Project Hammer 06-14-11

I decided to take a short break from making another wooden lure and started on a minor project for my kids.  They both thought that Thor’s Hammer was a pretty cool weapon so I took a block of wood 7” in length and possessing a height and width of 3.5” and got started.

 

 

Unfortunately for me, I don’t have a table saw or else this would have been a breeze.  I definitely have a lot of shaping to do.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My son opted to go with hammer that should look how Marvel Comics draws it while my daughter wants to make hers octagonal as is lightly traced (eye-balled, not a regular octagon) on the block in the first picture (much easier to cut).

 

Incidentally, I’m going to give that crankbait an Iron Man color scheme.

 

Project Hammer Update 06-19-11

 

My son’s hammer is nearly done. I wish I had the right tools so that the work to make it would have been easier.  The handle has been added. I will also need to add a circular cap on top and a hole for the leash before the final preparations can start.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A little closer view.

 

However, my daughter’s take on Thor’s hammer, is one that is octagonal in shape.

 

I figured that a regular octagon (one in which all sides are equal in length) would be the best shape to use.  Unfortunately, I knew I wasn’t going to be able to “eyeball” this without a lot of trial and error so I decided to really think how this could be done.

 

I was hoping that little bit of geometry, trigonometry, and algebra should be enough to figure this out and I was hoping to remember enough of these subjects from elementary school to proceed.  I started with the square face of the end of the block and worked from there, taking the dimensions of the block and putting down on paper.  Next, I made some observations and listed down things that could be helpful to know.

 

Surprisingly, it did not take long to jot the information down, derive equations, and crunch numbers.  After I finished it, I thought that this would be an excellent opportunity to show my daughter (who is at that stage of where she is wondering why she needs to know math because it’s “useless”) how math can be useful, so I wrote it up as shown below for her benefit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although I felt fairly comfortable with my calculations, I had a little doubt that I could be wrong.  I found a page on the web on how to construct a regular octagon, and guess what?  The guy did it the same way!!!!  Yee hah! I guess I learned something when I was in school after all!  The guy was kind enough to take it a step further to eliminate the square root of 2, but I didn’t care to do that. It has been ingrained and burned into my memory that the square root of 2 is roughly 1.414.

 

I had a great time working through this neat little challenge and I must say that it really paid off.  As you can see below, my calculations weren’t too shabby.  I used a ruler to confirm that each side was 1.5”.

 

 

I bought a circular saw this weekend, which I wish I had when working on my son’s hammer.  The circular saw made short work of cutting out the octagon and would have made making his a lot easier.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

So far, so good.

Project Hammer Update 06-24-11

Just finished basic sanding and making a handle for my daughter’s octagonal hammer.

 

 

 

 

I have reached a small snag in proceeding.  I am somewhat torn between wanting to paint them with the traditional colors vs. the colors they want.

 

Son: Red for the head with a black colored handle….  Hmm….

 

Daughter:  Metallic Purple (Say What!?) for the head, and undecided on the color handle.

 

 

Oh goodness gracious. What’s a dad to do? Lol

 

 

Project Hammer Update 07-07-11

 

I haven’t had any time to work on the project since the last posting until yesterday.  It was time to work on the “end caps” that go on the top on the hammer.

 

The larger pieces were what I carved out first. While they fit, they were too “large” and as a result, didn’t look aesthetically pleasing.

 

It turns out that it would look good if the cap were about or just a little bigger than the diameter of the handle, which happens to be 7/8” with about a ¼” thickness.  However, I wasn’t looking forward to working on that small a scale with the wood I had on hand.

 

Fortunately, something in the garage caught my eye.  Home Depot saved the day!  There it was, a paint stir stick from Home Depot.  The stick seemed ideal to use.  Creating a 1” x 1” square would be a piece of cake now.

 

So after using the same mathematical process I used earlier, it was a breeze to calculate the length of one side of the mini octagon end cap for my daughter’s hammer.  If you’re curious, it’s slightly under 0.5”.

 

In the photo, the octagonal end cap is already glued to the hammer.  The square in the middle with a circle drawn inside it will be the end cap for my son’s hammer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am happy with the progress to date.  Drilling a hole for the strap, painting, and adding a clear coat are the remaining things left on the to do list.  I bet my kids will enjoy painting their hammers.

Project Hammer Update 07-29-11

 

Despite having the hammers for the kids primed and ready to paint, they claim to be “too busy” with summer vacation activities to start painting.  As a result, I decided to go ahead and make a hammer for me.

 

I thought it would be neat for my hammer to be a combination of both of theirs.  One side will be octagonal like my daughter’s hammer and the other side beveled like my son’s hammer.  I also added a little twist to the beveled edge side by having that end rotated so that the rear is diamond-shaped instead of being square.

 

Things were going great until I drilled the hole for the handle.  I trusted the level on my drill and it was completely off.  Okay, I won’t blame the equipment.

 

 

As you can see in the first photo, the initial hole started out well.  After boring through to the other side, it is clear that  I got off track.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am perplexed as to why the level on the drill didn’t help.  I figured that the easiest course of action would be to drill a new hole and fashion plugs to cover the initial mistake.

 

The plug labeled T is for the top.  All of the plugs were inserted into the holes with glue.

 

The next step is to sand off the high points of the plugs to make them flush with the hammer.

 

At this time, I am trying to decide on a shape to make the cap.  We already have in use a circle and an octagon.  I seem to be leaning toward a cross or a kind of star.

 

Project Hammer Update 07-30-11

 

Finally!!!! One of my kids has decided to take some time off their important summer vacation to start painting their hammer.  The honor fell to my son.

 

Here he is, about to get started.

 

 

 

Got the first red paint coat on.  He is really excited now!  I shot a little video of him wielding it and he was having a blast with it.  I just hope he doesn’t ask me to build him an Iron Man suit of armor. I wouldn’t know where to begin! Lol.

 

I managed to get my hammer repaired and primed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I decided to go with a star, particularly a “ninja” type of star.  Once again, I went to the Home Depot stir stick to make the ninja star or “shuriken” cap.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

View from the front.

 

I need to find the right gray/stone/silver color now for my hammer.

 

This project is really starting to get fun now that the cutting, shaping and priming are completed.  I hope my daughter sees her brother’s progress as an incentive to start painting hers.

 

Project Hammer Update 08-01-11

 

My daughter finally starts painting her hammer.

 

 

She definitely has the artist’s touch.

 

Project Hammer Update 08-05-11

 

The painting of the hammers is finished!!!!

 

From left to right:

 

Metallic Blue Octagonal Hammer with an octagonal cap and a silver handle (daughter’s hammer).

 

Metallic Red Beveled Hammer (Semi-Traditional Thor Style - I didn't want to copy it 100%)  with a round cap and a Metallic Copper (to simulate a traditional dark wooden handle) finished with a black bottom (son’s hammer).

 

Metallic Silver (darkened with a touch of black) with a ninja star cap and a Metallic Copper handle.

 

 

Just having some fun!

 

 

 

 

 

This will be the last update to this project, as there will not be a need to post pictures of the hammers with the final clear coat.  Thanks for joining us on this journey.  It has been a great ride.  Go Thor!!!!

 

-ib

 

PS - I suppose these hammers could be used as fish whackers!