Hi Tom, Grinder artist...! As I see people using their hammers, you will have a lifetime career just offering your services at restoring their hammers. Those ones came out surprisingly nice. Cheers, Pierre
Hi Tom, cool stuff. I had a set up in a house garage. Lots of tools, etc. I purchased some office/industrial metal cabinets at a used office supply liquidator (they have a few in L.A.). They were nice heavy duty steel cabinets. They cost between $300-600 new, but I paid between $40-80!!! Killer deal. I welded together some frames out of angle iron and welded wheels to them. I placed the cabinets on the frames. Then I had nice HUGE cabinets that could roll around, out of the way, for cleaning etc. I could roll the cabinets out of the garage for more space... like musical chairs. They were huge and carried a lot of stuff and weight, but easily scooted around. I stored all of my odd tools, supplies, etc., etc. in them. I had one cabinet for glues, and adhering stuff. Another had sandpaper, abrasive, gritty, stuff. In another I kept all of my oils, lubes, greases... You know, to keep them segregated. I could roll everything to one side of the garage, sweep it clean, vacuum the floor (yeah, vacuum!), then blast any remnant dust out of the garage with a 4 foot air spray wand! Clean, baby! So, would you use an aircompressor to blast stuff off of your machines? Or would that just get crap all over your walls and floor? You said that you have a small "noise maker" compressor. I figured you could make your own compressor (another vid idea) that had a large displacement cylinder bore. The crank case would be a problem. Maybe a two stage. But, the displacement would be so large that it would only have to reciprocate a few times to pressurize a 30-60 gallon reservoir. Since it would pump such a large volume "slowly" there would be less heat, condensation and noise! Maybe some sort of sound reducing enclosure. Maybe a simple heat exchanger on the output of the compressor (where the most heat is). My point is a suggestion: You could do a couple videos on your own organization method. Not too much... thieves. Also, a vid on all the different types of lubes, oils, greases, compounds, glues.... how good they are, recommendations, and they are used/applied. Just an idea.
Hey Joe, I got tired just reading your note. I don't think I have too many magic storage solutions. In fact its one of the area's I hide from you guys All the best, Tom
Here is the reason why you can call some machinist "masters" and others no. It's the touch the measure of skill. Proud to be one of your schoolboys, Tom.
Tom - I didn't know you can polish your knobs, hahaha. From a restoration guy, that came out great. And the principal of restoring & re-newing all these inexpensive tools is something we all can relate to. Excellent as usual man.
oxtoolco I wish I had the time, and a shop to put them in. Late last winter, opportunity came knocking. So Jen my wife, and I answered the door and gave up our beautiful home in the mountains of North Idaho to move to Atlanta GA. You Know? that cool place, on the east coast where all the best machinist and welders on You Tube hang out. :-). Just joking. Loved living on the west coast, especially in San Francisco. Not to far from were you Live now. I hope to have my new shop unpacked by the new year. And start shooting some videos. I have a lot of new toys to play with. Craig List , is almost as good here as it is in the Bay. Keep up your great work.
Hi Ross, Its been a while but I actually did some work on this hammer and handle the other day. I guess I got tired of looking at it sitting on the bench all lonely like. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
The song, If i had a Hammer keeps playing in my head, If the ringing was not bad enough, Well i have to say Tom you have some mighty fine Hammers going on. And you know you can never ever have to many Hammers.
Nice video. No wonder you though my last question about hammers was funny. I was not aware that you are a hammer collector. I must have forgotten or not paid attention at some point. Now the gifts of ultra small hammers starts to make sense. I will get it all hammered out eventually. Thanks for sharing.
Excellent work, as usual, Tom. I was afraid that the ball end would end up with that "sculpted" look after grinding, but it looks like new. $1 is a very good price.
Hey Shobar, The ball ends are a little tricky with power tools. This is why you need a really slow abrasive. At 11K rpm things happen fast. Cheers, Tom
Hi! That hammer was made by a company that moved to Texas in 1940's and goes by the name of martin tools now : ) They provided tools for tin knockers back in the day and where the main competitor of fairmount tools used in railroad work as well in usa and Ca! You dont see a company logo cause they where one first ones to print it on the tools handle!
Hi Tom, nice job. one thing i like to do when i have similar jobs is to clamp the grinder handle (gently of course or remove the handle and put in a large bolt to clamp down hard) in the vice and run the work piece by hand across the wheel. you have better control in getting the round corners better and are less prone to put too much pressure on the wheel and remove more material than you want.
Hi Mikey, I do that for certain kinds of operations. I used to have to do miles of grinding like this so It feels more natural to me. Old habits die hard. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
Thanks for the vid Tom I never saw it used but I did see the head at the iron works about 1962 when I started work but it was a two man hammer , think about a ten inch dia cannon ball with two holes for the handles which came out at a acute angle , there was a bigger three man one that used a A frame and rope to lift the head while the two men guided the beast . They were use to break up scrap cast iron for the cupola to melt down . I saw these at the plant that during WW2 made bomb casings and still had the camoflage paint on until a few years ago when it was flattened . On the same vain they also had and we're still in use the boring and rifling machine that were used during the war , at the time I was there they used them to bore the molds for the spun cast iron pipe that were 18 foot long so not small machines , these were all operated by females during the war , but my dad was there to set them up a maintain them Stuart
Looked like you were using some "Wax-on / Wax-off" techniques working that norton disc on those contours! Very nicely preserved, while leaving the integrity of the age.
Hey Dan, When I was doing the work I couldn't remember what they looked like. When I edited the video it was a pretty impressive change. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
MoZz I worked at McDonnell-Douglas. They had a few hundred of the 6" Wilton Machinists vices... all over the place. The plant closed most production around 2000. They liquidated or scrapped hundreds of those vices, tools, tool cabinets, air tools..... They were auctioning them off by the pallet. Bummer.
See his "vices"??? You mean the knob polishin'??? LOL I'm pretty sure you meant "vises"........anyhow.......nice video Tom, thanks for the resto tips. Regards, Sean.
To be honest my hammers are lucky to get a wipe down with wd40. i think they deserve a little TLC after watching this. cutting the Scotch Brite pads up is just genius, great tips Tom.
That BLAZE wheel really does wonders for hammer faces. I get my hammer heads polished with a rough old file to start, then slip stones till I hit super hard translucent Arkansas, then onto the buffer. Takes a while though. Does that zep stripper remove finish from the handle? It is floor stripper after all. I coat my hammer handles in linseed oil every year, soaks in and repels dirt.
Hi Andre, It doesn't seem to attack paint that quickly. I haven't tried it on any varnished or oiled surfaces. I'm mainly using it to strip the bad weasel snot off. I don't let it sit long. Cheers, Tom
Hi Tom, Just happened to find your videos on U-Tube. Ever since I was a little shaver tagging along with my Dad, I have found machine shops fascinating. .The rafters of a firm we did business with was filled with shafts and sheaves with leather belts to drive the machines. It was quite a business; metal shop, machine shop, and foundry, blacksmith shop. Oh yes, it was a mining town.Your lathe work reminded me of how the machinists would turn huge shafts for the hydro electric dams, cutting them and arc welding new sections where the shaft had twisted or got bent or built up bearing surfaces that had become worn and then turning them so that you could not tell where the patch was made. I found this video on hammer restoration very informative but you did not show how you handled lose heads and what lube do you use on the handles? Ineed to start limiting my viewing hours so that I and get up on the nothing I have to doo all day. Cecil
Cecil Davisson Hi Cecil, Thanks for the nice comment. I would love to see that shop you described. I can almost smell it from here. On the loose heads I typically drive the wood wedge down a little further then drive the metal cross wedge down after. If they are way below the top surface of the hammer and still loose then I replace the handle. I have been using hard paste wax and oil on handles with good results. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
Nice video. I'm going to have to try the Norton disk, I've been using a red scotch brite wheel instead to restore dent hammers, mandrels, and burnishers. Do you ever finish the sheet metal hammers with tripoli or any other buffing compound? Does that corrosionx leave any film that could come off on work pieces? Buffing tools every few days gets old and I haven't found a good rust preventative that doesn't show up or scratch my work.
Hey Adam, For really fancy stuff I'll polish the hammer even more to a mirror finish. The corrosion X seems to evaporate and does not leave a noticeable film. That said I haven't tried it on one of the mirror finish faces on some polished material yet. I also use hard paste wax as a rust preventative on hammer heads.Try some of the vapor corrosion paper wrapped around the faces. Its cheap and works great without any film on the part or tool. Cheers, Tom
I'd recommend nitrile or similar gloves when using floor stripper, most types have a pH of about 14.. left long enough it will also strip paint unless it's the "no rinse" variety where the active component evaporates out, even then it's strongly alkaline while active. Either will irritate skin, or worse.
Hi Bill, I'm really liking those discs. They seem to hold up pretty well. I don't have a lot of time on that one but there is no apparent wear. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
Hey Tom, you always note whether or not the handle is original. How important is an original handle? Does it just tell you if the hammer has seen hard use?
Hi Yooki, The reason I mention it is rarely does somebody do as good a job replacing a hammer handle as the factory does originally. Its actually a hard thing to do believe it or not. Take a look at some and see for yourself. It doesn't bother me to much unless the handle is loose. cheers, Tom
Tom, loved the polishing in your "Bondage" apron, (it is the Bay area) ...but seriously, worthwhile ideas, I was expecting some sort of set up in the Autometric to refinish the ends. Exactly what hardness should hammer faces be ?
Hi Ryan, Good question. It depends what your hitting. There is a lot of variability in hammer hardness. You can thank the legal profession for soft modern tools. The older the tool the harder the cutting edge or face. Never measured one but would guess the mid 40's to low 50's Rockwell C. Cheers, Tom
+grktycoon 4-1/2 5/8-11 to fit the grinder. www.nortonindustrial.com/uploadedFiles/SGindnortonabrasives/Documents/Discs-NonWoven-BlazeRapidStrip-Flyer8303%281%29.pdf Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
At the beginning I'm thinking, 'my hammers are for hitting things, who cares what they look like'. At the end I'm thinking 'hmm that looks pretty good, may have to try it'. :D
Hey Tom, have you ever used the little 2" surface disc that fit in a 1/4" die grinder, they work wonders on things like your hammer restoring. Their like little scotch bright pads that have the roloc fastener on them
Hey John, I have a bunch of 3M roloc abrasives. My problem is I don't have a good compressor to run my air tools. Its on the list but I have tight requirements on the compressor. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
I don't have a sheet metal folder, so I use some lengths of angle Iron and a hammer. This has led some people to ask why I have a 2½ pound club hammer with a highly polished face!
Hey Paul, Have you tried a slapper for your sheet metal bends? An old piece of hardwood from a pallet and a leather face and you have a great broad contact tool for doing longer bends on the bench. All the best, Tom
oxtoolco Hardwood pallets? I rarely come across ones that aren't softwood! I have various ad-hoc tools for sheet metal work and find a way of getting the job done.
Hey Peter, I don't think I removed more than a handful of thousandths. I would suspect these hammers are at least case hardened. Typical case depths are .030-.060 They may well be through hardened as well. Interestingly there is a lot of variability in face hardness. Some are quite soft so heat treating variability is probably why the ball pein was so chowdered in the first place. Cheers, Tom
You mentioned the wire brush being from McMaster-Carr...I was wondering if you know the part number for the wheel you use...the one i bought is 4840A33 and not sure it's the same one as far as the Bristle length/thickness or the overall diameter
Tom, nice job! The hammers look almost new now. How far does the hardening usually go on a hammer face? Is is on the order of 0.050"? 0.100"? I'm guessing it isn't the whole head...that would be too brittle for use. It looked like you took off 0.005 to 0.010 to get that damage smoothed out...just wondering how many times that can be done without losing the hardened faces. -- Mike
Hey Mike, I would guess they are case hardened. The older the hammer the harder the surface. New hammers are pretty soft. Unless you really take some material off I don't think there is much chance of hurting anything. all the best, Tom
Hey Tom, I was waiting for you to pull out some type of cone shaped DoFlinger to lap the hammer edge. Also, where's your latex gloves while working with Zep products?
Hey Dennis, Just come back from a safety seminar? I use the zep in the shower for those tough stains. Puts a shine on OX hide. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
Hey Tom great clip !! do you know what for useful this right hammer made in Germany is ?? maybe copper or sheet metall ? your the hammer man :) thank you
Hey Tom, Thanks for your "get hammered" video! There was a big difference between the before and after shots. A little TLC and they are happy campers (hammers, actually!). Do you merely clean the handles or put on some kind of furniture polish? Or would you consider that "polish" brutality? Thanks for sharing! Have a good one! A loyal Oxen for life, Dave
There's an even softer wheel. It almost feels sponge like. I can't remember the name of the maker tho. It's similar in color to the really heavy duty gray one. I used a lot of these at one point some years ago when i had to remove powder coat paint that had come undone from the metal and that also had someone's attempt at a repair AKA heavy duty rubber paint, the kind they use in hospitals to paint concrete to make it fully washable (safety and hygiene regs). I went through 2 grinders one of them being a Bosch one and some 30 of these heavy duty stripping wheels. The panels where 5 in total, i think 40 cm by 200 cm. Not 100% sure. Worst summer i've spent, ever. It was hot and dust stuck to me like i was a magnet. But if there's one thing i came out with from that whole deal is a ton of experience with cutting paint of surfaces and i stand by those stripping wheels any day. Best product for that job.
Hey Aserta, Powder coat is one of the toughest finishes to remove. i'd rather grind duplex stainless than try to get powder coat off. I am really liking these stripping discs. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
Hi Marty, Funny you mention that. I have been wanting one for a while now. We had some nice Milwaukee variable speed ones in the old shop. I can't find one with variable speed and a paddle switch. This would make the tricky contours easy peesy. cheers, Tom
Nice clean up on the hammers. Now I have to get some of that cleaner and get busy on my hammers. I do have quite a few for a somewhat normal guy. I do think you may be a bit Abe normal. lol
Just seen billstmaxx trying to renew his compressor cleaner wandering if you could make one for him ?? He's in orangeville USA I follow both your channels
Hi Tom, That mini course on using wire wheel was very good. I always stayed away from them. Learning your techniques wil be very helpful in case I had to use them. Thanks Mehmet
When using wire wheels, a full face shield is often a good idea in addition to safety glasses. I've had to pull out wires that were stuck in my face on multiple occasions. Luckily they don't go very deep; more of a nuisance than a hazard.
Have you thought of using a 3" angle grinder with the light scotch bright disc? You can also try a split PVC pipe with the Emory paper on the inside for the round end of the ball peen. Nice video.
Lookin' nearly new Tom, I have a 5 gal. bucket w/spray bottle, of the Zep floor stripper sittin' right next to my lathe, and the darn thing doesn't look one bit cleaner! Good video subject matter thank you! :o] O,,,
NASH cusToms Hi Nash, Yes all my bench vises have copper jaws. They are non marring and don't fall off like normal jaw covers. When they get beat up you can easily resurface them. I always ask folks to name one thing they want vise jaw marks in. This is the reason for copper. Softer than brass and slightly grippy. Hope this helps. Cheers, Tom
Hi Tom, Very informative! You don't say what strength Zep you use. I looked in your FAQ and didn't see any reference to the Zep product. Perhaps you covered it in an earlier Meatloaf that I missed, or forgot about (Old Age!) Probably one of those Bozo Questions, cause experimentation always works too, just curious!
Hey Robin, So now I know you didn't watch the whole video. Busted. There was a picture of the Zep container at the end. I do use it full strength but I think it could be cut easily. Cheers, Tom
oxtoolco I did watch it all the way through, in fact a bought a jug Friday. What I was looking for in the FAQ was mention of the Ratio you mixed it, because the bottle has 2 different strengths. I took a guess and just pored the full strength in anyway. It's all good! Sure enjoy all the info you share, and you keep it interesting as well!
It probably would have been easier to just use a belt sander on the face then a sanding sponge on the rest. I don't understand your concern with leaving what little paint there is, behind. If you want it painted that's insufficient so you might as well strip it off and repaint it, or just put a mix of linseed oil and varnish on the whole thing to dry for a few days once you refurbish the wood, which could have had a lot more work done than just cleaning, better to epoxy fill the voids and sand the whole thing down then soak in linseed oil/varnish for a day, then wipe excess off and dry for another couple days). Yes I too am a hand tool nut.
+Stinky Cheese Hey cheese, You should come over some time. I have a several hundred pounds of hammers we can restore. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
I thought you were supposed to grind the hell out of the head, changing its shape and probably any tempering. Then you’re supposed to put a brass handle on it, why? Because you can! I must stop watching certain restoration videos! When I buy and restore or more likely tidy up any tools, usually planes and chisels, I will ask if the seller knows the history. There have a been a couple of occasions when the tools have belonged to the seller's father who was a craftsman. I’m a rank amateur very much at the start of his learning curve since being forced into semi retirement. I feel like I have a duty to care for the tool, get it in its best working condition but also to respect the tool's history not totally wipe it away leaving me with an inferior tool. A great video showing how to correctly recondition a tool.
Hi Fake, I don't generally oil the handles. I prefer the clean dry wood myself. Linseed thinned with a little paint thinner makes a good finish. Cheers, Tom
Once it has time to dry it should be very clean and dry, as long as it isn't too saturated. I generally steel wool them after fully saturating them, and this gives a wonderful finish IMO. But, to each his own, and your methods appears to work fine for you. :)
hammers are a funny thing. only nice one i have is a cross peen but i love it. they are beautiful to look at and used when cleaned up. totally get your hammer fetish!
Discs used to smooth hammer head. www.nortonindustrial.com/uploadedFiles/SGindnortonabrasives/Documents/Discs-NonWoven-BlazeRapidStrip-Flyer8303%281%29.pdf
Hey Tom, do you happen to have a link or part number for that wire wheel you were using? I make folding knives with titanium frames and a wire wheel actually gives a really nice "orange peeled" finish on titanium. My wheel is really too coarse and that one you're using looks perfect.
+Kody Eutsler Hi Kody, There is a link in the video description for the abrasive. The wire wheel I'm using is a soft wire wheel from McMaster Carr. I believe the wires are diameter. These are steel which you wouldn't want to use on titanium. You should use stainless steel bristles. Thanks for the comment. Cheers, Tom
Yeah man no doubt. I've been watching your channel for a long time. I just realized I was not subscribed. Keith Fenner and yourself are responsible for me buying my first little lathe and getting it up and running. I've since found a whole community of fabricators like yourself. Abom and doubleboost being two other favorites. Keep making awesome videos.
It just needed a light polish to get rid of the tooling marks, basicly scotchbright maroon and and some metal polish and it was done. Im not suggesting it to be a good technique, but a fun exercise in making spheres on the milling macine. And yeah it gets perfectly round. ;)
