Brass Hammer with Oak Handle

I made this small brass hammer to tap things down on the parallels in the milling vice. I may also use it for driving chisels. The idea of a stubby but weighty brass hammer was inspired by David Barron’s brass hammers. I like his a lot more but overall I’m happy with how it came out and it was a good chance to combine lathe, mill and wood work.

I designed the handle in sketchup, printed the design, then cut it out and traced around it. I then cut it out with a coping saw. My wife finished the handle with a dye stain and Briwax. She has way more skill and experience with wood finishes than I do.

The slot in the brass screw was cut on the mill with a 2mm end mill.

Using a simple mandrel to make the locating pins out of 3mm stainless steel screws

Materials Used

• A piece of oak that I found lying around, cut into 3 pieces and laminated
• 28mm A.F. brass hex bar
• 12mm mild steel (probably a roller from a printer)
• 2 M3 stainless screws
• 20mm brass bar used to make the screw at the bottom of the handle. (Not shown)

p.s. Thanks to Steve for the use of his brand new light tent! Very cool.