Does anyone actually use a hammer much anymore when doing interior/finish work?
Or is it all pneumatic?
When would you actually use it (other than a nail head not set fully or pulling out your nailset)?
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Replies
tapping a piece of trim into place, usually using a block of wood to prevent damage.
beating sheetrock so the trim will fit properly ( or at least better)
having something to twirl to impress the customers <G>
Funny, impress the customers
You know though in all seriousness, the "art of hammering" will be lost.
I remember this GC I worked for, forever ago. He hardly ever missed a nail, framing, trim or otherwise.
{The BW movie thread sent me down memory lane}-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
"If you come to a fork in the road, take it"
Lasr summer, I was helping at a Reach Workcamp, where basically a bunch of jr. and sr. high kids were repairing some low-income houses in upstate NY.
The kids were driving me nuts the way they were hammering- tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap, tap...
They were nailing down strip shingles, and taking at least a 1/2 dozens hits to drive the nail home. The first thing I said was don't be afraid to hit the nail, it won't hit back.
Then I told them to use the whole handle, and get some leverage when you swing. I showed them by driving home the roofers with a stroke or 2.
Some of them caught on, and became decent hammerers.
But I know what you mean. A lot of the skills I learned when I started are no longer used- driving a nail, using a hand saw, using a hand plane, sharpening tools
>>>>>They were nailing down strip shingles, and taking at least a 1/2 dozens hits to drive the nail home.I had a guy working with me once that would gently tap the nail three times to start it before he'd let go of it and whack it. Drove me and everybody else crazy. tap tap tap bam. tap tap tap bam. tap tap tap bam. tap tap tap bam. One shingle laid.http://grantlogan.net/
Bet he didn't stay long- gone before lunch perhaps?
He was around for a long time. Kind of an idiot savant. Couldn't learn much that he didn't already know, but could figure trifecta payoffs in his head lightning fast. That was of little use to me, but he owned a truck, had a driver's license (at a time when I had about 15 guys with two of them - one being me - licensed drivers), and showed up on time. Didn't drink or do drugs, but he irritated the crap out of everyone around him. He once installed several downspouts with the crimp pointing up and spent an hour when I wasn't watching him trying to make two crimped ends fit together instead of just turning the pipe around. Laid a wall of step flashing from the top down lapped accordingly. I just thought of a bunch of practical jokes for that thread that got played on this guy. If I see him again, I'll probably split his melon open. The last I heard from him, two different supply houses called me and told me he was there trying to charge about $8K on my accounts.http://grantlogan.net/
Grant,
my steel handled estwing hatchet--------tap- TAP, tap -TAP,tap -TAP, tap TAP
i feel every tap in the elbow.
my wood handled titanium 10 ounce hatchet--------tapTapTAP,tapTapTAP,tapTapTAP,tapTapTAP--------------marginally slower-----infinitely sweeter on my elbow.
hand nailed a small wood shingle roof a couple weeks ago with a wood handled Douglas finish hammer------I am totally going back to wood only handles.
Stephen
I STILL can't get the "shinglers fingers" of holding nails with the pads of the fingers facing up, unless I make a concerted effort to try. Nor can I strip a bunch and have them at the ready like a real roofer. Now really, I don't shingle a whole lot..so that is my excuse, but being a wood guy all my life, I like the accuracy of placement, and actually sometimes orienting the the pointy end so as to not split the grain of trim.
It drives Dale bonkers to watch me nail a tab or a cleat on next to a Standing seam pan, I dont go nuts or anything, but bouncy sheathing, will get me bleeding, or a bent nail, 9 outta 10 times.
I now know that naile drip edge or box gutter, it is worth the time to actually feel where the rafters are, and don't even bother trying to nail between them...a 1.25" copper roofing nail, dont take much to being "steered" as it goes in, if the sheathing is bouncy, or any deflection of the head happens..I move closer to a solid backing.
I am with you on wood handles, but my Estwing brickhammer is so sweet, I don't feel it abusing me at all. Wood shakes, I use a half hatchett, with my third or fourth wood handle I have made for it.Parolee # 40835
These were kids that were doing a roof for the first, and probably last, time. They did a decent job, but it took about 8 kids all day to install about 8 sq. of shingles.
When I started, I got yelled at regularly ( by my dad) to pick up the pace. I could never have gotten away with that tap, tap, tap, bam stuff.
I've done numerous HFH houses where I was the only pro on the roof. What a mess. The problem is there's always somebody that thinks they know what they're doing but are totally clueless and they lead everyone around them into oblivion.http://grantlogan.net/
I was in charge of 4 houses. It was all repair work, which is my forte'.
On the house where they were doing the roof, I got there just in time. The crew leader had placed the starter shingles granule side down, with the tabs on the bottom.
I pleasantly corrected him, and gave a quick shingling lesson, and they did OK. But I did have to jump on that roof later that day to help get it done. Which was OK, too.
We use them a lot for cajoling.
The weather was hot, a-nearly 90 degrees.
The man standin' next to me, his head was exploding,
Well, I was prayin' the pieces wouldn't fall on me.
I just hand nailed a 84 square foot roof, frame/shingles/plywood.
Glamorous
84 squares? or 84 square feet?
little bit of a diffrence
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dustinf <!----><!---->
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Sailfish <!----><!---->
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90311.5 in reply to 90311.1
I just hand nailed a 84 square foot roof, frame/shingles/plywood.
Glamorous
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Glamorous
Just wanted to be sure you wern't nutzo!
Sometimes hand-nailing small projects is nice, pretty calming and just simpler. KISS
shouldn't it have been frame/ PLYWOOD/ shingles???I don't Know what I am doing
But
I am VERY good at it!!
I am with you Dustin.
I don't know if I would handnail 84 square---- but I am hand nailing a LOT more roofing this year
lost a lot of weight and my knees are causing me much lesstrouble----but the air gun actually bothers my elbow more than hand nailing.
roofing nails actually driven more by popping them in with the wrist with a short handled hatchet-----easier on the elbow
air gun tempts me to hold gun in bad positions------hose and weight of gun pulls at elbow-------PAIN.
plus , i like the zen of hand nailing
also----youngest son roofing with me this summer----time for him to learn some life lessons-----hand nailing is a good way to do so-------
stephen
McBathroom project; all hammered and screwed. I hate a compressor indoors in a finished house.
Plus, I like hammering.
Forrest - keeping the faith
I use my hammer to put in the nails that hold crown up, when I'm hanging crown alone. Then I nail it off with a pneumatic. Quite a bit of moving stuff around (drywall, trim bits) with a hammer and a block of wood.
zak
"When we build, let us think that we build forever. Let it not be for present delight nor for present use alone." --John Ruskin
"so it goes"
I like to hammer, just to be the living #$^ out of something, its calms my nerves.
It's mostly pneumatic when I do trim work. Yes I do use the finish hammer, I have the 14 oz titanium, a beauty, mostly for setting nails. Once in a while I will still trim a window or something by hand if I see that it would simply be faster rather than drag out the compressor.
I learned to do trim almost 30 years ago using a hammer, nail set, wood rasps, a Lion miter trimmer and a non electric miter box that had a 32" x 6" back saw. Still have my miter trimmer and my Millers Falls cast iron base Miter box, cost me over $200. Haven't used them in years.
The tools today are so much easier and more accurate.
One thing I don't see a lot of carps use much anymore is a good crosscut saw. I always have one in my box and when I'm trimming I use the Japanese saws along with the western style.
With all the electric and cordless this & that you forget just how effective certain hand tools can be, especially if they're tuned and you know how to use them. No batteries or cords to deal with.
Seems I hammer everything ...copper gutter gets handmade miters, the "fingers" need to be hammered to allow soldering.
Copper roofing gets "tabs" nailed w/ copper nails on flat and standing seam. Box gutters get tabbed at the seams as well.
Counter flashing and reglets, get rolled plugs in the kerfs hammered in. Being non-ferrous, and malleable, we hand hammer everything. No coils nails in copper.
I modified a Estwing 20 oz Brick hammer, by cutting the adze end a bit shorter and grinding a nail puller slot in it. PERFECT for copper smithing, square face, and a claw that is long enough and straight enough to do some serious tweaking inside corners. A short handle helps a lot when scurrying about on a steep roof too.Parolee # 40835
no block plane?
I carry a block plane in my apron when I'm trimming. Always have. It's a lot faster than running back to the chop saw to fine tune a joint.
Now you've seen my truck opened. You think there isn't a block plane in there (or two or three?)
The one I carry in my apron us the little Lei Nielson all brass. fits like a glove in the palm of my medium size hand and goes through whatever like a hot knife through butter. I have the Lee Valley one too but prefer the Nielson.
Nice blocks.
I carry 2 Record block planes- regular and low angle.
I also have a Lie-Nielson and Lee Valley, but they usually stay in my shop. I don't have that little one you're talking about. Maybe I'll have to add one to my collection. I have about 10 block planes of various manufacturers already.
I prefer low angle in all my block planes. I have about 5 Stanleys, two of which are real antiques. A lot of them I find at garage sales, I tune them up and then give them to friends as a gift.
Of all the tools in the shop the hand plane is by far my favorite. I have some real rare ones plus the full line of Stanley-Bailey bench planes except the #1, half of which are the Bedrocks.Presently I am looking to purchase a few high end chisels, good hefty ones. Got my eye on the Sorbey Registered line. They're made for heavy use. Hirsch and Two Cherries look good (they're the same), and am thinking about getting a good Japanese chisel just to see what it's like. I tried their style saws and was really taken with them.
between my great-great grandfather's wooden moulding planes, and the ones I've accumulated, I've probably got at least 80 hand planes. There's nothing like using a sharp plane and getting a nice shaving.
I've got a set of Japanese chisels. I bought them years ago from Mahogany Masterpieces, in NH. I like them, and they cut well, but they seem a little small for my big mitts.
I've thought about getting the chisels by Lie-Nielson, but I don't really need 4 sets of chisels.
just abot for anything but nailing...
Life is not a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in a pretty and well preserved body, but rather to skid in broadside, thoroughly used up, totally worn out, and loudly proclaiming
WOW!!! What a Ride!
Forget the primal scream, just ROAR!!!
Who needs a Hammer when you have a Made In China Crescent Wrench...
Who needs a Hammer when you have a Made In China Crescent Wrench...because sometimes you have to beat the crescent to get it to let go of the nut
I used my hammer yesterday--to pound the flat bar into joints to take apart two cabinets that were trapped by drywall, door casing, etc.. Asked the boss before I started if he were absolutely sure the HO wanted these two cabinets taken out. He didn't seem to sure, but as she was asleep and he didn't want to bother her, he said go ahead and then even helped me remove the second cabinet.
When we were through (and the cabinets were in pieces and carted to the driveway), she woke up and boss asked her what she wanted in place of them and she says, "Oh, we talked about that, remember? Just keep them."
When he explained they had been taken out, she said, "Can you just put at least the one back up?"
Not exactly. He tried to talk her into putting up a shelf that she didn't want and I told her we could frame and drywall so she'd have a nice clean wall from floor to ceiling. We talked a while and I told her we could do something shallow, like the sort of cabinets that go above a toilet, or even use medicine cabinets, and finally she asked us just to drywall the openings, as I had first suggested. Took us the afternoon to do it though.
I normally walk with a limp, a good framing hammer in the tool belt smooths me right out.
Dave