plane hammer

[JSpill]

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.

[Timberwolf]

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.

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"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......

[Admiral]

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.

[Alan S]

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.

[bandit571]

There is a type of hammer, that I use....drive a brad, adjust a plane iron, or drive a chisel..
 
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Cross pean, square head..aka Riveting Hammer.....usually about 7oz.   Used it today, not just for driving a mortise chisel...
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I needed to adjust the cutter in the stanley 45  a bit to the side...these planes don't have a lateral adjust lever...

[Timberwolf]

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...

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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....

[Carl Grover]

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

[Timberwolf]

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........

[bandit571]

Had to make a new handle for one hammer..
 

   
But this was more for a Cobbler....

[C. in Indy]

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.

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