How to Choose the Right Hammer

By eHow Home & Garden Editor

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Use the right hammer for the job not only for your comfort and convenience, but for your safety as well.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

  • Ball-peen Hammers
  • Brick Hammers
  • Curved Claw Hammers
  • Mallets
  • Straight Claw Hammers
  • Tack Hammers

Step1
Drive and remove nails with a curved claw hammer.
Step2
Tear up flooring, sheetrock and tile with a straight claw hammer.
Step3
Tap small nails, tacks or brads with a tack hammer. This is the type of hammer used for making picture frames and upholstering furniture.
Step4
Cut bricks and align them in mortar with a bricklayer's hammer. The head is square and long.
Step5
Shape metalwork with a ball peen hammer. The head is very compact. One sire is round and the other flat.
Step6
Chisel wood with a mallet. The heads are either rubber or wood. Make sure the handle is comfortable.

Tips & Warnings

  • Be sure that the handle of the hammer is solid wood, steel or fiberglass. Hollow handles can bend or break if you put too much pressure on them.
  • Hammer heads come with two types of faces: flat and crown (sometimes called bell). The flat type is used to drive a nail to the work surface; the crown type will allow you to make the nail head flush.
  • Be sure that the head is not loose. A flying hammer head can cause serious damage or injury.

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eHow Article:  How to Choose the Right Hammer

eHow Home & Garden Editor

eHow Home & Garden Editor

Category: Home & Garden

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