May 4, 201511 yr So I got an email the other day regarding a custom order for a hammer. The guy asked how much a 10"x10"x15" hammer would weigh out of steel. I replied back:425 lbs. A short time later he replied, how about out of tungsten? My answer: 1047lbs. I gave him the weights for a few other metals as well. This morning he writes me back and asks if I'd be willing to forge a smaller version with his new blueprint at 100 lbs?! I would understand if this was a yard sculpture or for an exhibit, etc, but I'm almost certain he wants this as a wearable costume piece! Does he realize how much 100lbs actually weighs?! I told him it'd be $4000 and two months for me to undertake such a project, (and that the haft will probably snap under the weight of the head, so I cant make any guarantees). I dont honestly know how I'll do it (buy a Bridgeport and start milling a blank?!), but I'm hoping the numbers scare him away - otherwise I've got a nice deposit and a headache trying to figure out how to forge an anvil on a stick! I get emails like this all the time from random people.. normally after I tell them the weights they respectfully stop writing, but this guy is persistent - 6 emails and counting! Anyone else get these type of requests and how do you deal with them?J
May 4, 201511 yr Carve it out of foam or wax and cast it in alum. His original size should come up to close to 150 lbs and if you make it hollow, you could cut the weight down for him. Maybe cast it in 2 halves and weld the two together. Cast in plastic or urethane rubber would also be an option. If he wants, I have a 30 lb straight peen sledge he can swing for awhile on some concrete. LOL
May 4, 201511 yr Goliath's coat of mail supposedly weighed 125 lbs - this old boy might be pretty stout if he wants to wear a costume piece...<LOL>
May 4, 201511 yr Author I've given him options. Even offered 10x10 tube. 38lbs give or take with a decent steel capped haft. He insists that it be solid! Lol yeah, he thinks its gonna be impressive, I think he's been watching too many comic book movies (I'm guilty of that too) and his friends are going to think he's a weinie when he's lugging this thing around a renaissance faire and having to stop every ten feet. I made a 30lb hammer a few years back for a guy who was 6'6" and built like the god of thunder and even he said it was a little too much for a costume piece and ended up having it copied by a machine shop from aluminum.J
May 4, 201511 yr I cannot imagine a 30 lb hammer - I have a 16 lb. sledge and it is a beast to swing at the anvil. I can use it for about one heat if someone is holding the work while I whale away...
May 4, 201511 yr Author I cannot imagine a 30 lb hammer - I have a 16 lb. sledge and it is a beast to swing at the anvil. I can use it for about one heat if someone is holding the work while I whale away...Thats way too much abuse for one of my delicate babies! Most we use in the shop for striking is 8lbs and then we let gravity do most of the work. Although i do have a 20lb sledge just sitting against the wall because its really darn impressive to look at. I'll see if I can dig up a pic of the 30lb hammer.. if I remember correctly it was more like 22lbs with 8lbs of lead in the 16" or 20" wood handle just to keep it manageable in the belt loop holder he had made. I think the holder was just a modified carpenters hammer loop with leather straps to keep the thing from jingling around when he walked. Haven't seen the guy for a few years but he used to be a regular patron at the Pa Faire.J
May 5, 201511 yr I have to use one of those 20 pounders at work every couple of months. It usually gets used to break loose a big "wing" nut for what amounts to a 16" diameter bolt. It is a pretty good workout to side swing this thing for 15 minutes to half an hour. I'm glad I don't have to do full swings with it on a regular basis, and I almost never have to windmill it. I can't even begin to imagine a 1000 pound hammer. PS: Did this guy happen to have a red beard and have a thing against frost giants?
May 5, 201511 yr Author A quick update, his reply "Thanks for the intel, but I'm sorry, I can't ask for this".. J
May 5, 201511 yr Yes, some folks ARE just daft. The proper response is: "The bank just called. Your Reality check just bounced."Someone posted a video of a client struggling to wield a fantasy ax in that size range, show them that. Although, it might make a good prop for the World's Strongest Man competition........................................
May 5, 201511 yr If you fabricated it out of sheet and made a stopper he could load it to a suitable weight for the occasion with lead shot or water; sawdust; corn; flour…..spinach...Alan
May 5, 201511 yr cartoon physics... Its like politics its all about the optics of the situation. Its about perception and what makes you look good, it has nothing to do with reality. I prefer Truth, and beauty, and reality. Form should follow function! Edited May 5, 201511 yr by SJS
May 5, 201511 yr A beer barrel on a stick! Brilliant!I went out drinking last night and got really hammered!I drank a hammer and got really smashed!the more I drink the lighter (hammer) headed I get!Alan Edited May 5, 201511 yr by Alan Evans
May 7, 201511 yr If charging ungodly amounts of money doesn't work, you could just say no.Also, Goliath's coat depends on the translation you use, and your definition of a shekel. Or are we talking about the Sunday morning claymation thing?
May 7, 201511 yr I'm not, I had to get up and go pee!An old friend's boyfriend insists he isn't going to buy a Samari sword till I make it for him. I've been telling him for more than 20 years I don't make blades and he still expects a Katana from me. At least I won't have to worry about the check clearing.Thinking about it if I were willing to make some of the big giant swords I've been asked to make I could have a TV show!Frosty the unwilling to make one.
May 13, 201511 yr My anvil is only just over 300 pounds and i struggle to lift that. How the heck did he expect to swing a hammer that heavy?
May 13, 201511 yr Because his vidio game controler is so light and weildy...holywood uses a lot of foam and urithan plastic, to include bricks, blocks and "I" beams. Not to mention thor's hammer. We who work in the real world can tell when a oil drum is empty or full just by watching the actors move it... Edited May 13, 201511 yr by Charles R. Stevens
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