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Thread: hitting holdfasts with metal hammer

  1. #31
    I just got to thinking - has anyone tried a 2 pound brass mallet? Seems like it would pack a punch without causing a dent or bur on the holdfast?
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  2. #32
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frederick Skelly View Post
    I just got to thinking - has anyone tried a 2 pound brass mallet? Seems like it would pack a punch without causing a dent or bur on the holdfast?
    I have one. I don't use it for woodworking. That's more for automotive work and cost about the same as a holdfast

  3. #33
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    Quote Originally Posted by Frederick Skelly View Post
    I just got to thinking - has anyone tried a 2 pound brass mallet? Seems like it would pack a punch without causing a dent or bur on the holdfast?
    What about the mallet? Could it dent from the holdfast?

    My biggest question in all of this is what is wrong with hitting a holdfast with a wooden mallet?

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  4. #34
    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    What about the mallet? Could it dent from the holdfast?

    My biggest question in all of this is what is wrong with hitting a holdfast with a wooden mallet?

    jtk
    Bet you're right Jim - the holdfast probably will ding the brass mallet.
    Nothing wrong with using wood mallets at all. Was just a thought.
    "All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing."

    “If you want to know what a man's like, take a good look at how he treats his inferiors, not his equals.”

  5. #35
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jim Koepke View Post
    What about the mallet? Could it dent from the holdfast?

    My biggest question in all of this is what is wrong with hitting a holdfast with a wooden mallet?

    jtk
    It'd get ruined a breakneck speed compared to the holdfast. Use what you want, it's not going to break it anyway.

  6. #36
    Quote Originally Posted by mike stenson View Post
    It'd get ruined a breakneck speed compared to the holdfast. Use what you want, it's not going to break it anyway.
    Mike,

    Ain't that the truth . I've had a hard time controlling the snark with this thread. Worry about hitting a holdfast with a metal hammer, I don't think so because first if you use a metal hammer it takes less force to set the holdfast. Second if a metal hammer damages the holdfast it, the holdfast, isn't worth having. I use whatever hammer/mallet is at hand to set my holdfast. They all work but the lump hammer works best.

    ken

  7. #37
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    Well Ken,

    On the plus side, between this and the other mallet thread, I'm gonna make a green Mesquite mallet one of these weekends.

  8. #38
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    Quote Originally Posted by mike stenson View Post
    It'd get ruined a breakneck speed compared to the holdfast. Use what you want, it's not going to break it anyway.
    My wood mallets hit holdfasts and haven't had a problem yet. It may be my holdfasts are different:

    Holdfasts w:Stanley #39.jpg


    The flat bar top has more springiness than a solid rod with an arc.

    It is also likely to be less shock to the face of a mallet than a rod would be.

    These were holdfasts made by Harry Strasil, AKA Junior, may he be resting in peace.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

  9. #39
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    Well I have to come clean and admit all this runs counter to what I would have expected to hear. Very interesting to say the least. I have always gone out of my way to get my wooden mallet every time I use my Grammercy holdfasts. I’ll probably continue to do so but now for a different reason. I don’t think I’d like the sound of metal on metal.
    But wow, I just assumed striking it with a metal hammer would be bad for it in the long run.

  10. #40
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    Quote Originally Posted by Kris Cook View Post
    I also have the Grammercy holdfasts and generally don't use a steel hammer to set them. This hammer is made by Estwing and is about $15 at the orange box store. It seems to be a good compromise between steel and rubber or wood.
    Yep Kris I love that mallet. One side is rubber for pounding wood and the other hard plastic for chisels and such. I got rid of all my rubber mallets.
    Michael Dilday
    Suffolk, Va.

  11. #41
    I use my wooden mallet because
    a) it's already there. Why go through the trouble of getting a different mallet for such a mundane purpose? Or why keep an extra mallet in my tool tray? I just keep two strikers - the wooden mallet and the tiny brass plane hammer.
    b) Experimenting with using a metal hammer or mallet was not fun on my ears. I use my ears for work so this was a no go.
    c) Further, experimenting led me to discover that the wooden mallet worked better. I think this has to do with the fact that the metal hammers would rebound quickly whereas the wooden mallet has significantly more contact time with the holdfast. In other words, I found a metal hammer inferior for the purpose.

  12. #42
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    I used one of those combination plastic/rubber mallets the first year or so I was doing this. The plastic side eventually broke. I like the hardwood mallet I made a lot better, but when I was starting out I did not have a hammer and that combination thing worked for a good while.

  13. #43
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    3 Pages of what to hit a piece of scrap steel with? Seriously? I just use whatever's handy, sometimes the cat.

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