Making a Machinist Hammer With Brass Face

[@troublogaming3613]

I think the reason the cast brass machines nicer is due to the change in the grain structure in the metal itselt, rolled brass will have a relatively uniform grain structure that will be a little harder than the random grain of cast, the same goes for cast iron as well, or at least thats my experience from machining cast materials

[@mazchen]

Other reason could be the combination of different pieces forming an alloy with better machineability.

[@thomasl945]

At least for cast Iron this is half true. Doue to high carbon in Cast Iron (3%) there is no uniform iron grain as it is in low carbon steel (

[@dieSpinnt]

Let's completely stop "thinking" for a moment and actually MEASURE the consistency of the material (f.e. with a microscope or other metallographic methods), because then WE KNOW as a fact what is going on. Okay, if this is to expensive and you have not the years(satirical over-exaggeration here) of engineering training that is helpful for this: Ask your material provider/seller about the PROPERTIES of your raw material (maybe before buying?) and if he can't provide that information ... switch your seller:) On the other hand, if you are casting than the metallographic analysis (including quality checks) is mandatory. Without[2] it the "walk in the park" will just be a "walk in the dark". You do you! Putting a list (or many different lists mixed with subjective opinions and ... by the smelting hell, yeah ... myths) together consisting what may or may not be is not very helpful[1]. So ... now, please switch on brains again:P :) [1] I am not saying that experience and sharing experience is not of value. It is just an endless source of frustration because if you read something on the internet and that suits your cause ... amateurs will take that for granted for their possibly totally different situation. That is just how our brain works: LAZYNESS WINS! [2] Without measuring and testing the material the correct answer is: We don't know ... or even better: WE DON'T EFFING KNOW AND SPECULATION LEADS ONLY TO DISASTER, PERIOD!!! In detail: 1. "I think" does not reveal the underlying grain structure of cast brass, nor does it tell about the alloy composition. The best is not knowing the temperature profile (I guess not even Artisan Makes has documented this) and then guessing about the resulting material properties. Sounds ... clairvoyant to me. One could make big money with this ... hehehe 2. "Reasons" ... why not the temperature in the machine shop, the mood of the caster or any of the other thousand possible reasons. Why exactly "different pieces forming an alloy"? Where did they came from? Wonderland? Or is that not even remotely related to the topic or "Making a Machinist Hammer With Brass Face"? 3. Where is that detailed knowledge coming from? I mean a carbon content of 3% and you know exactly what troublogaMing machined. Are you a medium too? Can you speak with the dead (metal parts ... I mean dead metal parts. Dead Persons is too spooky!). Also: Nobody disputed what you mention. The better workability of cast iron also depends on many different factors. Oh and from the nature of the processing/machining itself! After all, it can also become a bad property. Depending on the point of view, purpose and type of machining.

[@thomasl945]

@@dieSpinnt Jea, you right. I know all the things from listening to death metal. Also metal core, melodic metal and new metal is very informative! But also my engineering degree helps a lot with understandin this. And where i geht this numbers from? At least in the german speaking part of Europe cast Iron has most of the time around 3% carbon.

[@SpookyMcGhee]

Brass (and bronze/copper for that matter) can be a real pain depending on what flavor of it you are working with. For example, leaded brass/bronze machines like a dream but aluminum bronze is a headache if you treat it the same as regular flavor bronze. If you already know what the material specs are you calculate your speeds and feeds/select your cutters accordingly but when the flavor of the material is not certain it can be a real pain in the butt. Like that one time I thought I was machining brass and it turned out to be copper and busted a tap in there... You can machine any material if you know what it is and use the right speeds/feeds/cutters/etc.

[@arthurspader5423]

One tip for you is to mill some flats on the handle, that prevents the hammer turning in your hand when using it. Great job!

[@mopedmarathon]

I like that you didn’t knurl it. I find knurling gets dirty in the bottom of the valleys and is hard to clean so it can transfer dirt back to your hands sometimes. Great workmanship as always.

[@psykosis101]

Brakeclean solves all

[@dieSpinnt]

@@psykosis101 Just an option no one knows about: Or cleaning up your pigsty after work and washing your hands ... ? Hehehe BTW let us think about that new philosophy of machining for a little bit. Let it sink in that "Your hands are possibly getting dirty. How nasty!":) So, it sunk in: **facepalm**

[@MrCrankyface]

8:25 I usually "fix" that by simply making a bigger thread relief at the back end when I'm doing all the turning. That way you don't have half-finished threads left from the die and you still gain from the "quickness" of using a die.

[@juliejones8785]

My thought was instead of going back to the lathe to turn the threads all the way to the shoulder, was to add a slight counterbore to the head so the handle edge is not visible.

[@glencrandall7051]

A very nice hammer. A great way to kick off 2023. Thank you for sharing. Have a great new year and stay safe.🙂🙂

[@infrabread]

I love the use of a drill at 4:33. Simple and effective.

[@rowanwiegel4695]

What's nice about this design is that if starting with square stock, the whole thing can be done in the lathe

[@artisanmakes]

Yeah definitely, it is a bit more set up but you can definitely make it work

[@MikelNaUsaCom]

Awesome job throwing in a casting as well. Enjoyable.

[@ironhead65]

Love it “modeled up the design” Shows napkin -- So many times, I’ve done the same thing! If using cardboard is CAD, Is this, NAD!? Thanks for the video, always appreciated.

[@artisanmakes]

This is the best quality napkins around. We only get to use these for Christmas, and the occasional engineering projects :)

[@clasdauskas]

@@artisanmakes Much more room on Napkins than Beer Coasters ...

[@seansysig]

Spectacular design, fit and finish!

[@brandenbenevides304]

I have found that when using a die you can flip it over after you have ran it down as far as it can go on the starting side and the other side of the die will give you a few more threads closer to that shoulder. Also an undercut near that shoulder will give you the same effect.

[@slartimus]

An excellent design, beautifully rendered. (Also, 5:44 "Plus, it'd been a while since I got some hacksaw progress in, so that was nice." 😁)

[@mematyi]

Haha! I saw it! (The sandpaper slipping) Be safe with sanding on the lathe! Also, I'd recommend milling a flat on the brass face. In my experience, If you do not tighten it real good, it will back out in no time, even with threadlocker, due to shock.

[@vivigarr]

You should build a taper attachment for your lathe now. You for sure could use one lol I love how it turned out and I'll probably copy your design as one of my first projects when I get my lathe running.

[@alienmoonstalker]

I loved the blueprint on napkin!

[@theuntouchables808]

wow that hammer alone looks amazing

[@colemine7008]

I always enjoy your videos. Lovely work.

[@edsmachine93]

Very nice project. Good and useful tool. I liked the casting of the brass also. Have a great day.

[@Michel-Uphoff]

Beautiful design, well made. Personally, I would have preferred a steel handle with an aluminum grip. That gives a better balance in the hammer I think. It's about time I made another one too, thanks for the inspiration.

[@andrew051968]

When I did my fitting & machining apprenticeship we made a similar one in the first year at trade school in 1984.

[@paulthomas3782]

Great looking hammer well done.

[@cyniex3728]

I made a similar hammer in the workshop at my school with Brass heads and dotted handle (Bachelor in Technology Management and Marine Engineering) As a practice for learning the machines for our upcoming projects.

[@OhHeyTrevorFlowers]

A follow rest might be a fun project and a useful addition to your lathe.

[@madsighntist14]

Nicely done. That inspired me to do my first Lathe/Mill work in over five years (medical recovery). I bought a 24 inch length of One Inch Hexagon BRASS, I think the head will be 2.5 inches long . . . philip, From the Great Pacific North WET, Oregon, USA

[@SiliconeSword]

Casting round stock is definitely a good thing you can do, especially with chips and stuff. I just had some seamless tube laying around that I made a hand fit plug for, and I simply poured some brass in and had a 1.5 foot piece of 1 inch brass after cleaning it up. For really serious stuff I'd still buy round stock, but if you need some aluminum or brass parts that a void won't bother then casting is king, especially for something like aluminum belt grinder wheels in a large diameter. Also, brass alloy doesn't matter for most stuff, but I try to keep plumbing separate from bullet casings separate from round stock when I melt them, as sometimes you may have a bad batch and you will have wrecked 10 pounds of stuff over throwing away 2 pounds of stuff.

[@homemadetools]

It came out great; nice job. We shared this video on our homemade tools forum this week 😎

[@evildead1791]

Excellent build

[@alanp3334]

That looks very cool! Only change I would make to the handle would be putting flat faces along the sides, to make it easier to index the hammer in your hand without having to look at it.

[@realemonful]

That was a really nice little project and turned out much nicer than I originally thought it would

[@jackdawg4579]

Nice job! I asked Santy for a furnace, and he came through! My intent is to start producing some billets for the lathe / mill, aluminium and other non ferrous metals are so expensive in suitable sizes, recycling smaller pieces and scrap to make appropriate sized billets for machining makes a lot of sense.

[@peltona]

Nice looking hammer. Well done.

[@billofalltrades2633]

That was great, I like the look of the hammer head.

[@drachenklaue07]

A tip on Hammer handles from round material: make the sides flat, for your grip to align the faces always with your hand.

[@Gee2316]

Love these videos! Keep them coming brother!

[@Rivenworld]

Awesome job, great looking hammer.

[@mftmachining]

Very good job. Came out nice.

[@hugoschmeisser2484]

that was a really nice casting.

[@ironhead65]

Would you think a lead head would be useful? Would be easy enough to just cast it around a bolt to get the threads for the hammer.

[@jimsvideos7201]

They are handy; a guy named John (doubleboost on here) has videos showing a task-specific crucible/mould tool for them.

[@artisanmakes]

I know that they exist, although I have never used one

[@frankmolina3951]

My latest project was a tapping guide. I'd like to see you make one

[@aaronbuildsa]

Nice hammer build and of all the various hammer builds I've watched this might be the first where someone cast their own brass end. I chuckled when you said you made several nylon faces for the future - if that was me I'd make them .. and promptly lose them forever in some dusty corner, so I'd still end up making them as needed :)

[@RBkaj]

I absolutely love your videos and projects. Thank you

[@sacundim]

I would mill two flats on either side of the handle, parallel to the direction of the heads, to give it more of an oval profile that helps the hand feel how the hammer is oriented

[@girliedog]

Very nice project & video. Thank you

[@tootaashraf1]

Happy new year! I love these vids

[@joecolanjr.8149]

I love it!! I am going to make one for myself...hopefully!! Thanks for the inspiration.

[@HM-Projects]

Less traditional and as someone else said I like that the handles not knurled. I need to make myself one, been getting by with a small round brass or aluminium bar for knocking things.

[@artisanmakes]

Cheers mate. if you make one, I hope you post it to your channel.

[@HM-Projects]

@@artisanmakes sure will do, won't have the same quality for sure 😆

[@iolithblue]

Very nice. Would bronze have been a suitable sub for the brass? Easier to get in round bar stock

[@_Jester_]

and more expensive

[@nardaoeletronica]

Excellent job.

[@howardosborne8647]

The brass machines nicer because the zinc content is lower after you have re-cast it. The square to round tapered shape of your hammer head reminds me very much of hydraulic valve bodies we used to make at an engineering company specialising in valve and manifold manufacture I used to work for.

[@joesikkspac7904]

It looked like you had the lathe spinning pretty fast while filing. I usually keep my RPM @ 300 or less. The teeth last longer. Especially if a hard bit of mystery material gets in there. There is also "copper fever" to worry about. It literally feels like a fever. You also need to worry about the zinc in galvanized while welding, and any other process for that matter. The little bit that you did isn't too much to worry about compared to industrial environments. Caution is always good though. I don't know what kind of cumulative effect these metals have on us. Or which way it is processed is worse. Inhaling fine particulates, gases, etc. Do you have any intention of working your way up to larger and more capable equipment? I would love a Clausing 18" gap-bed with 40" between centers. I can't believe how they have more than doubled in price over 20 years. The tech school I was at in 2001 bought 3 fully loaded brand new ones for $12,000 each. The equivalent now is around $25,000 before shipping. The ones that the school bought came with a 3 and a 4-jaw chuck, plus a 12" faceplate. Steady and follower rests. One dead and one live center. Taper attachment, coolant system, and a DRO. They were made in Taiwan though and I could easily tell the difference in quality from the English-made ones that were already in the shop. The news worked as well, but I highly doubt that they will endure as long. I think that they're made in Michigan now. I haven't had the opportunity to work on one for a long time. Our only manual lathe is a 50-year-old Jet that should've been scrapped 20 years ago. It only goes one speed and nothing else works anymore. Being a fab shop, management doesn't care. They think that having a couple of CNC lathes is all we need. They are morons. I could bang out parts 2 or 3 times a week on a manual faster than it takes to program the CNC. Plus there's changing the jaws and tooling that takes significantly longer as well. They all need a kick in the ass to jar their heads loose.

[@DolezalPetr]

that is a nice design

[@WayneCook306]

Great job thank you for that.👍👍👍

[@wyattselleck7236]

Well done.

[@ThatOneOddGuy]

How'd I miss this upload

[@MarcusLindblomSonestedt78]

Just a relief cut inside the handle threads in the head would've avoided single-point cutting the handle's threads again, right?

[@DiHandley]

“Overall you’re very happy with the project”?? Overall I’m wrapped with the project!! 😉👍

[@stevengunter3457]

nice hammer i prefer rings on the handle of hammer keeps it sliding from where i grad it yet still smooth when holding it.

[@PackthatcameBack]

I think the only thing I'd change is that I'd like the sides of the handle to be flat, as that means you're able to feel the orientation of the hammer faces.

[@joewhitney4097]

Great video. I love your casting videos. I would like to try a small casting at some point in the future. Great project. Thanks for sharing.

[@nxt-1]

At 6:05 you can see the insert tweaking in its seat. You might want to check out that tool holder. (You can see it on the 2nd pass you make)

[@artisanmakes]

Sounds about right for this tool holder. Old import and the threads are all worn. :)

[@rickpalechuk4411]

Beauty Nicely done, thanks for sharing Cheers

[@1962clarky]

Nice job...

[@mattm1216]

And Damascus brass was born.

[@ericbrackenbury]

Nice, and definitely it's cutting better with the lower zinc content. What flux did you use?

[@DeVs51]

Franchement je suis tourneur et je trouve ton marteau très beau

[@motleypixel]

What was the final diameter of the hammer ends? Thank you.

[@artisanmakes]

Roughly 30mm

[@harlech2]

"Since it's near the end of the year, I don't have a lot of metal..." They don't sell metal in Australia every month of the year? Edit: One thing to know about hammer face materials. Copper is non-rebounding, unlike brass... sort of like a deadblow hammer. Not sure if bronze is the same vs. copper or not. One other thing, as far as design aesthetics go, a nice alternative to knurling is cutting some grooves around the handle. You keep a lot of the polished look but get some of your grip back.

[@markfryer9880]

In Australia a lot of suppliers have shut down for the Xmas New Year Break and will only start to reopen either this week 9 January or next week, 16 January. Other places have only been running with a skeleton staff and any custom orders are held over until the full crew returns.

[@garageofpower2891]

Please go and buy a 4 x 6 vertical/horizontal bandsaw, they are about the best bang for buck you can get in a machine shop apart from maybe a drill press. The decrease in time and increase in quality of output is worth every penny, plus they are pretty cheap. I've been working through your videos, and you really need one, If you don't have space, stick your compressor outside in a doghouse (which is a good idea anyway tbh)

[@lefrancoisjeanpierre3098]

bravo beau travail

[@marethos.8315]

great video as always

[@shawnmrfixitlee6478]

I love it , but a knurl will keep the hammer in your hand when common shop oils get on them

[@drrtalexander]

What were the dimensions of the square stock you used for the head, and what was the angle you turned at to get the end faces?

[@artisanmakes]

Roughly 26x26 x 70 stock. Can't remember what the angle was

[@mikepettengill2706]

Nice!

[@kylegershman4668]

Would love to know the mill and lathe models you used.

[@artisanmakes]

It is a sieg x2.7l mill and a modified sieg c3 7x14 lathe

[@dquad]

I once made a machinists hammer with the plastic bit held on with a M8 or similar threaded hole. It broke on my second hit.

[@kentuckytrapper780]

Nice...

[@fabianheiss5065]

👍👍Very cool projekt

[@troyam6607]

brilliant!

[@TalRohan]

According to the auto subtitles your lathe chatters a bit when you are turning with a live SANTA ........ Dude I would think it would do more than chatter...and where did you get a live santa from 🤣 I nearly got caught out with something when I was making a tucking mallet , I was looking for Nylon and found out that HDPE and Nylon 6 have nowhere near the same impact strength as nylon ...the HDPE is a lot cheaper and Nylon 6 is more expensive so one to look out for. Nice little hammer, this is the kind of project I miss having a lathe set up for. I can do brass and nylon work on my wood lathe but steel would be a cool addition to my reportoire

[@joshuabaughn3734]

My High School worked with the local vocational school. In our program there was a student who could machine plastic and wood. Mainly because he was uncomfortable with metal.

[@agust8474]

I made a similar one but instead of threading the handle i did a press fit

[@revenger2111]

Almost exactly the same as the hammer i made myself XD only mine is made out of mostly al and it's a bit bigger

[@jays_metalworks9399]

Cool that 👌

[@thomas82311]

u make flood coolent then use spray why?

[@artisanmakes]

Quicker to clean up on small cuts

[@chasejdmartin]

Can I ask how do you do a long taper like that on the crossslide? What's the working out?

[@artisanmakes]

Do it in two halves and try to bend the tapers together.

[@chasejdmartin]

@@artisanmakes thanks for the reply. Do you have to change the angle? Or do you keep it the same?

[@artisanmakes]

Just keep it the same

[@chasejdmartin]

@@artisanmakes Thanks!!

[@jjcc8379]

I expected a bit of knurling or plastic liner for the handles. To make it comfortable. Or a through hole at the bottom for a lanyard or hang it near the lathe

[@_Jester_]

You can make yours like that.

[@dondawson7409]

Where do you get your nylon from?

[@justinedwards8707]

Ur hammer looks smooth but extremely small😱

[@artisanmakes]

These types of hammers dont need to be big. cheers

[@TommiHonkonen]

ima make one with skeletorized titanium hamdle and inconel 718 head with alloy b2 faces

[@Speedflyer2000]

You must have some beefy machines to male this hammer them😮

[@Speedflyer2000]

*make

[@TommiHonkonen]

@@Speedflyer2000 i am a machinist driving 8 and 13 axis turning centers

[@dquad]

@@TommiHonkonen I drive 27 axis turning centers, remotely.

[@TommiHonkonen]

@@dquad well, i multitask by sleeping on the job and fiddling my phone

[@brendanbenedict31]

what does the time of year have to do with how much metal you have?

[@artisanmakes]

Everything is closed at Christmas including my metal supplier

[@brendanbenedict31]

@@artisanmakes Ah yeah, makes sense I guess

[@brendanbenedict31]

@@artisanmakes love your content, bro

[@rogervickery9376]

First, I have the utmost respect for the projects you seem to undertake with the tools that you have. I have very slightly larger equipment and seriously, you inspire me to try things I would have otherwise said NFW! (No Fu*king Way!) I seriously have to ask bud, is your only saw a hacksaw? and a crappy one at that?? I'm not a paying subscriber, but I would love to have a direct line to a creator such as yourself to share idea's and maybe some problem solving. I'm in Alberta Canada so not sure how feasible this is, but I have a Milwaukee hand held bandsaw that I use all the time, but I also have other means to cut material. I would consider sending you this saw along with a battery and charger in exchange for your email address and maybe a little correspondence in the future on some projects I might undertake. I'm not good at attachments and computer stuff so I don't know how to send you a picture. Anyway, if you read this and are interested, let me know and we'll make the arrangements. If not, I'll keep watching in amazement and appreciating the content you put out, keep up the great work (not so much the hammer,(pretty easy) but the vise and ball turner...Awesome!)

[@bmalovic]

Nice looking, but bad function :) Wood is used for the handle with purpose. All of the mass of the hammer idealy should be at the head. Even better would be hollow composite handle (like Fiskars axes). There is more mass in your handle than in the hammer head. Now you have hammer with total weight of 1.5kg that will stirike with the force od 0.5kg. hammer with wooden handle :) BTW wooden handle is much nicer, and it feel much better in your hand. Smooth polished surface.. nice. But.. what will happend first time your hands are oily? Knurling is not there for beauty, it is there for solid grip. Shape of the handle also shoud be different, with far side wider than a region where you grip it. And eliptic cros section of course.

[@artisanmakes]

If that is how you want your hammers go ahead, for me this suits me and I like the design, hence why I made it this way.

[@artisanmakes]

Also I think you might be over estimating the weight a bit, I just weighed it and it’s just over of 700g. It’s a good weight for my liking. Cheers

[@bmalovic]

@@artisanmakes Just unimportant estimation of absolute weight. Point is in ratio... Ok... you have 700 grams hammer thet punch like 250g hammer with wooden handle :)

[@bmalovic]

@@artisanmakes Of course... It's your hammer :) Maybe you misunderstand me. This is not criticism. This is advice.

[@kelinsoliz2516]

Can anyone tell me what kind of mill that was??

[@artisanmakes]

Sieg x2.7l

[@vijayantgovender2045]

Good evening I would love to get a hammer like the one you made please let me know if you can send me one in South Africa thank you for your kindness

[@rx323bug]

Dude, where are you from? I can’t tell if your Aussie or Kiwi… you’ve got a hybrid accent with elements of both 😂

[@saressares2500]

Do you have thé dimensions ?

[@StraightLineCycles]

Where's your makers mark?

[@tootaashraf1]

Do you use flux core or mig for welding?

[@artisanmakes]

I have both but I mostly do mig nowadays.

[@jenseitz]

What is the tool you're using at 2:28?

[@artisanmakes]

Shop made fly cutter

[@christophersmith2165]

Are you affiliated with Ausee machines?

[@artisanmakes]

Not at all, I’ve bought from them two or three times but that’s about it.