A ball peen hammer

This is not tagged with Things I Have Broken. Although it is possible I broke the handle that went along with this hammer-head, I may have just found it in my travels. I don’t recall ever owning a functional ball peen hammer. Either way, I fixed it.

I used a near-sized stick from a cherry tree I cut down last spring. Following some YouTuber guidance I slowly chiseled down the bit that goes in the hole until it fit all the way down snugly. Then I rasped away the bark, did some light sanding, and ‘polished’ the rust away from the head with a wire brush.

One thing I noticed…I need a wood vise. (BopOp – I only barely nicked that really sharp chisel blade one time when the stick came loose.) Oh yeah – and I should make myself a sharpening station too.

After the handle was sanded smooth I cut a slot in the top, sliced off teensy piece of Brazilian cherry I’ve had for many years, tapped it in till it broke, and cut it off clean with a coping saw.

There is a small check in the handle; but that probably won’t matter for a peening hammer. If it does, well this only took about 90 minutes; next time perhaps 45. The slight curve to the handle may be more problematic once I start using it.

Also…I’m gonna need some linseed oil.

2 thoughts on “A ball peen hammer”

  1. Looks great. Did you mean a small “crack” in the handle? If you wind some tape or jute twine tightly around it near the head of the hammer, after applying a bit of glue in the crack, it should last longer. Gpa-E. would be proud.

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    1. So far it seems to be holding up. I actually used this hammer the other day to straighten the spoke-pin on my new marking gauge – when I was done using it I shortened the handle / removed some of the crooked at the end. Much better. 🙂

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