HAMMER TIME!

I've mentioned previously that my father worked as a "Tool and Die Maker" most of his life, which meant that he was good at working metal to make things. He could make "tools" for various purposes, "dies" to attach to machinery for production of items at the factory where he worked, and he could repair the machinery, tools, and dies when they eventually wore-out from use. His work often involved precision that measured in the thousandth-part of an inch. (Imagine splitting a single inch into a thousand slices!)

Sometimes, he would work on a special, personal project with scraps of metal that were to be discarded. He always asked for the scraps first, though, to be sure it was okay for him to use them, and he ONLY worked on those personal projects on his own time (such as during his lunch break). Many times, his project was something useful around the house, such as a more sturdy "potato peeler" for Mom than what could be purchased in stores, or a new blade for a knife when one had broken.

He made the occasional trinket, though, such as adorable little hammers. They were too small, of course, for any serious use, but were amazing examples of his ability to do precise work.

Mom kept one with her sewing items as a keepsake, which then ended up in my possession when she gave me her sewing machine and associated sewing accoutrements. Dad made it with such precision that the head unscrews from the handle and neatly screws back on! The handle is also knurled, as a full-sized hammer might be, for more secure gripping. (The hammer show in the following details is № 3 in the above photo.)

The smallest hammer in the first photo, designated as № 1, is shown here with a U.S. penny coin (0.75 inch ≈ 19 mm) as a size comparison:

And another view of the same miniature hammer, zoomed-in to show the detail: 

photo by me

---

Return from HAMMER TIME! to 𝕜𝕚𝕥𝕥𝕪's Web3 Blog