Tony Haukap
06-27-2014, 3:54 AM
I usually find homemade tools disappointing. Even taking something like an old worn-out screwdriver and grinding it into a scratch awl doesn't for me compare to a store bought scratch awl. I like quality made tools and it's hard to duplicate that same level of quality in the home shop. However, I thought I would share this homemade one that I actually use quite a lot. In fact, come to think of it, and I may revise this later, but aside from some shop made jigs and fixtures I believe it's the *only* homemade tool I use!
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What can you make out of this?
http://i57.tinypic.com/2qspdg1.jpg
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A HAMMER! And not just any hammer; it's a Copper Faced, Dead-Blow Hammer! Made from commonly available plumbing fittings, some lead shot, a wood dowel and 2-cents! The photos here shows 3/4" diameter plumbing fittings and I've found it's a nice size/weight ratio. I have also made these hammers before from 1" plumbing fittings. 1/2" is too small for my use, but may work well for scale model makers.
http://i57.tinypic.com/2gwt6xf.jpg
Why would you want such a thing? Well for one thing it doesn't mark 2) rebound is minimal and 3) you can't buy anything like it in a store... at least not the stores around me.
I don't know what version this is, but the first ones I made I used copper for the handle - this was over 35 years ago - the all copper design is fine, but every time you use it your hands end up having "that copper smell" to them. Also, I don't know where the design came from, it's a little too clever for me to have come up with it on my own... it could have been based on something I saw in a magazine, but that information has been lost to history.
.
http://i58.tinypic.com/o0qpmq.jpg
Soldering would melt the lead, so I use JB Weld Epoxy to hold it all together, but any kind of epoxy will be fine. I think I used to solder them together and use BB-gun (brass?) BB's as the fill. But, the last few I have used epoxy with success (none have fallen apart at the joints!) which works well with the wood handle as well as the lead filling.
.
http://i60.tinypic.com/qycpxd.jpg
Cut the lead into rice sized pieces... I have lots of soft pig lead and buckets and buckets filled with lead wheel weights and just used an old chef's knife on a wood board to slice off pieces and chop it up. A coarse wood rasp would also work well. Yeah, if you have never worked with pure lead, it's that soft! Some leads are alloys, like the type used in wheel weights, that have tin and antimony added to made it harder and you probably wouldn't be able to cut it as easily with a knife, but pure lead is very soft and workable. Lead buck shot would work just as well. Sand would work too probably, although it may end up being a little light weight.
.
http://i59.tinypic.com/1zlpqv4.jpg
Cut about 1/4" off both the long ends of the tee fitting. I used a 6x48 belt sander and sanded it off - however, be careful! Copper gets wicked hot quickly, even with a coarse grit belt! Keep a small water bowl nearby to quench the piece. While this step is not absolutely necessary it does give the hammer better overall proportions.
.
http://i57.tinypic.com/iqx7ci.jpg
Some connecting pieces cut from 3/4" copper pipe fit into the cap ends.
.
http://i61.tinypic.com/ka67fd.jpg
Here's my 2 cents! Solder a penny inside the cap. Heat the cap and flow some solder into it and while keeping the solder liquid heat the penny and drop it into the cap. Follow common copper soldering practices; clean, flux, etc. I suppose you could also use the epoxy to attach them. Because the copper is pretty thin on the end caps this helps to keep the cap from denting which ultimately leads to it splitting/cracking and the lead leaking out. FYI the pennies weren't selected for any particular reason,... I just happened to pull two 1977 pennies out from the loose change in my pocket.
.
http://i62.tinypic.com/xarsyf.jpg
I like the feel of wood so that's what I use. This is a 7/8" wood dowel cut 11" long. 7/8" fits perfectly in the tee fitting without messing around with it. A notch is cut in the wood handle to allow the lead to flow freely past the handle. Probably not really necessary, but I've always done it that way. Just insert the wood dowel into the tee and mark it through the open end to remove the 'center' obstruction portion. There's no reason why you couldn't use a store bought 'real' hammer handle, as long as you turn the end down to fit into the tee and it seals tightly anything will work.
.
http://i62.tinypic.com/vqr58g.jpg
Bevel at the end of the hammer handle. Purely for looks and comfort. It's your hammer, you can do anything you want; drill a hole in it to hang it up, or screw an eyelet into the end if you so desire.
.
http://i60.tinypic.com/21b28o9.jpghttp://i58.tinypic.com/10xriah.jpg
There you have it! A quick, easy, simple and very useful Dead-Blow Copper Faced Hammer! I never knew what they weighed before so I grabbed the kitchen scale and weighed it; empty weight is about 5.5 ounces and it holds just about 5oz of lead and that's held down about a 3/8" from overflowing to give the lead some room to move back and forth.
.
If you were so inclined, the caps and tees are sold 10 in a bag, you could setup a little production line and turn out a number of these rather quickly.
.
What can you make out of this?
http://i57.tinypic.com/2qspdg1.jpg
.
.
A HAMMER! And not just any hammer; it's a Copper Faced, Dead-Blow Hammer! Made from commonly available plumbing fittings, some lead shot, a wood dowel and 2-cents! The photos here shows 3/4" diameter plumbing fittings and I've found it's a nice size/weight ratio. I have also made these hammers before from 1" plumbing fittings. 1/2" is too small for my use, but may work well for scale model makers.
http://i57.tinypic.com/2gwt6xf.jpg
Why would you want such a thing? Well for one thing it doesn't mark 2) rebound is minimal and 3) you can't buy anything like it in a store... at least not the stores around me.
I don't know what version this is, but the first ones I made I used copper for the handle - this was over 35 years ago - the all copper design is fine, but every time you use it your hands end up having "that copper smell" to them. Also, I don't know where the design came from, it's a little too clever for me to have come up with it on my own... it could have been based on something I saw in a magazine, but that information has been lost to history.
.
http://i58.tinypic.com/o0qpmq.jpg
Soldering would melt the lead, so I use JB Weld Epoxy to hold it all together, but any kind of epoxy will be fine. I think I used to solder them together and use BB-gun (brass?) BB's as the fill. But, the last few I have used epoxy with success (none have fallen apart at the joints!) which works well with the wood handle as well as the lead filling.
.
http://i60.tinypic.com/qycpxd.jpg
Cut the lead into rice sized pieces... I have lots of soft pig lead and buckets and buckets filled with lead wheel weights and just used an old chef's knife on a wood board to slice off pieces and chop it up. A coarse wood rasp would also work well. Yeah, if you have never worked with pure lead, it's that soft! Some leads are alloys, like the type used in wheel weights, that have tin and antimony added to made it harder and you probably wouldn't be able to cut it as easily with a knife, but pure lead is very soft and workable. Lead buck shot would work just as well. Sand would work too probably, although it may end up being a little light weight.
.
http://i59.tinypic.com/1zlpqv4.jpg
Cut about 1/4" off both the long ends of the tee fitting. I used a 6x48 belt sander and sanded it off - however, be careful! Copper gets wicked hot quickly, even with a coarse grit belt! Keep a small water bowl nearby to quench the piece. While this step is not absolutely necessary it does give the hammer better overall proportions.
.
http://i57.tinypic.com/iqx7ci.jpg
Some connecting pieces cut from 3/4" copper pipe fit into the cap ends.
.
http://i61.tinypic.com/ka67fd.jpg
Here's my 2 cents! Solder a penny inside the cap. Heat the cap and flow some solder into it and while keeping the solder liquid heat the penny and drop it into the cap. Follow common copper soldering practices; clean, flux, etc. I suppose you could also use the epoxy to attach them. Because the copper is pretty thin on the end caps this helps to keep the cap from denting which ultimately leads to it splitting/cracking and the lead leaking out. FYI the pennies weren't selected for any particular reason,... I just happened to pull two 1977 pennies out from the loose change in my pocket.
.
http://i62.tinypic.com/xarsyf.jpg
I like the feel of wood so that's what I use. This is a 7/8" wood dowel cut 11" long. 7/8" fits perfectly in the tee fitting without messing around with it. A notch is cut in the wood handle to allow the lead to flow freely past the handle. Probably not really necessary, but I've always done it that way. Just insert the wood dowel into the tee and mark it through the open end to remove the 'center' obstruction portion. There's no reason why you couldn't use a store bought 'real' hammer handle, as long as you turn the end down to fit into the tee and it seals tightly anything will work.
.
http://i62.tinypic.com/vqr58g.jpg
Bevel at the end of the hammer handle. Purely for looks and comfort. It's your hammer, you can do anything you want; drill a hole in it to hang it up, or screw an eyelet into the end if you so desire.
.
http://i60.tinypic.com/21b28o9.jpghttp://i58.tinypic.com/10xriah.jpg
There you have it! A quick, easy, simple and very useful Dead-Blow Copper Faced Hammer! I never knew what they weighed before so I grabbed the kitchen scale and weighed it; empty weight is about 5.5 ounces and it holds just about 5oz of lead and that's held down about a 3/8" from overflowing to give the lead some room to move back and forth.
.
If you were so inclined, the caps and tees are sold 10 in a bag, you could setup a little production line and turn out a number of these rather quickly.