Since we just recently posted a nice review on the Stiletto hammer, we thought it might be timely to give a few ideas on how to make your life a little easier using hammers. Listed below a just a few ideas on how to get the most out of your hammer when time is of the essence!
One interesting way to get nails hammered into hard wood is to lubricate them. You can use lip balm, beeswax, or even a lubricating oil. Put the lubrication somewhere conveniently close so you can still work quickly to get your nails in place.
Try drilling a pilot hole, just as if you were using a screw instead of a nail. If you dont have the right size drill bit, then cut the head right off the nail that you are using, and chuck the nail tip tightly in your drill so that you can make the right size pilot hole before you start hammering the true nails in!
If you want to keep from splitting wood when you are hammering nails, you can blunt the tip of the nails in use by just tapping the point of the nail slightly with your hammer. If you are driving nails into soft wood, choose an area other than the grain lines to avoid splitting the wood.
As shown in the Stiletto video, a magnet on the head of the hammer placed correctly helps line up the first drive of the nail. You could also put a magnet on the handle of the hammer so all you have to do then is dip the handle in a box of nails, and always have a few stuck to the handle, ready for use.
Lastly, if you want to pull nails out of wood, but they seem to be to small for the back of the hammer in use, make a small nail puller by filing a notch in the shape of a V into one of the hammer’s claw tips. If you use a triangular shaped needle file, that should do the trick very well.
Good luck hammering, and watch those thumbs!!
interesting… the magnet tip is helpful!