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plane hammer - JSpill - 05-19-2018
Sometimes I seem to look for tools I don't really need. Then I come here and ask for opinions on various tools. After reading the folks comments I leave here convinced I must have that tool. Today's tool is a plane hammer. Presently, I use a $4.99 watchmaker's hammer from Harbor Freight. Why do I need to buy a Veritas, Lie Nielsen, Glen Drake, etc. hammer? Please entice me. Who's product must I purchase? Thanks.
RE: plane hammer - Timberwolf - 05-19-2018
(05-19-2018, 01:39 PM)JSpill Wrote: Sometimes I seem to look for tools I don't really need. Then I come here and ask for opinions on various tools. After reading the folks comments I leave here convinced I must have that tool. Today's tool is a plane hammer. Presently, I use a $4.99 watchmaker's hammer from Harbor Freight. Why do I need to buy a Veritas, Lie Nielsen, Glen Drake, etc. hammer? Please entice me. Who's product must I purchase? Thanks.,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,
"Why do I need to buy a Veritas, Lie Nielsen, Glen Drake, etc. hammer? Please entice me. "
First you must understand that "need" has nothing to do with "wants"........secondly, a cheap HF hammer is not worthy of smiting an expensive plane blade...it would be working above it's station......
RE: plane hammer - Admiral - 05-19-2018
(05-19-2018, 01:39 PM)JSpill Wrote: Sometimes I seem to look for tools I don't really need. Then I come here and ask for opinions on various tools. After reading the folks comments I leave here convinced I must have that tool. Today's tool is a plane hammer. Presently, I use a $4.99 watchmaker's hammer from Harbor Freight. Why do I need to buy a Veritas, Lie Nielsen, Glen Drake, etc. hammer? Please entice me. Who's product must I purchase? Thanks.
None. While they are exquisite in conception and design, in the end, they are all hammers. Personally, I use a 1x1 scrap of hard maple to tap my plane irons.
That being said, if it floats your boat go for it. This is coming from a guy who paid $170 for a TFWW saw vice!!! So there you go.
RE: plane hammer - Alan S - 05-19-2018
It can be hard to predict what will make a difference. Many decades ago I bought a set of Cinelli handlebars for my bicycle because they looked cool, though I knew they would not make me a better cyclist. But when I came to a hill, I'd put my head down, see the handlebars, and think "what kind of an person spends that much on handlebars, if he's not going to pedal harder than this?" And I would.
If getting the expensive hammer will make your work better or more pleasant, it could be worth it. Whether it matters at all depends on you.
RE: plane hammer - bandit571 - 05-19-2018
There is a type of hammer, that I use....drive a brad, adjust a plane iron, or drive a chisel..
[attachment=10456]
Cross pean, square head..aka Riveting Hammer.....usually about 7oz. Used it today, not just for driving a mortise chisel...
[attachment=10457]
I needed to adjust the cutter in the stanley 45 a bit to the side...these planes don't have a lateral adjust lever...
RE: plane hammer - Timberwolf - 05-21-2018
(05-19-2018, 08:43 PM)bandit571 Wrote: There is a type of hammer, that I use....drive a brad, adjust a plane iron, or drive a chisel.........................
Cross pean, square head..aka Riveting Hammer.....usually about 7oz. Used it today, not just for driving a mortise chisel...
I needed to adjust the cutter in the stanley 45 a bit to the side...these planes don't have a lateral adjust lever...
I like hammers and have dozens of them..I particularly like the smaller, more unusual types, but don't have a specific one in mind for adjusting a plane blade..I usually just grab the closest one...I made the one shown on the right in the photo about fifty years ago..I used a 3/4" Grade 8 bolt and turned it on my lunch hour at work using the shop's metal lathe...at the time, I was also interested in silver-smithing and lapidary..
The hammer on the left is engraved "From George to Eliza, class of 1903"...it has a storey to tell....
I suggest you check Ebay and find one you really like and make a bid on it...There's some really nice old hammers to be had and at much better prices than some of the "custom made" hammers....
![[Image: IMG_0448.jpg]](https://s31.postimg.cc/4i6hoqxvv/IMG_0448.jpg)
![[Image: IMG_0443.jpg]](https://s31.postimg.cc/vg0eq484r/IMG_0443.jpg)
RE: plane hammer - Carl Grover - 05-22-2018
I've been using a cheapie little hammer that's kicked around forever to adjust my planes. Then I thought I had to have the LV plane hammer so I got one. I hated it. It's just too heavy. I guess I must have my cheapy hammer perfectly calibrated so I went back to using it.
carl
RE: plane hammer - Timberwolf - 05-22-2018
(05-22-2018, 09:02 AM)Carl Grover Wrote: I've been using a cheapie little hammer that's kicked around forever to adjust my planes. Then I thought I had to have the LV plane hammer so I got one. I hated it. It's just too heavy. I guess I must have my cheapy hammer perfectly calibrated so I went back to using it.
carl
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Couple more little guys I liberated on a tool rescue expedition recently at Shupps Grove Flea market in Adamstown Pa........
![[Image: P1030487.jpg]](https://s19.postimg.cc/yruah4y2n/P1030487.jpg)
RE: plane hammer - bandit571 - 05-22-2018
Had to make a new handle for one hammer..
[attachment=10542]
But this was more for a Cobbler....
RE: plane hammer - C. in Indy - 05-22-2018
And for my part, I also like a lighter hammer. For woodie planes I also like an all-wood hammer, just in case I smack somewhere other than the metal strike button. My favorite adjuster hammer is a tad over 7 oz. Tonight I scrounged a dense piece of oak to work up another hammer, this one just about 6 oz total. I like a bit of "bounce" in the hammer, and these do that for me.
[attachment=10546]