How to Choose the Right Hammer

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By eHow Contributing Writer

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

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

Step 1

Drive and remove nails with a curved claw hammer.
Step 2

Tear up flooring, sheetrock and tile with a straight claw hammer.
Step 3

Tap small nails, tacks or brads with a tack hammer. This is the type of hammer used for making picture frames and upholstering furniture.
Step 4

Cut bricks and align them in mortar with a bricklayer's hammer. The head is square and long.
Step 5

Shape metalwork with a ball peen hammer. The head is very compact. One sire is round and the other flat.
Step 6

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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