The hammer.
By far, the single most useful tool.
Because we love them so much, I thought
it might be worthwhile running through a few basic tips.
Now I'll be covering selection, action, and maintenance.
Now the most commonly used hammer throughout any building
site is the 20-ounce.
That will cover pretty much anything
you're going to do, from large action to small action.
Very, very handy hammer.
Now next we've got our 16-ounce hammer.
This one here, if you're doing slightly finer work,
got finer nails.
Slightly smaller, and you want a little bit more control.
Or if you're not used to a heavy hammer, like a 20-ounce,
this one here is really, really handy.
When I started my apprenticeship,
we started out on a 16-ounce, then
you worked your way up to a 20.
So very handy for you.
Next, on the other end of the spectrum,
we've got this long-handled rip-claw hammer.
If you're doing a lot of hammering, doing
a lot of framing, this one here will take
care of all your big stuff.
Now, if you are doing a lot of hammering,
you've got this option here.
Got an anti-vibration handle.
This takes all the whack out of when
you're putting your nails in, so you
don't get a sore arm if you are doing a lot of hammering.
Nice little hammer.
Now this style of hammer here, it's
got a graphite handle on it.
Slightly lighter there, so it's a little bit easier for you
to use.
But still the same grunt with a 20-ounce head on it.
Quite a nice hammer too.
Now hammers really are one of those tools you're
going to have forever, so you want
to make sure you get the right one for you.
Making sure that it fits really nice and comfortably
in your hand.
Now when you are actually going to use your hammer,
you want to hold it right at the very, very end of the shaft.
You certainly don't want to hold it
around the middle of the neck like that.
That's what we call a choker in the trade.
Not a good look.
So you want to hold that right down on the end
there, making sure you've got the hammer that suits you,
really nice and comfortable in there.
So when you are actually using your hammer,
and you're putting in some big, long four-Inch nails like this,
you want to have your thumb and your forefinger
on either side of your hammer.
And having the center line there lined up
with the V of your hand there.
Now you might have noticed, when I
was banging in that four-inch nail,
my action was all coming from my wrist here.
I wasn't actually bending my elbow whatsoever.
You use a lot of the elbow when you're hitting a nail in,
you're going to eventually get tennis elbow.
So we've got a lot more control using our wrist.
Now another little tip.
If you're putting in smaller nails, our 16-ounce here
we'll use.
It's got this little panel pin here,
you put your forefinger on the back of your hammer,
you get a lot more control for these smaller nails.
Still using my wrist.
That goes in the there quite nice and easy.
OK, let's rip up into showing you how to pull out nails.
A couple of different ways you can do this.
There's your standard way, just by pulling along
the length of the timber, along your grain.
Takes quite a bit of effort, but you can get it.
And you will end up marking the timber.
Another way, if you want to protect the surface.
You can put a block down, and it gives you
a little bit more purchase.
That comes out quite easy.
Now another way, if you're not worried
about wrecking that timber, you can actually
put your hammer in sideways, like that, and pull that out.
And that gives you--
the claw of your hammer closer to you timber.
And that is really, really handy if your head has already
snapped off, and you've got nothing to lever against.
Now once you've chosen the hammer that's good for you,
you're going to need to maintain it every now and then.
If you've got an old hammer like this, hasn't
been used in a while, you probably
want to give it a tickle up, a little bit
of fine-grade, wet-and-dry sandpaper.
Now the face of these hammers is one of the most common cause
for when you're missing a nail.
So it might have a build-up of glue or silicon
or paint on there.
So you just need to give that a tickle up on the sandpaper.
Holding that hammer nice and level.
Bit of that and then a bit opposite direction.
And it's just going to take any rubbish off.
Now that's looking pretty good there.
If you want to make the rest of this handle look a little bit
sharper, once again, we can use our wet-and-dry sandpaper.
If you like, you can put a bit of water
with this wet-and-dry sandpaper, no problem.
Now, you might think old granddad's hammer isn't
really worth the cut of its jib, but you know what?
A little bit of care and maintenance, and that
there will last you for a lifetime.
If you've got a bottom like this with a leather
handle, every now and then you can soak
that in a little bit of oil.
It's keeps that leather nice and supple.
And once we've finished that, all I would do
is put a little bit of CRC on that.
If I'm not going to use it for a little while,
just puts a nice little protective film on it.
Stop it from rusting.
Rightio, that's looking absolutely beautiful.
Now choose a hammer that suits you.
Use it properly.
Keep it well maintained, and it should last you a lifetime.
For any more tips and advice, head into Mitre 10,
and a staff member will sort you out.