Makes a nice medium weight hammer.

[arftist]

skunkriv, thanks for contributing. I was saving that one for when I couldn't think of any other tips. Thomas, apreciate your input, These are pretty much beginer level tips. If you heavy hitters start chipping in, I'll kick it up a notch.

[ThomasPowers]

Well my point is that reforging a hammer is within a beginner's skills. Hammer heads without handles or with busted handles are generally cheap at fleamarkets. Now I will admit that hammering on larger higher carbon stock can be a learning experience for a newer smith; but it's a good one to have. Teaching people that we make the tools rather than the tools control what we do is once of the great parts about smithing!

Sort of like a book I have on building medieval furniture that was advising folks to use an arc welder to do some of the iron work. I corresponded with the Author about suggesting a forge instead and his reply was "How many folks have a forge" I told him you could build a ground forge for *nothing* and for simple iron work it was very easy to learn to use and asked him how cheap buying an arc welder and learning to use it was? (Also that the forged work would look like the originals where the arc weld and grind work would not!).

Just trying to widen peoples skill sets and they way they think about working metal.

Another hammer making/modification is to take a RR bolt, (not spike, a dome headed bolt) and split and drift it for a handle making it a great dishing hammer. I like to put the handle back in the screw thread area to have a long neck on the hammer so it can get deep inside a dished form. Giving that neck a bend in it so that the hammer hits true deep inside also helps.

Oops sorry to hijack the thread so much...

[arftist]

Thankyou Thomas. The knowledge is flowing. Skunkriv added the grind to shape method of forming or modifying a tool or a hammer head, ( a method practiced almost entirely by some respected knife-makers), and Thomas is ready to split and drift. To make sure another important method of toolmaking does not go unmentioned, Some hammer heads are easy or different to make than punched and drifted or split and drift. A chunk of round or square brass, bronze, copper, zinc, plastic(of almost any type) wood, etc, all make usefull hammers for the metalworker. A variety of sizes in each or any material is handy as well. Put stock in mill, mill apropriate size slot. Put in bench vice, ease one end of the hole with a die grinder, turn part over, taper the opening nicely, at least 2/3 of the way down. This will be the side you drive the wedge. If you do not have a mill and a die grinder, divide required opening into 5 even spaces. Center punch the three center lines. A section of angle or the right size channel can give a straight line along a cylinder. Drill out the three holes to 1/4", then drill with larger bit to fit handle thickness. In place of diegrinder, use files.