Surely, there is not a single apartment, not a single residential building, where it would be impossible to find such a familiar and ordinary tool as a hammer.
Interestingly, in practice, this instrument is considered ordinary and simple by those who have never held it in their hands in their lives.
Those who have encountered minor repairs at least once in their lives treat them with care and respect, realizing that, if necessary, this not a tricky device can adequately replace several joinery and carpentry ones.
It is worth noting that professional electricians constantly carry this tool with them, and for good reason.
Components
Over the course of many centuries of human evolution, the appearance of a hand hammer has also changed.
Only its functional components remained unchanged: the holder (handle) and the working part (head).
The hammer head has the simplest monolithic appearance and contains a striker and a toe at diametrically opposite ends, which serve as shock and auxiliary elements, respectively.
The body of the hammer has a larger view, in the middle of which there is a special hole, most often, an oval shape for attaching the handle.
In the place of the hole, a single connecting node of the entire tool is formed, which must be as reliable as possible.
The striker can have several functional forms designed for different types of repair and construction processes: flat, round, spherical, with notches of a certain frequency.
The simplest home repair does not require special forms and parameters from a hammer.
But you should know that the wire for making nails consists of low-carbon steel, and the wood for boards is soft and cheap, so you need to use a hammer with a flat head for more accurate work and reduce dents on surfaces.
Another option is to perform percussive processes on a different instrument. A chisel, for example, requires multiple hits to the center, and the hammer head of a round or hemispherical shape most accurately contributes to this – “burrs” will not form on the edges.
The toe of the head in a hand hammer is no less functional than the striker. It should also be selected in accordance with the workflow being performed.
In the form of a pickaxe, it is necessary for performing stone work, chipping and cutting bricks, stone and other hard materials.
Cam toe – used in roadworks, but the most popular in everyday life and the most common is the carpentry type of toe of the hand hammer head.
This tool can not only hammer nails, but also safely remove them thanks to the forked (like a snake’s tongue) toe.
Manufacturers label hammer heads according to their weight, from 1 to 10.
Conventionally, the weight of hammers can be divided into 3 types: light (50, 100, 150, 200 grams), medium (400, 450, 500, 600 grams) and heavy (700, 750, 1000 grams).
All heads that have a significant weight of more than 1 kg are of the “sledgehammer” type.
Equally important is the observance of the proportions between the weight of the head and the length of the handle (a half kilo hammer has a handle length of 250-350 mm).
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Materials and components
There is a traditional vision of the components of hammers – a steel head and a straight wooden holder.
In general terms, this is exactly what it is, but it is customary to use high-tech steel, which will not crack during operation and will be able to endure a large number of repeated shock cycles.
A slight deformation and “flattening” is acceptable, but to avoid this, the striker and toe are subjected to a hardening process separately from the entire body of the head.
There are a large number of hammers where the working part is made of such materials: copper, aluminum, rubber, nylon, polyurethane, wood.
This is a narrowly focused tool that is designed for certain types of machined surfaces and materials in order to prevent their mechanical damage.
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Handles.
The handle must be distinguished by high strength and reliability, therefore it is made from hardwoods of deciduous trees (mountain ash, hornbeam, beech, oak, dogwood).
In the modern manufacturing process of this tool, the handle made of expensive American hickory walnut is gaining more and more popularity, which is considered the best raw material in terms of wear-resistant and strength characteristics, as well as the minimum percentage of shrinkage and cracking.
With intensive use in a critical situation, the fracture occurs along the fibers of the wood, which will protect the worker from work injury as much as possible.
Metal handles are widely used, but this choice is not always justified.
When the working part hits the surface, vibration is transmitted to a person through the handle, which is partially extinguished by wood, but an unprotected metal holder can cause harm and also increase fatigue during work.
For greater convenience and vibration reduction, the metal holders are hollow and filled with noise absorbers (for example, latex).
From above, for greater grip, they are covered with soft rubber or plastic inserts.
The production of synthetic materials made it possible to manufacture holders from high-strength fiberglass.
The foreign analogue in the description of the instrument is “fiberglass”. Such a handle is not afraid of direct exposure to sunlight, rotting, drying out, and in some cases – exposure to elevated temperatures.
Often a combination of materials is used. So, to reinforce the handle made of polymers, the core is made of a steel bar.
Before purchasing a hand tool, you should do a few simple things: carefully read the manufacturer’s instructions, consult with the seller, take the tool in your hand and make a few movements that simulate the workflow.
Choose quality and quality! Also read – what tools are recommended to have at home.