Hand Plane Tap Hammer - Part 1

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I have quite a few hand planes where I need to tap the blade to adjust once in a while.

So I made this little Tap Hammer from a Pex gas tee. I tapped the inside for 3/8"-16 threads because I wanted to be able to thread in a brass bolt or such.
 


In the meantime I tried adding
Nylon 6/6 hole grommet at each end



... and tried a quick connect bolt cap at each end



I like the Nylon cap plugs but still would like to try brass bolts that have been dressed up with hex removed. I'm not sure if the quick connect bolt caps thrill me much.

Any thoughts?

Thanks for looking!

Feel free to comment, ask questions and "thumbs up 👍" if you like it! 

Also please see 

NEW! Part 2 - Hand Plane Tap Hammer



Cheers!
MrRick



39 Comments

very cool hammer rick, never seen one done like that before.

working with my hands is a joy,it gives me a sense of fulfillment,somthing so many seek and so few find.-SAM MALOOF.

Looks great!

Only thing I can think of re. the caps, is balance. What ever whacks/taps best!
cool hammer
carriage bolt head? replaceable, that square shoulder is in the way
could you retap it to pipe thread? flush cut a brass plug?

You don't always get what you go after,but you do get what you wouldn't have got if you didn't go after what you didn't get. Blaze Foley

Thanks Pottz. I've made hammers out of galvanized plumbing tees but never this small. It'll work nicely once I settle on the right ends.
Thanks SplinterGroup.... the balance is beautiful. Got lucky I guess. 
Nice ideas for the hammer.    

Ron

hairy
cool hammer
carriage bolt head? replaceable, that square shoulder is in the way
could you retap it to pipe thread? flush cut a brass plug?

Thanks hairy! A carriage bolt head is actually what I want. The problem is finding a 3/8"-16 one in brass. So far I haven't found one. I know they exist. Brass plugs this size haven't been easy to find as well.
Nice!

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".





 MrRick
 commented 27 minutes ago
Thanks Pottz. I've made hammers out of galvanized plumbing tees but never this small. It'll work nicely once I settle on the right ends.

How small is it.  I made one similar...

Mine is approximately 365.2357mm long. Must post about it, not because of what I made, but how I followed it up.

If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD

Very nice plane hammer, I gotta make me one of these. The quick connect bolt cap might become a problem with the hole, some irons are not very wide up top and either they could go in the hole - maybe get stuck, or deflect on the hole rim for unwanted movement. 
I like the bulbous handle, can be used for a good smack on a stuck wedge.
Great work, got me thinking about making mine.
I tried a Google search for 3/8 - 16 carriage head bolt, got a page full of them. Give it a try.
Thanks Oldtool. The 'lil hammer feels nice in my hand and balanced which wasn't a goal when making it. 
I've decided against the quick connect bolt cap. I don't like the hole either. It's not very aesthetically appealing. Hex head or carriage head in brass is my goal. Only thing is brass is softer than steel and my concern is tapping it against steel over time may ding it up. 
While the plastic plug caps give a profile I like I'm probably going to ditch that idea as well. 
I'm going to stay with brass. I'll continue my search.
Thanks for your input!

Duckie....
LIttleBlackDuck
How small is it.  I made one similar...

I've turned brass on a wood lathe. Carbide tools will do it. Find a brass bolt and turn the head into the shape you want.

You don't always get what you go after,but you do get what you wouldn't have got if you didn't go after what you didn't get. Blaze Foley

That is cute size MrR... Ideal for the purpose... mine is about double the size and far, far, far too heavy.

If your first cut is too short... Take the second cut from the longer end... LBD

hairy
I've turned brass on a wood lathe. Carbide tools will do it. Find a brass bolt and turn the head into the shape you want.

Thanks hairy! I'll keep that in mind. 👍
That’s kinda what I did…but with a brass hex rod, not a bolt…but it would work just as easy.

Ryan/// ~sigh~ I blew up another bowl. Moke told me "I made the inside bigger than the outside".