A forge is a type of hearth used for heating metals, or the workplace (smithy) where such a hearth is located. The forge is used by the smith to heat a piece of metal to a temperature at which it becomes easier to shape by forging, or to the point at which work hardening no longer occurs. The metal is transported to and from the forge using tongs, which are also used to hold the workpiece on the smithy's anvil while the smith works it with a hammer. Sometimes, such as when hardening steel or cooling the work so that it may be handled with bare hands, the workpiece is transported to the slack tub, which rapidly cools the workpiece in a large body of water. However, depending on the metal type, it may require an oil quench or a salt brine instead; many metals require more than plain water hardening. The slack tub also provides water to control the fire in the forge.
A hammer is a tool, most often a hand tool, consisting of a weighted "head" fixed to a long handle that is swung to deliver an impact to a small area of an object. This can be, for example, to drive nails into wood, to shape metal, or to crush rock. Hammers are used for a wide range of driving, shaping, breaking and non-destructive striking applications. Traditional disciplines include carpentry, blacksmithing, warfare, and percussive musicianship.
In woodworking and construction, a nail is a small object made of metal which is used as a fastener, as a peg to hang something, or sometimes as a decoration. Generally, nails have a sharp point on one end and a flattened head on the other, but headless nails are available. Nails are made in a great variety of forms for specialized purposes. The most common is a wire nail. Other types of nails include pins, tacks, brads, spikes, and cleats.
A war hammer is a weapon that was used by both foot soldiers and cavalry. It is a very old weapon and gave its name, owing to its constant use, to Judah Maccabee, a 2nd-century BC Jewish rebel, and to Charles Martel, one of the rulers of France. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the war hammer became an elaborately decorated and handsome weapon.
A chisel is a wedged hand tool with a characteristically shaped cutting edge on the end of its blade, for carving or cutting a hard material. The tool can be used by hand, struck with a mallet, or applied with mechanical power. The handle and blade of some types of chisel are made of metal or wood with a sharp edge in it.
A drill is a tool used for making round holes or driving fasteners. It is fitted with a bit, either a drill or driver chuck. Hand-operated types are dramatically decreasing in popularity and cordless battery-powered ones proliferating due to increased efficiency and ease of use.
A splitting maul also known as a block buster, block splitter, chop and maul, sledge axe, go-devil or hamaxe is a heavy, long-handled axe used for splitting a piece of wood along its grain. One side of its head is like a sledgehammer, and the other side is like an axe.
A mallet is a tool used for imparting force on another object, often made of rubber or sometimes wood, that is smaller than a maul or beetle, and usually has a relatively large head.
A framing hammer is a form of claw hammer used for heavy wood construction, particularly house framing and concrete formwork. It is a heavy duty rip hammer with a straight claw and a wood, metal, or fiberglass handle. Head weights vary from 20 to 32 ounces for steel, and 12 to 16 ounces for titanium. Heavy heads, longer handles and milled faces allow for driving large nails quickly into dimensional lumber. Other features include a sharp checkerboard "milled" face for gripping nails, and, since the 1980s, an unusually large and short face for increasing driving area without increasing weight.
A claw hammer is a hammer primarily used in carpentry for driving nails into or pulling them from wood. Historically, a claw hammer has been associated with woodworking, but is also used in general applications. It is not suitable for heavy hammering on metal surfaces, as the steel of its head is somewhat brittle; the ball-peen hammer is more suitable for such metalwork.
A nail gun, nailgun or nailer is a form of hammer used to drive nails into wood or other materials. It is usually driven by compressed air (pneumatic), electromagnetism, highly flammable gases such as butane or propane, or, for powder-actuated tools, a small explosive charge. Nail guns have in many ways replaced hammers as tools of choice among builders.
A post pounder, post driver, post rammer, post knocker or fence driver is a tool used for driving fence posts and similar items into land surfaces. It consists of a heavy steel pipe which is closed at one end and has handles welded onto the sides. It is normally used by one person, but larger versions may require two.
A geologist's hammer, rock hammer, rock pick, geological pick, or informally geo pick is a hammer used for splitting and breaking rocks. In field geology, they are used to obtain a fresh surface of a rock to determine its composition, bedding orientation, nature, mineralogy, history, and field estimate of rock strength. In fossil and mineral collecting, they are employed to break rocks with the aim of revealing specimens inside. Geologist's hammers are also sometimes used for scale in a photograph. The hammer also serves as an extension of the senses, permitting the geologist to perceive the rock's granularity, soundness, and resistance to fracturing that may be relevant to its use or identification. A geologist's hammer is often used with a chisel.
A maul may refer to any number of large hammers, including:
An axe is an implement that has been used for millennia to shape, split, and cut wood, to harvest timber, as a weapon, and as a ceremonial or heraldic symbol. The axe has many forms and specialised uses but generally consists of an axe head with a handle, also called a haft or a helve.
A rail fastening system is a means of fixing rails to railroad ties or sleepers. The terms rail anchors, tie plates, chairs and track fasteners are used to refer to parts or all of a rail fastening system. The components of a rail fastening system may also be known collectively as other track material, or OTM for short. Various types of fastening have been used over the years.
A spike maul is a type of hand tool used to drive railroad spikes in railroad track work. It is also known as a spiking hammer.
Wood splitting is an ancient technique used in carpentry to make lumber for making wooden objects, some basket weaving, and to make firewood. Unlike wood sawing, the wood is split along the grain using tools such as a hammer and wedges, splitting maul, cleaving axe, side knife, or froe.
In German-speaking countries, the miner's toolset is known as a Gezähe formerly also abbreviated to Gezäh. It is a set of personally-owned mining tools and equipment needed by the miner in his daily work.
The Warrington hammer,joiners' hammer, English pattern hammer, or Warrington pattern hammer is a kind of cross-peen hammer used in woodworking. The chisel-like cross-peen side is used to set small nails and pins while the smaller, rounded face is used to finish driving them in. The cross-peen side of the tool is also used for refining work, such as furniture and cabinet making. While the standard claw hammer is used for tasks that involve greater use of force, the Warrington hammer is preferred for projects that require precision. A standard Warrington hammer is commonly around 12+1⁄2 inches (320 mm) in length with the hammer head weighing between 10 and 14 ounces.
