New plane setting hammer(s)

[Derek Cohen]

I received a rather nice plane setting hammer from Dave Anderson (Chester Tool Works). It was immediately put to use on my HNT Gordon woodies.

Great weight and feel. Thanks Dave!

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Mallets%20and%20hammers/Planemallet1.jpg

Dave's hammer inspired me to try and make a smaller version (because I was interested to discover what the effect of this would be). I picked up a cheap brass jeweller's hammer on eBay and converted this (rather extensively).

Dave's is 300 gm and the one I made is 200 gm.

One side is brass for blade adjustment, and the other is leather for the plane body. Here is the result alongside Dave's ..

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Mallets%20and%20hammers/Planemallet2.jpg

.. and a close up ...

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a262/Derek50/Mallets%20and%20hammers/Planemallet3.jpg

I must tell you that hammers are not easy to make. This gives me a whole lot of respect for Dave's work!

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Frank Drew]

Nice work, Derek. I've given some thought to making one with a greenheart head since I have some with no particular other use for, and I'm nervous about using a steel hammer on an older infill plane.

[Dave Anderson NH]

Thank you Derek, I'm glad you're enjoying it. How long did it take for it to arrive? My fastest shipment to Oz was a int'l priority mail in 5 days to just south of Sydney. 'Course that's on the opposite coast from you.

[Frank Drew]

That's a nice hammer, Dave; what wood is that you used in the head?

[Derek Cohen]

Hi Dave

Shipping probably took about 7-10 days. That is very acceptable.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Dave Anderson NH]

Hi Frank,

I've always used Lignum Vitae for the wooden part of the heads, but I'm in the process of experimenting with alternatives. Good solid and crack free lignum is getting harder to find and it has a tendency to be unstable with humidity changes and can crack 6-12 months down the road. For the last 8 months I've had 2 of my personal hammers with Jatoba heads in use and testing. So far they show no signs of problems. I kind of like the color better than the lignum too.

[Frank Drew]

Thanks, Dave.