Been away from the computer all summer, working on the 12X26 addition to our summer cabin/retirement house. Return to find that I no longer exist on BT. Need to re register, choose new name, etc. I used to be Javier, now I am PenobscotMan. Anyway, I wanted to report back on all the good advice I got from BTers, especially the pros. It’s typical for people to ask for advice, but rarely do you hear how things worked out. Here goes:
1. Raising a wall by myself. Everyone cautioned against this — get help, etc. Stupidly, my wife and I tried to raise a section of a wall with 2X6 studs and lots of headers by propping it up half way on horses, etc. In the end we got help from a neighbor. Should have had help to begin with, just like y’all said.
2. Shingling a low pitch roof. The addition has a shed roof with a 3.6 in 12 pitch. According to things I’ve read and the directions on the shingles, this qualifies as low pitch. So, I put sticky bituminous membrane over the whole thing. What a nightmare! Four hands would have been better than two, and I still had lots of wrinkles. Doing it in the cool of the morning helped a lot.
3. Nailing by hand or by air. I can only work on the project suring the summer, so I was afraid of leaving it in an unprotected condition. I asked whether pneumatic nailers would speed things up, especially for PW and the roofing. The general response was that it would. However, I considered the expense of the tools, the fact that I would have to spend some time learning how to use them, and decided to go with nailing by hand. To save my elbow I bought a Stiletto 14oz titanium framing hammer, and I love it. I don’t know why it works, but everything that is claimed about the Stiletto is true. The only drawback with the straight titanium hammer is that you are not supposed to hammer punches or cats paws with it.
Replies
Why can't you hammer punchs or paws with it? the titanium will dent?
Justin Fink - FHB Editorial
I'm not sure -- either the titanium is too hard and it will shatter, or it is too soft and will dent. But they do warn you against this, and sell a very nice titanium (!) paw for about $65. Thoe other option is to buy their $225 model with the replaceable steel caps on the hammer head.
One of those metals may chip a piece of metal off the other one. I have a piece of metal in my ankle and one in my wrist that the ER doctors couldn't remove, from two different incidents.
Once I hit the back of a hatchet with a hammer and I wacked a fencing tool with a hammer. Both times produced shrapnel from the object being hit. The shrapnel cut an artery and lodged in muscle, where it remains today. I think I learned my lesson and I won't try for a third time. Watch what you hit with a hammer.
Somewhere in the back of my mind I heard the term cats paws, can't bring it up, the term punches, I've never heard before. Please explain.
A cats paw or claw is a thing you pull nails with. You drive the end under the nail head, then pull it out. Excellent tool for a DIYer like me who makes lots of mistakes.
A cat's paw is excellent for us perfessionals, too.
We do, on occasion, make mistakes.
I know this, brain was on idle, how long do I have to stand in the corner?
Catspaw was explained. Nail punch: you likely would have said nail set.
Thats clear as a bell, did we find out why this hammer won't work? I will go back to standing in the corner.
"...do we know why his hammer wouldn't work?"
I wouldn't know first hand because I've never made it through the record check and three-day cool off period required to buy a titanium hammer.
I was assuming it was either: 'why wreck that nice hammer'; or, the shrapnel factor. Probably a combination of the two, but either is sufficient.
Mallet, shoe, rock, hammer, 5lb sledge...hey, what's the big difference anyway. Isn't that just what safety glasses are for?
{g}
Edited 8/30/2005 5:44 pm ET by hacknhope
Oh my god, Stiletto makes a solid Titanium sledge hammer. That's gotta be on every 'real' BTer's Christmas list.
NOt mine. I don't see how it would work.
blue
You office workers do have a hard time with tools don't you?;)
Welcome to the Taunton University of Knowledge FHB Campus at Breaktime. where ... Excellence is its own reward!
You grab the handle from the end opposite the head. Use two hands, because it's heavy. (Put the hands about 12" away from the end.) Aim. Say "Stand Back!. Swing like a MF!!!
Don
What I think would be "fun" to try to work with are sledge hammers that have a rope instead of a wood or fiberglass handle. Anyway, they wouldn't be as tiring (no rebound). (I saw Chinese railroad workers in a photo using them.)
The BATF is into hammers now!! God help us.