Hammer rack

Estaban · Post by **Estaban** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 6:27 pm

I need to build a new hammer rack. Not sure what style I am going to go for and looking for inspiration. What have people here done? My hammer count just tripled so I am looking to improve my setup.

So, pics of what people have would be awesome.

sha-ul · Post by **sha-ul** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 6:34 pm

there was a couple of good how-to articles over at iforgeiron, but there site is partly down for an upgrade. I saved one as a mht file, email me& I will send it to you

sha-ul · Post by **sha-ul** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 7:38 pm

I sent the email to Estaban, & a couple others who I thought might find it of interest, I hope they don't mind :oops:

if anyone else wants the rather large email, you can find my email address listed under the YIM tab at the bottom of my posts. please put hammer rack in the subject line.

edit, I'm not kidding, it has over a dozen pictures, plus 2 how-to pages.

Halberds · Post by **Halberds** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 9:00 pm

I used a strip of leather and screws, along the back of my bench.
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/h ... merack.jpg

Keegan Ingrassia · Post by **Keegan Ingrassia** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 9:04 pm

Halberds wrote:I used a strip of leather and screws, along the back of my bench.
http://home.armourarchive.org/members/h ... merack.jpg

+1

GuntherofOrkney · Post by **GuntherofOrkney** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 9:18 pm

I have a nice big rolling rack. I will take a picture tomarrow and post it.

Halberds · Post by **Halberds** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 9:20 pm

Thanks for the email hammer rack Sha-ul.

Bunch of nice hammers too.

Estaban · Post by **Estaban** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 9:38 pm

Thanks Sha-ul for the email. Cool designs.

Halberds: neat idea but I have way too many hammers and not enough wall space!

Keep em coming...

Ugo · Post by **Ugo** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 9:42 pm

Pics or it didn't happen!!!

Pitbull Armory · Post by **Pitbull Armory** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 11:18 pm

Hi there, I do it like Hal but I put the leather around the anvil stumps, Now ill run some on my benches to I never thought of it.

Thank you

Pitbull

Pitbull Armory · Post by **Pitbull Armory** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 11:25 pm

sha-ul · Post by **sha-ul** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 11:42 pm

Ugo wrote:Pics or it didn't happen!!!

Email sent

sha-ul · Post by **sha-ul** » Sun Jan 24, 2010 11:44 pm

Halberds wrote:Thanks for the email hammer rack Sha-ul.

Bunch of nice hammers too.

I thought you might like the Ideas :wink:

Ugo · Post by **Ugo** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 12:58 am

Holy crap! lots o' pics! Thanks

sha-ul · Post by **sha-ul** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 1:10 am

Ugo wrote:Holy crap! lots o' pics! Thanks

I saved most of those because I need to build a hammer& tong rack,& was looking for ideas.

I did say the email was rather large :oops:

Halberds · Post by **Halberds** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 1:28 am

I have some welders and various metals, but no shop floor space.

For my big hammers I toss then on the work bench bottom shelf.
Also a metal shelving unit holds a pile of hammers.

Funny thing is... one can not have too many hammers. :wink:

Pitbull Armory · Post by **Pitbull Armory** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 2:08 am

Hi and thanks for sending all those pics of hammer racks Sha ul. Some good ones there for sure.

TY

PB

knitebee · Post by **knitebee** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 2:23 am

I thought all the flat surfaces in the shop where hammer racks :twisted:

Actually for my most used hammers I use this, it doubles as a box for transporting them.

Halberds · Post by **Halberds** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 5:17 am

knitebee,

Cool hammer box.
I particularly like your long reach hammer.
And of course the oval raising and detail hammers.

Hammers are bad... Mmmkay?

PS: Hinges on the inside... Hmmm, I was thinking about building a chest.

PS: PS: McMaster-Carr has a lot of sizes for replacement leathers on our weighted rawhide mallets.
I also use the non-weighted rawhide mallets on more delicate things.

Some day, I will get some teardrop plastic mallets that are all the rage.

:wink:

Sean Powell · Post by **Sean Powell** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 9:13 am

I was cleaning the shop some this weekend. As I was finding hammers I was putting them away until I realized that I had run out of space on a 4' long hammer rack! I hadn't even gotten to the hammer and tongs that sit by the forge. I need a rebuild and I think going vertical is a good plan. I'm going to draw up a plan but I'd love the input too.

Sean

Mad Matt · Post by **Mad Matt** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 12:03 pm

Mine's made from a skid. And my stakes the shaft of them slides in the gap under my slip roller. Pics of both.

schreiber · Post by **schreiber** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 1:28 pm

Here are two more ideas for going vertical....
The walls of my shop are block, so I had to frame up supports for pegboard & such, and as you can see it comes in handy.

The dish bench rack is 3/4" tube, welded to some plates with holes drilled in them, that are bolted to the framing. It's on an angle, so the handles slope backward. That way they don't get knocked around so easily.

The ones on the pegboard are on a pegboard style hammer rack. They're all light.

The stake plate station hammers are just 12" spikes (tent stakes in a former life) that I welded to some angle iron. It's more of a pain to get at hammers sometimes, but I try to get in the habit of setting up workstations before I do the work, and that would include making sure the right hammer(s) are in front.

I also like having hammers spread out around the shop. I'll never use a raising or planishing hammer at the dishing table, or a dishing hammer at the stake plate.

Thomas Powers · Post by **Thomas Powers** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 1:40 pm

My current hammer rack was an iron frame---like one for a LARGE aquarium---about 6' long but not very wide and quite stoutly built.

To this I bolted 4 pieces of blackiron pipe 3/4" id? that go the full length and are spaced in two sets each with just enough room for the handles to drop through and then spacing between the two for the heads not to interfere.

So 12' of hammer racking for the cost of 12 nuts and bolts. No welding required!

I'll be adding another when the shop extension gets build as I am out of space. (just picked up 2 hammers this weekend, one a small crosspeen stamped "made in USSR" and the other a ballpein for the scrap hammer bucket to reforge into something else.)

Too many hammers is an oxymoron!

Thomas

sha-ul · Post by **sha-ul** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 1:59 pm

I finally had a chance to upload a few pics, there are still some in the mht format that I am working on.

notice on this variation he used a brake drum from a semi truck for the base.

WinterTreeCrafts · Post by **WinterTreeCrafts** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 9:15 pm

Heres mine, just made of some angle iron and tube stock arc welded together.
Next one will be wider and have casters

sha-ul · Post by **sha-ul** » Mon Jan 25, 2010 11:09 pm

WinterTreeCrafts wrote:Heres mine, just made of some angle iron and tube stock arc welded together.
Next one will be wider and have casters

nice.
how stable is it?

WinterTreeCrafts · Post by **WinterTreeCrafts** » Tue Jan 26, 2010 10:10 am

You wouldn't think by looking at it since the footprint is so small but its actually REALLY sturdy just by sheer weight. It also helps that the weight of the hammers and stakes are pretty well centered over the base so its not "waiting" to tip.

If you kick it really hard up top obviously it will go over but it survives the usual bumping against it and things falling on it and against it of shop life without even budging.

BTW the color was a compromise with my girlfriend, Lisa. She is actually the one who welded this together and she wanted to paint it purple. It took quite a lot of begging and pleading to get the green as a 2nd choice.

GuntherofOrkney · Post by **GuntherofOrkney** » Wed Jan 27, 2010 8:33 pm

my hammer rack is on rollers so i can roll it around the shop which i dont seem to ever do hehe.

[img]http://i241.photobucket.com/albums/ff194/GuntherofOrkney/486843720_1708058072_0.jpg[/img]

AL · Post by AL » Wed Jan 27, 2010 10:49 pm

Damn didn't add the pics!

Cap'n Atli · Post by **Cap'n Atli** » Thu Jan 28, 2010 9:00 am

Small blacksmithing shop, wooden walls (fireproofed), lots of hammers and tongs. I just pound in the nails and arrange them by weight and type along the stringers. I also have racks alongside the forges for tons and "broom handle clips" attached to the anvil stands. Certain planishing hammers are kept in the tool chest where friends can't abuse them.

A place for everything, and everything all over the place; but like I said, it's a small shop and things are logically arranged; at least by my logic.

William of Stonebridge · Thu Jan 28, 2010 12:21 pm

I collected this photo at one time but I don't remember whose it was.

TakedaSanjuichiro · Post by **TakedaSanjuichiro** » Thu Jan 28, 2010 12:54 pm

2 things... I thought the floor was the hammer rack... Man my wife will be happy to hear it is not (I live in an apartment, so all space is workspace)

Secondly... I'll be in my bunk... hammer poRn.... mmmm

Balthazar von Knopf · Post by **Balthazar von Knopf** » Thu Jan 28, 2010 1:32 pm

DROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOLLLLLLLL!!!!!!!
my pathetic collection of 30 or so are like yours Pitbull, on leathers around my stumps. I like it, but guests often wonder why I ask them to put them BACK IN THE SAME SPOT when they're done!