Frank House originally shared this post on the CLA facebook page
Alright Engravers,
Time to think about chasing hammers!
The idea here is to use a very light hammer (mine weighs in at 2.9 oz) with a thin flexible handle as the lighter and faster taps will not only yield a finer and more consistent cut, your gravers will hold out far longer with less breakage of your tip. (More on that later)
To get started, I use machinable brass
and have posted at least one source for 1" stock (photo)
Machine the head to the dimensions provided in the drawing and bore a 3/8" (.375) eye for the handle and then, using a tapered reamer relieve the eye slightly from both the top and bottom so that the handle will "swage" itself into place with a wooden wedge.
The handle dimensions are 1" diameter at the butt or grip end, .300" at the neck or smallest portion and
.400" at the portion that goes through the eye with a slight taper to .375" or 3/8".
I have as well listed a chasing hammer along with the contact info (photo) from Rio Grande that will suffice.
Next up, shaping the graver and sharpening!
Upwards and onwards!
