# Made my first ball peen hammer



## Mach_Zero (Jun 28, 2022)

I've been wanting to make a small hammer for a long time. I finally got around to turning some 4140 on my tiny 7x14 mini lathe (the radius form tool almost killed the lathe lol).

The head is 4140 that I hardened and tempered in my kiln. I have no idea what kind of wood it is but it was from our old dining room table that we got rid of a few months ago. Whatever wood it is, it's really really hard; even a 40 grit belt was struggling. So that hopefully means it'll last a long time.

I cut the slot in the head on my mini mill and then widened one side of it with a rotary tool so that it'll have a taper to seat the handle. I cut a slot in the part of the handle that goes into the head and drove in a wedge to lock it in place.

Edit: Oh and the ball side was done by hand with a file. After the lathe could barely manage the grooves, I didn't like my chances with a large radius form tool.

Edit2: Head dimensions are 0.800" diameter and 2.125" length. 






And here are some in-progress photos:


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## Just for fun (Jun 28, 2022)

Looks really nice,  good job!


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## wachuko (Jun 28, 2022)

Beautiful job!!


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## Mach_Zero (Jun 28, 2022)

Just for fun said:


> Looks really nice,  good job!





wachuko said:


> Beautiful job!!


Thank you!


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## Chewy (Jun 28, 2022)

Job well done!!!!


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## Dhal22 (Jun 28, 2022)

Very nice.


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## David2011 (Jun 28, 2022)

Very nice!  Maybe it will prompt me to make one myself.


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## DavidR8 (Jun 28, 2022)

Beautiful work!


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## wachuko (Jun 28, 2022)

What size round bar stock did you use?  Diameter?  Length?

That looks like an awesome project for me to practice.


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## jcp (Jun 28, 2022)

That is some excellent workmanship....very nice indeed!


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## mickri (Jun 28, 2022)

Beautiful work.  I made a ballpeen hammer in metal shop in 9th grade.  Still have it and use it often.


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## Janderso (Jun 28, 2022)

Beautiful work!
The high quality handle makes a big difference.
The off shore stuff has soft wood with unknown steel. The head is loose after the first blow.
Making your own out of quality materials sets yours aside from most others.
Your finish work is very good.


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## Mach_Zero (Jun 28, 2022)

Thank you all for the compliments! I'm so happy that you all think it's quality work! I've made many tools and projects but this is the first time I put so much work into the details and finishing. Really makes me feel good to know you guys think it looks good too. 



wachuko said:


> What size round bar stock did you use?  Diameter?  Length?
> 
> That looks like an awesome project for me to practice.



I actually had to turn down some 1.25" since that's all I had in 4140. The final diameter ended up at 0.800" (somewhat arbitrarily) and the length is 2.125". 

It's a pretty fun project and you could finish it fairly quickly. Hardest parts of the project were the radii but with your larger lathe it shouldn't be a problem. 



Janderso said:


> Beautiful work!
> The high quality handle makes a big difference.
> The off shore stuff has soft wood with unknown steel. The head is loose after the first blow.
> Making your own out of quality materials sets yours aside from most others.
> Your finish work is very good.


Thank you! I can tell this wood is extremely solid. I have no idea what species it is, but I'm glad I had some of it laying around. This hammer will definitely get some good use in my little shop.


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## brino (Jun 28, 2022)

Beautiful hammer!

You included the word "first" in the thread title........ when can we expect to see photos of its big brother?

Thanks for sharing this.
Brian


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## Mach_Zero (Jun 28, 2022)

brino said:


> Beautiful hammer!
> 
> You included the word "first" in the thread title........ when can we expect to see photos of its big brother?
> 
> ...


Haha well this was actually a trial to nail down the procedure and make sure I can accomplish what I wanted with my mini lathe. 

What prompted me initially to do this is because I gifted my dad a "hammer" for Father's day. I gave him a big bar of steel and wood and told him we're going to machine it together. He's never had a chance to use machining equipment despite having a large interest in it. He's coming over this weekend and we're going to work on it. 

So we'll likely make his soon and then we'll see about a big brother. (But I may end up making an even smaller one before that!)


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## francist (Jun 28, 2022)

Mach_Zero said:


> can tell this wood is extremely solid. I have no idea what species it is,


I actually looks from here like it might be cherry which is quite dense, nicely uniform in texture, and is very common for things like dining tables, etc. it’s about the right colour with a slight fleck showing on the cheeks. Plus it also has a defined propensity for burning on the end grain from sanding which many have discovered. 

Nice job on the hammer, it looks really good and will age in nicely. 

-frank


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## aliva (Jun 28, 2022)

Very nice , too nice to use. Hang it up in the shop for inspiration


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## Mach_Zero (Jun 28, 2022)

aliva said:


> Very nice , too nice to use. Hang it up in the shop for inspiration


Well then I guess I gotta make another one to use!


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## Tipton1965 (Jun 28, 2022)

Excellent job!!


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## FOMOGO (Jun 28, 2022)

Looks great. Maybe a nice finishing touch would be wood burning, or engraving Maxwell's on the handle. Mike


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## Firstram (Jun 28, 2022)

Janderso said:


> Beautiful work!
> The high quality handle makes a big difference.
> The off shore stuff has soft wood with unknown steel. The head is loose after the first blow.
> Making your own out of quality materials sets yours aside from most others.
> Your finish work is very good.


My sentiments exactly, the head turned out great but, the handle sends it over the top!


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## brino (Jun 30, 2022)

Mach_Zero said:


> What prompted me initially to do this is because I gifted my dad a "hammer" for Father's day. I gave him a big bar of steel and wood and told him we're going to machine it together. He's never had a chance to use machining equipment despite having a large interest in it. He's coming over this weekend and we're going to work on it.
> 
> So we'll likely make his soon and then we'll see about a big brother. (But I may end up making an even smaller one before that!)



As a father myself I can see very few better gifts.
Have fun, be safe.
He will be so proud!

Good on ya.
Brian


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