Upholstery hammer

Upholstery hammer

An upholstery hammer (also called a tack hammer) is a lightweight hammer used for securing upholstery fabric to furniture frames using tacks or small nails.

The head of an upholstery hammer is narrow and roughly 12-15mm in diameter. ^[1] Commonly they are cast in bronze with fused steel tips. ^[2]

Many styles of upholstery hammers have two faces, one face being magnetized to aid in the placement of tacks, the other being larger to drive the tacks home. ^[3] A patent existed for a magnetized tack hammer as early as 1861, by G. W. Beardslee. ^[4] Sometimes, the magnetized face has a split surface to make its magnetic hold stronger.^{[ citation needed ]} Upholstery hammers may also have one end shaped like a claw to make removing tacks easier. ^[3]

To apply tacks rapidly, an upholsterer will hold tacks in the mouth and spit them, head first, onto the magnetized face of the hammer.^{[ citation needed ]} This gave rise to the phrase "spitting tacks." ^[2]

Staple guns and hammer tackers have largely replaced this traditional way of tacking as a commercial upholstery technique. The traditional method remains important both in antiques restoration and in hobbyist work.

References

1. Jackson, Albert; Day, David (1983). Better Than New: A Practical Guide to Renovating Furniture. Sterling. p. 82. ISBN   978-0-8069-7730-0 . Retrieved 12 February 2024.
2. Law, Alex (10 February 2015). The Upholsterer's Step-by-Step Handbook: A Practical Reference. Macmillan. pp. 16–17. ISBN   978-1-250-04985-8.
3. Cox, Dorothy M. (1970). Modern Upholstery. Bell. p. 16. ISBN   978-0-7135-1599-2 . Retrieved 12 February 2024.
4. Scientific American: N.S. 5. 1861. Scientific American. 1861. Retrieved 12 February 2024.