Hammer weight?

[leehljp]

What weight hammer do your prefer or use for general use? Straight claw or curved?

I have, for a long time, used the somewhat standard 16 oz hammer. But, since 2000 I have used a screw driving drill or impact driver and rarely use a framing hammer/nail for building or repairs - if I could used a screw in its place. I used the PC 14.4 drill/driver for a while, then went to the Ryobi 18v and used it so much that I rarely used a hammer / nail situation.

Lately, I have been using my hammer for a few projects and the 16 oz heads seem too light. I never thought about it before, but after handling impact drivers for so long, the 16 oz hammer just seems so light weight.

I received 3 12ft church pews (oak) a couple of years ago and disassembled them with the nails sticking out everywhere. I had them safely hidden until a couple of weeks ago. I pulled them out and started pulling the nails and staples out. I found out quick that I had lost my ability to use a smooth headed hammer well. So, from a hardware store, I picked up a milled head hammer (22 oz I think) and weight felt comfortable - and the milled head did an easy job on pushing the nails out without glancing off. After that, I went to using the smooth faced 16 oz hammer and again it seemed so light. I have three or four 16 oz hammers.

I need to get a good 22 - 24 oz smooth faced hammer for general use. (I am not sure if I am using the right terminology - it has been so long.)

Comments - experiences, favorite hammers?

[cwsmith]

Lee,

I too have found myself not using a hammer very much over the past several years. Of course I haven't been faced with any real building/framing projects either... such would be my primary usage for a conventional hammer. Almost everything that I've had to do with this current house has been done with screws (drywall or torx-hd Spax), which is my preferred fastener; and, for trim there's my finishing nailer or the brad nailer.

Presently I own only two carpenters hammers, a straight claw Sears Companion rubber sleeved steel shaft and a Stanley 91-1/2 wooden handle curved-claw. The former I bought when I was 17 or 18 (early 60's) and the latter sometime in the late 60's. Both of these are smooth-head, and as you say, seem a little light for me today. I also have a few other hammers for other purposes, like a "tack" and "engineers" and even a stone-cutters hammer.

However, I'm currently facing a couple of reasonably small projects like re-shingling my garage roof, putting in a storage loft there, and adding a small wall/roof connection between the garage and the new work shed. While I've been seriously giving thought to buying a framing nailer, the cheaper ones (like HF) are way to hefty IMO, so I'm thinking in terms of a much cheaper 22-oz serrated head claw. For the new roof, I think I'd continue on the my old Stanley, but the 22-oz would be the thing for the framing work. Qustion of course is how far gone is my striking ability... hopefully that hasn't eroded too much over all these years. The power nailer is still calling me, but that seems like such overkill considering the relatively small building project I'd like to undertake.

CWS

[capncarl]

Cw, early 60's @17 or 18? I'd suggest keep your feet on hard ground and shed that roofing task to someone younger and more agile, and able to take the heat. It won't take but one tumble off a roof to wind up your hammer swinging? I'm 64 and have been on roofs since I was 20, but I gave up getting on sloped roofs 10 years ago. I believe they have gotten more slope now, and the sun is hotter.
capncarl

[LCHIEN]

If you are not swinging a hammer on a regular basis, a hammer heavier than 16 oz. might be a little much, depends on your physical strength, and how long you are working,
Personally I use a claw hammer. But I really don't use them that often and not always for hammering nails,, if you know what I mean.
When I have serious nailing, out come the air nailers and I don't do much building-scale stuff, so 16 ga. nailer is good for me.
Even with 3-4 nails, an air nailer is so much easier to critically align something and then nail it compared to having three hands and taking multiple whacks at something that will shift ever so slightly when hit.
And I also, like Hank, use screws when possible.

My most used hammer these days is a stubby 8 oz ball peen from Harbor Freight. Compact, it is used for lineup and tapping stuff into place, installing dowels, etc.
On sale you can get them for around $3 and change!


Oh yeah, the 16 oz framing hammer most often get used for replacing or fixing loose boards on the cedar picket fence. four nails and too much trouble to pull a hose and using stainless steel nails.

[cwsmith]

Carl,

I'm going to be 72 come July, but I still am pretty agile. (I shovel both my neighbor's and our walk in the winter and currently both my lawns here and in Painted Post as well as my neighbor's, my son's, and my mother-in-laws here.) My wife does want me to find a contractor for the roof, but honestly the garage is only one-story and the roof has a pretty low slope to it. What I'd like to do is just find someone to give me a hand as that would be more expedient, but who knows... I'm just not used to hiring things done. Tearing off the old roofing is the toughest, and most dreaded part of the job.

BTW, my two old claw hammers are 16 oz and honestly that's the only claw hammer I've ever used. I think LChein has a good point about using a nailer though, a lot more precise in placement and certainly more efficient the three or mor blows it would take me to sink a six- or eight-penny nail.

CWS

[Pappy]

Like Loring I tend to break out the nail guns more these days. I have a straight claw, 20 oz. framing hammer that sees occasional use, mostly for tear down jobs. My favorite is a 16 oz. curved claw hammer (Plumb I think) that my Dad gave me when I was about 10 years old. It hangs in the shop and still sees use on small projects and setting nails. There are also an assortment of ball peen hammers and a set of 'stubby' hammers in my tool box. The 'stubbies' are cheapies that my youngest gave me as a gag gift one time but get used a lot.

[LinuxRandal]

Who is this General that your speaking of? One hammer? Well, when I was under 8, I had a claw hammer that was no more then 8 ounces. (rarely seem them as small as this, so they could even be under that) That became my mom's tack hammer for picture hanging. I moved up to a 16 ounce, claw haammer, as an older kid, to prevent those carpenters mark across the face. Still have a few of these, and they are generally workshop hammers. For construction, I generally use (if I am using a hammer) around 20-24 ounce rip hammer, with a smooth face. I do think I have a waffle face one somewhere, maybe (been a long time, may have given it away). Again, if you were having a grand kid around, I would generally keep a claw hammer around for them, rather then a rip (straight claw) hammer.
Metal work, well a full range of ball pein's, as well as rubber mallet, a couple dead blow (for punch work), etc. Need dictates use and size.

[leehljp]

Who is this General that your speaking of? One hammer?

The one who dictates what you use the most of the time:
1. when you have a choice of several;
2. the one at hand (conveniently located.)
3. the only one you can find.

I think all my hammers are 16 oz claw - except for a couple of dead blow and one rubber hammer. (Oh, I do have a good heavy sledge hammer.) My wife uses the claw hammers far more than I do. As mentioned above, after using impact drivers and (lately Ryobi cordless nailers) I picked up my 16 oz hammer a couple of weeks ago and it felt like a tack hammer. In addition, trying to strike the nails to push them back enough to get the claw under them for removal, the smooth head and light weight were not what I remembered. I guess I am loosing muscle mass in my arms (I'm 69) and don't have the arm force to hit like I used to with a 16 oz hammer. I don't have trouble picking up a 20 or 22 oz hammer and the additional weight seems to accomplish what a 16 oz used to - for me.


A couple of people mentioned the HF stubby hammers: I have one and like it. It is my "tack" hammer.

[os1kne]

I probably have 3-4 of the 16 oz claw hammers, a ball pein, a 4 lb mini-sledge, and a drilling hammer (probably 2 lb). I've been tempted to get a decent 20+ oz. framing hammer a couple of times in the past few years (building a deck and framing a basement remodel), but haven't pulled the trigger. I've also been using the cordless impact driver and pneumatic nailers more (which is probably what has kept me from getting the framing hammer, as it wouldn't get used often). I break out the drilling hammer when I need to bang on something better than the claw hammer is capable of.

[capncarl]

I can't remember the last time that I actually used my framing hammer for. The biggest problem I have with using my porter cable framing nailer is the pistol grip is not quite right for my hand and after about 100 shots I have a quarter size blister on my hand.