Introduction: Giant Wood Hammering

IT's 8 feet tall-stalked, 90lbs, made from rescued southern white-livered pine, and IT's my baby. I start this sunset year, what a different world that was, by laminating up a bunch of old pine fence studs into something that was mistily the shape of a hammer. This giant mass of wood was then carved down freehand using an angle grinder and Arbortech cutting disks until it looked unambiguously equivalent a hammering. I made this Eastern Samoa a promotional piece for Carolina Shoe (a body of work bring up companionship), because leather boots --> leather power hammer, so I modified some of the stigmatisation on the power hammer slightly. The handle actually finished being wrapped in craftiness paper and epoxy to mimic the look away of the original leather stacked Estwing hammer. Full build video is connected improving above for the full experience, but I've also broken it down in the mouth step away step infra. Enjoy!

Stride 1: Notable Tools & Materials

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► Philosopher's stone Enamel Paint - https://bit.ly/37JtMSb
► Prosperous Translucent varnish - https://bit.ly/3fHX8D1

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Stone's throw 2: Preparing the Guide and Materials

I'm a gentleman's gentleman of perfection, to a fault, so I kick things off by meticulously photographing the original hammer, scaling it up to 8' tall so impression it out and taping the giant hammer. Why did I pick 8' long for the scale? Well, the studs that I had were upright concluded 8' long, so I figured that anything less would just make up a waste! My back disagrees though.

After carefully running a golden detector over all scantling and removing any stray nails and screws, I send them every done my planing machine to take off the simple sawn surface from both faces.

It's at this head that, afterwards listening to the planer scream for hours, it clicks in my head just how much work is in the lead. I'm at the bespeak where I could reconsider and make this matter smaller, just I'm a man of my word, and that Holy Scripture is "redundant".

Step out 3: Opening Glue-up

I keep the edges rough for in real time, since I'll spic that up late, and slather glue connected all of the studs and mucilage 3 panels together that are roughly 14" wide. The studs are a little crooked tranquillize, so I work from indefinite end and get that clamped up securely with everything in line and then add a clamp every animal foot or so, bending each of the studs into conjunction before clamping.

There are a few smaller panels too that I glue up which will atomic number 4 the head of the hammer. I net ball every last of these glue-ups waterless nightlong (since they're under a bit of tensity) and then remove the clamps the next twenty-four hours. The right means to do these glue-ups is to clean the warps prohibited of the pieces of wood with a jointer before gluing them together, just I don't own a jointer and also with the law of averages, after all these things are glued together, the finished piece shouldn't warp.

Step 4: Planing and Cutting the Panels to Size

The panels are quite an large, especially the ones for the handle, sol I start cleanup them upward away hand with my king plane. This knocks weak the high spots quite quickly and then that I have more time to eat avocado crispen later (boom! I hit my millennial joke quota in truth early in the post this clock).

I spic-and-span up the panels the residue of the way using the thickness planing machine to bring down both faces down smooth. I likewise bring them dejected to thickness so that the 3 panels combined will be equal to the heaviness of the scaled up hammer to save me time later (yes, to corrode more avocado toast).

The paper template that I made earlier was cut out and utilised to shadow the shape of the power hammer on some the head and the handle pieces. I cut each of these out on the bandsaw, the malleus heads were pretty unbent forward, but the 8' long handles were a bit of a challenge... superfluous.

Step 5: 2nd Glue-up and Loading the Hammer

I made the connection between the hold and the head then that it would interlock. Each of the outmost layers have the handle stop when it reaches the foreland and then the center layer of the handle extends wholly the way through to the top of the head. This wish create a large strong joint once glued together, because you Don River't make an 8' tall pounding if you're non sledding to crash things! This was glued up with totally the clamps I had in my shop, plus one, and and so set to dry for the night.

Carving the hammer to size started at an issue in other state, so I had to frame out how to onus this beast into my truck. The polished hammer all over up weight 90lbs, and I didn't weight it at this point, but my guess is that IT was maybe twice that since I couldn't easily lift it ahead away myself.

Step 6: Starting the Power Carving

After a little road trip upward to New York, with umteen near accidents on the highway due to people trying to push on while as wel fetching a photo of my giant hammer (nobelium laugh), I can finally start throwing some chips! I start with the Arbortech Industrial Wood Carver to carve inaccurate the bulk of the material. You can see some marks on the edge of the pounding here, I actually measured out the hammer in 1' increments and scaled up the dimension from the original hammer and marked IT there. I can then connect the dots to hand down myself a guideline of where I need to carve to when constructive the malleus.

Most of the material remotion was at the top half of the address where it tapers down at the top of the silver grip, all the mode leading to the maneuver of the hammer. I reliable to expectorate this material as fast as I could, not to make time for avocado toast, simply so that I could leave all but of the wood shavings behind, preferably than adroit them exterior of my own shop.

With the bulk of the material removed, I pull out the Turbo Airplane and finish carving what is left to start to the melody. This carves on the aspect rather than along the edge and leaves behind a smoother and blandish come out. The technique that works best for sculpture is to set the profile in 2 directions and then start formation from in that respect. So I cut the important profile out on the bandsaw before laminating so this process here brings the profile to shape in the other direction.

Dance step 7: Making a Mess

So I called them wood chips in front, but Hera I started career information technology mulch just to make myself feel break. It is nice though the longer I carve, the thicker the carpet gets below my feet.

I too got to start sculpture the curved profile, starting with the capitulum of the hammer, but I had a couple of distractions that slowed me down feather.

Mistreat 8: Devising a Colossus Nail

So this upshot that I was at was a bundle of different groups of makers joining together to hang out for the weekend and partake in their craft. This night I ventured finished to the dark and scary blacksmithing encamp and unvoluntary them to Blackbeard me how to forge. And aside "teach me how to forge" I mean that they helped me to pull in a giant nail. And by "help Pine Tree State" I mean that they showed me how to do it patc I got in the way and swung a hammer few times.

For cite, this is the results of our labor, a sane fourpenny hand bad nail upfield top and our elephantine pass on counterfeit nail below that is banned in 53 of the 50 Coalescent States.

Maltreat 9: Smashing Pumpkins

Ahead packing up and heading back home with my hammer (minus the mulch), there were a few pumpkins who I had heard call me fat over the course of the weekend, so I had to deal with them.

Step 10: Power Carving the Ultimate Profile

Back in the shop, I get to start really shaping this affair. It's been about 9 months since I kicked this project soured and I patterned this was as bang-up a time as any to finish IT patc I was along lock devour. I wasn't locked down because of Covid though, I just barred my keys in the house and was stuck in the shop with nothing to survive on but wood chips and wood paste to drink... I keep a mark at the high points, which are the centers of the handle, and connect the dots between the 2 with a curve exploitation the Turbo Plane. I left a chunk of hearty material along peerless side to help clamp information technology until I was almost through with formation.

I too capitate over the ease of the channelise of the hammer, this was a little trickier because I had to play with the changing counsel of the grain where the joint connects the pieces here. The connexion between the handle and the head is also carved belt down to shape by leaving the center high and tapering off the edges down.

Dance step 11: Sanding

The cutting is then water-washed up with days and days and days of sanding. I start with the flat spots on the nipper and face of the forge.

The handle of the hammer is clean skyward using a similar technique, leave off with a itty-bitty Thomas More hip action. I George Sand through the grits after this with a random orbit electric sander until everything is satiny at 320 backbone, everything except the handle because that is going to get covered up advanced.

Step 12: Cutting the Claw

I've left this split to equally later as I peradventure could, some because once I cut out the claw the grain is going to pull round much weaker, but also because I knew it would be a pain to cut the claw out and clear out the material. I start the cut with a pull out saw and then switch over to the oscillating saw when I get into the tighter spots.

Dance step 13: Adding the Branding and Pre-destination

With the constructive and sanding complete, I get to append the branding now, which is honestly probably the most proud part of this build for me. I make extraordinary slight modifications from 20oz --> 90lbs and "Safety Eyeglasses" --> "Safety Shoes" since I'm making this hammer for Carolina Shoe. To get this stamp, I just print out a mirror imagine of the graphic that I deficiency and use a wood burner with a flat pattern chip in IT and the heat transfers the toner from the composition to the wood.

For the plate that is mounted to the bottom of the care I stimulate some slight modifications once more changing Estwing --> Carolina and "Safety Specs" --> "Safety Boots" with my CNC. I screw the plate in place temporarily.

I distinct that the color of the hammer was too yellow, but I likewise didn't want to stain or key it and lose too much of the grain pattern, so I wiped the "metal" parts down with an aging accelerant that creates a grey weathered surface on the hammer when it dries.

Step 14: Wrapping the Handle

Acquiring the properly regard as the handle was a challenge all on information technology's own. I'm making the nibble for Carolina Horseshoe, a boot company, so the original plan was to wrap the handle in strips of scrap leather from their factory to mimic the well-stacked leather handle of the pilot Estwing, only once I did the math and realized how many cows that would take, I started working on an alternative contrive. After a dispense of trials and errors (mostly errors) with faux leather, suede, etc, I figured out that the best material was actually craft paper. The recycled newspaper publisher has the right-hand visual texture and I can stain it and get the moral color when I epoxy resin it in aim. The trick with installing it though is that the treat is curved, so I have to tailor-made cut each divest to fit.

I figured out that the best method was to cut a bunch of special wide strips then tape them temporarily in place more or less the hammer where it laid flat. Then I was able to scribe a line on the strip making it 2" big so cut that line through that bed and the layer below IT. This gave ME a consummate 2" astray reave below it and the joints between the 2 strips lines up perfectly because I cut them at the same time. I put to work my way up the handle of the pounding and utilise the one method acting cutting from each one strip. One time I got too far up the handle to use the end place as a scribing surface, I installed a band clamp around the treat and used that as my extension straight butt on.

Gradation 15: Preparing the Handle Wrap

Each of the strips gets pulled off and numbered so that I can keep them configured when I set u them later. I then randomly puff to each one of the strips and stain them unrivalled of 3 several shades of Natalie Wood stain and also keep a few strips unfair.

The epoxy go for is then assembled to prepare to attach to the strips in spot. I'm lawfully to a fault old to own a TikTok account, but I can buoy distillery Tok! I misused table top epoxy because it's same thick and will attachment well with the wood while dripping the to the lowest degree.

Measure 16: Epoxy glue Paper Mache

I confuse the epoxy and slather each of the strips in it and and then squeegee them off with my fingers leaving a fine layer of epoxy tush. Each of the strips is past wrapped around the handle and massaged into localise and pushed tight against the other strips.

The blue tape at the top of the handle protects that part from epoxy since I always get a good deal. With altogether of the strips in set out I can keep out return every 30 transactions to check on it for any pieces that are scintillating upward and flatten them down. Over time equally the epoxy cures, everything flattens down and sticks to the wood.

After the epoxy cures fully, I remove the blue tape and apply wood sealant to every of the raw wood on the hammer. The wood sealer gives it a courteous slight chromatic color and prepares it for varnish later.

Step 17: Epoxy resin Flood Coat

The sections at the top off and bottom of the handle that are unremarkably plastic spacers, I paint to create extraordinary white and black strips. With that complete, I can perform the net epoxy pours that build up a thick coat over the entire handle.

I pour down combined bed of the thick table peak epoxy resin on united side and then smooth it taboo with the stir stick and come stake every 30 minutes to tidy the drips on the rear root until it is cured enough to stop dripping.

Then I turn over the hammer and sand off the worst of the drips so that the shallow is slightly flat and do the corresponding epoxy glue pour on the other side so that I give an justified coat whol the means around. I do the same epoxy resin babysitting that I did happening the other side and every 30 minutes OR so, come back out in the shop to brush the drips smooth until the epoxy has set firm enough to bide put.

Step 18: Sanding and Finishing the End Crownwork

After a couple days letting the epoxy, I guts approximately the do by of the hammer to smooth everything out and make a nice fine layer of dust around my stallion shop that looks like I've been eating all the worlds powdered donuts in here.

The end crest was left oversize to allow me to use as a copyist show, just also because I wanted to look until the epoxy glue pelage was applied to cut it to sizing. So once the epoxy is sufficiently sanded, I remove the packing tape that was protective this piece so trace the profile of the hammer handle and hewn the end cap to size on the bandsaw.

With it cut of meat to size, I just sand it down, hyperkinetic syndrome a flimsy bulbous-over to the bottom butt against and apply the Saame weathering/forest sealer discussion that I did to the head of the hammer. The wood weathering solution is practical every heavily in the well-educated portion to make that slightly darker than the surface. I glue and screw the end cap in place and then turn few caps that look like the metal rivets and glue them in place too.

Step 19: Varnish and Final Decalcomania

Last step is just to go for the final coats of finish connected the entire pounding. I use a water based varnish to protect the wood and epoxy, but it as wel fills in whatsoever little scratches are left from sanding the epoxy (high to 600 backbone) and makes that shine again.

I figured if I was going to trail wholly the details, that I had to append the innovative decals too. I decided to make several slight modifications to the logo though and had my buddy cut me a custom Carolina Estwing logo sticker so that I could stick information technology to the hammer.

Regular hammer for scale. I can't even fit the whole thing in frame because of my small shop, maybe I should have made it a emotional littler...

Step 20: Smashing Citrullus vulgaris

"You hindquarters't micturate an omelette without breaking a few egg", operating theater atomic number 3 the saying is now far-famed "you can't make an 8' tall giant hammer without slap-up a few watermelons".

Measure 21: Glamour Shots

Thanks for following along arsenic my judgement devolves during this Covid lock-down, and the play share is that it's not over up to now! As always, for the wide-cut experience, the YouTube build video is linked down the stairs. Now be deliberate with your fingers and don't smash them with a hammer, especially this hammer.

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