Will be trying a Lump Hammer of sorts

[adamcherubini]

I haven't yet sprung for The Schwarz's lump hammer, but I admit I like how they look.

A recent flea-market walk-through gave me a 2-1/2 lb hammer head in need of a new handle.   So I finally shaved up the hickory, wedged it, etc.




Lots of folks will tell you that a nice oiled hammer handle feels better than a varnished one.   So the new handle is being oiled (old handle lying nearby), and a nice Joiner's hammer I have is is being converted from varnish to oil here:




Looking forward to seeing how I like the poor-man's Lump Hammer!

Chris

I don't get it- I'm so out of the loop.  So is Chris recommending the use of a big steel or brass hammer?

Maybe the puffy shirt police will come for me for this one: What about dead blows?  I've been using dead blow hammers on carpentry chisels (Stanley #60).  Dead blows are special.  Weight isn't weight. At impact, I think hammer moment mv turns into the integral of force over time SFdt. mv=SFdt So mass and velocity being equal, a dead blow impact is slower (longer dt) which results in less force but teh same drive if that makes sense. I think you want to hit your edge tools with the softest mass you can - fist, palm, rawhide hammer? urethane mallet, etc. I feel I was once known for my controversial technique of pushing chisels with my shoulder. This is probably the ultimate destination for this approach where the "hammer" is 100lbs of my upper body moving very slowly.

I'm sure Chris knows all this. So does he hold the lump hammer in his fist and strike the tool with his hand? Can someone bring me up to speed?  What is Chris really doing and is anyone else driving chisels with dead blows?

[bandit571]

Have been known to drive chisels using my chin.....after all, might as well get some use out of a solid bone head.....

One hand guides the sharp end
One hand at the top of the chisel's handle
Rest chin on the handle, sight down the chisel....and push down.....trimmed many a tenon this way....easier on me back, than using the shoulder.  

YMMV


Waiting on the "No Hammer used" crowd to show how they do mortises....in Ash....with pictures, of course.   

GE Hong:  The fellow uses a #2 Carpenter's  hatchet, to drive chisels to chop mortises...faster than a machine could....while sitting ON the board being chopped.

[Handplanesandmore]

Waiting on the "No Hammer used" crowd to show how they do mortises....in Ash....with pictures, of course.   

Like this (with pictures)?

https://www.google.com/search?client=fir...CAY&uact=5

Jim Kingshott used mallets for mortising; Sellers a Thorex hammer.

Several quoted that the lump hammer was Alan Peters's favorite tool, but I have never seen Alan use one in photos or videos. So I don't know what he really used it for. He did have a worn round wooden mallet in the tool tray on his workbench when Cosman was seen visiting him.

Simon

[Rob Young]

re: lump hammer gripping and use

I can't speak for anyone else but I have experimented with using an engineers hammer -- so reasonably heavy and probably comparable in weight to what we are discussing -- to drive mortise chisels. However I'm not holding it out at the end of the handle. I'm choking up and I try to both grip it lightly (not to be confused with loosely) as well as do a sort of wrist snap like a drummer does. Choking up I have plenty of control. Haven't decided if I like this better than other methods. Just not enough shop time in the past 6 mo...

As for use as a persuader, it works fine but I've got a sacrificial piece of pine or poplar that takes the impact. Usually. I am a believer in the dry-fit method and if you can't close up the joint correctly then, you ain't doin' it right. But having said that, I mentioned "glue seize". Happens once in a while to me, I get the dry fit maybe just a smidge too tight and the moisture causes things to swell and get stuck. So it takes more than a bump with my fist to close up. A lump hammer works pretty well for this. But so would just about any sort of deadblow or carpenter's mallet. But to be honest, I'll just grab the heaviest thing I can reach if I get panic'd like that and don't have the hammer near by...

[Alan S]

Here's a link to The English Woodworker's blog describing how he uses a lump hammer.  At the end he has a link to a video where he discusses his use.

[Handplanesandmore]

Here's a link to The English Woodworker's blog describing how he uses a lump hammer.  At the end he has a link to a video where he discusses his use.

He has since joined Sellers's camp:

https://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/bes...ng-mallet/

Simon

[Timberwolf]

He has since joined Sellers's camp:

https://www.theenglishwoodworker.com/bes...ng-mallet/

Simon

.............................
Here's the biggest "lump" hammer I can handle these days......I made it about 45yrs ago, weighs less than 2oz.


free photo hosting

and other "pee-wee's" I didn't make....

[Handplanesandmore]

Wow.

Simon

[cputnam]

I used a drilling hammer when I started on a pole barn crew. Was up on a ladder trying to sing a 60d ring shank nail with it and hot my thumb. After that, I went out and got a proper 28 oz framing hammer with a checkered face. Since then "lumo" hammers have only been used for random disassembly of old projects and not for anything new.

[Bibliophile 13]

Ah, thank Heaven somebody finally brought this up!  Always fun to watch the pot get stirred a little bit.  

At first glance, I never really saw a need on my workbench for a 2+ lb. steel hammer.  If I was doing metal work, then sure.  But not for woodwork.  On the rare occasions I need something heavier than my 16 oz. joiner's mallet, I have a 20 oz. claw hammer I can use.  

So when I saw LAP selling what looked like a (very nicely made) miniature sledge hammer for $85, I had to know what on earth was going on.  Why is this tool even needed in a woodworking shop?  And who spends $85 on a simple hammer, anyway?  

Then I started reading Chris's descriptions of how he was using this thing.  And it got me thinking.  And experimenting.  First I started keeping my big claw hammer on the bench, but the claw got in the way a lot.  I was always afraid I was going to mar a workpiece with it.  Then I pulled out an old 16 oz. ball peen hammer and put it on my workbench.  I used it for the duration of a couple projects.  And you know, I used it more than I thought I would.  It was especially handy for two things: setting holdfasts and joint assembly.  I had been using my mallets on my holdfasts, but they never seemed to seat them quite snuggly enough.  And tapping the back of a holdfast with a joiner's mallet requires quite a bit of clearance behind the holdfast--and my bench does get cluttered as the work progresses.  The steel hammer was far more effective for both setting and releasing holdfasts.  Then, during joint assembly, I found a metal hammer to be pretty effective for closing up sticky joints.  I do like tight joints, and since I always use scrap as blocking to prevent a striking tool from marring the work anyway, using the steel hammer was no more difficult than using the joiner's mallet.  

I have no interest in using a steel hammer on my mortise chisels, however.  I'm sure that a steel handle would indeed drive them deeper than my wooden mallet does.  But it would eventually destroy the handles, too.  Sometimes "more effective" is not worth the long-term cost.  

All that to say, I'm not about to buy a Crucible lump hammer.  But I will be keeping an eye out for a 2 lb. sledge that I can keep on my workbench.  Ideally an old one that I can re-handle. 

Product description of the Crucible lump hammer here.