# Hammer survey



## romanyacik (Feb 27, 2014)

Hi! we are students in an pre-engineering program called Project Lead The Way (PLTW) at Stratford High School in Connecticut. We are currently working on a open ended design project. For our project we must identify a problem in the world and try to solve it. Our problem is that hammers cause over 36,000 injuries per year, and we would like to solve this as best as possible.
Can you please fill out this survey? We'd greatly appreciate it.
This is the link to the survey( we personally added a tinyurl to shorten the web address here)
http://tinyurl.com/np7gzh2

If you have any questions we'd be glad to answer them!


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## BigJoe16 (Feb 20, 2012)

I just graduated HS last year and took 5 PLTW classes. 

As far as making a safer hammer, I don't think there is much room for improvement. It's more the users fault, most of the time. 

This past summer I was replacing boards on a deck. When I was pounding off the old 2x6 railing, I was swinging upwards hitting the bottom edge and the wood handle on my hammer broke. The head flew off and hit me in the nose and gave me a nice cut. 

It was more humiliating then painful. 

An improvement I can see in wooden handled hammers is to make it so the heads can come off. Either because he handle breaks or the head loosens and comes off the handle. 

Maybe you can drill the handle length wise and run a wire or small cable from the base/ bottom of the handle, threw the wood and fix it to the head. By looping the end if the cable and running a small bolt threw the width of the head, threw the loop. And using the same idea on the handle by using a wooden dowel threw the looped cable and glueing then sanding flush.


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

I looked at the survey but did not fill out since for me it is ambiguous.

Many types of hammer designs and sizes. The questions seem to assume we have a single hammer.

I have at least the following
Pall peen
Claw, 16oz fibreglass handle, 20 oz steel handle and 28 oz steel handle. The steel handle already solves the problem of breaking handles.
T shaped small head for brad nails
Plastic Bead blow hammer
Wood mallet
T shaped heavy lump hammer
Wood handled maul hammer

I think you should ask the person to complete the survey for a particular design of hammer.

I use one of these a lot more than the others.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

I am not clicking on any links from a first time poster.

Trying to improve on the centuries old hammer would be a most difficult project.

I suggest that you chose a project that is a little more feasible.

George


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

Accidents happen .

36,000 injuries per year is nothing compared to the number of times hammers rise and fall in the world every year .


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## john sayles (May 27, 2013)

This discussion takes me back to law school. In the study of torts, under the theory of strict liability, the concept of an "unreasonably unsafe" product comes up.
This would be something that the manufacturer - were he acting "reasonably" - could have made safer.

A knife, on the other hand, is not such a product. It must be sharp in order to do what it does.

The same is true of a hammer.

The sawstop table saw comes to mind also. I suppose, given enough time and money, a hammer could be developed which avoids contact with human tissue. This tongue-in-cheek example leads (finally) to my main issue.

What is the problem *exactly*? 
Is it hammer heads flying off handles, is it someone striking their own fingers with a hammer? Is it a second person being struck by a hammer, or is it something the hammer strikes flying off and causing injury.

Nailing down the problem (pun intended) is necessary to formulating a solution.

_full disclosure: I haven't looked at the survey, so don't know if this has been addressed_


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## Dave Paine (May 30, 2012)

john sayles said:


> What is the problem *exactly*?
> Is it hammer heads flying off handles, is it someone striking their own fingers with a hammer? Is it a second person being struck by a hammer, or is it something the hammer strikes flying off and causing injury.


I agree. The survey does not state the problem per se.

I have a 16oz claw hammer with fibreglass handle. After missing the nail a number of times, nicking the side of the handle, I decided to get Estwing replacement hammer. Solid one piece steel head and handle which is shaped to be thin vertically. I still miss the nail now and again, but the nail glances off the steel handle with no damage. So for my main problem the solution was a different brand of hammer.

Perhaps these folks may dream up a laser guided sight for the hammer head. :laughing::laughing:


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## BigJoe16 (Feb 20, 2012)

john sayles said:


> This discussion takes me back to law school. In the study of torts, under the theory of strict liability, the concept of an "unreasonably unsafe" product comes up. This would be something that the manufacturer - were he acting "reasonably" - could have made safer. A knife, on the other hand, is not such a product. It must be sharp in order to do what it does. The same is true of a hammer. The sawstop table saw comes to mind also. I suppose, given enough time and money, a hammer could be developed which avoids contact with human tissue. This tongue-in-cheek example leads (finally) to my main issue. What is the problem exactly? Is it hammer heads flying off handles, is it someone striking their own fingers with a hammer? Is it a second person being struck by a hammer, or is it something the hammer strikes flying off and causing injury. Nailing down the problem (pun intended) is necessary to formulating a solution. full disclosure: I haven't looked at the survey, so don't know if this has been addressed


I think you are right. 

Is that 36,000 injures all from the workplace? Operator error is atleast 9/10 times the problem. 

Your post makes me think about people wants to get rid of guns. 
Guns don't kill people. People kill people. 
Hammers don't hurt people. People hurt themselves/ others with hammers.


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## Tom King (Nov 22, 2013)

I swing an Estwing.

It's never done anything to me that wasn't my fault.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Tom King said:


> I swing an Estwing. It's never done anything to me that wasn't my fault.


 Mine too.....mine always bites me when I miss!!!

Although you may look at the titanium hammers, they claim to reduce stresses in your arm bone that can lead to serious problems from pounding nails for decades.....although my solution for that is a nail gun.


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## Tom King (Nov 22, 2013)

Same solution for me too. I built my first house with a hammer in 1973, and from then on with nailguns. I had to make some money first. Still couldn't do without a hammer though.


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## Trav (May 30, 2011)

ryan50hrl said:


> Mine too.....mine always bites me when I miss!!! Although you may look at the titanium hammers, they claim to reduce stresses in your arm bone that can lead to serious problems from pounding nails for decades.....although my solution for that is a nail gun.


I have to admit I am an owner of one of those $$$ titanium hammers. I am a tool addict and I own several tools that I consider stupid purchases. That's not buyers remorse, I considered them stupid purchases beforehand. Just wanted 'em. Any way back to the hammer. A friend of mine gave me a titanium stiletto for Christmas a couple of years ago. I have it on my framing carpentry tool belt and the weight it saves is noticeable. So much so that I picked up a couple of titanium pry bars to further reduce weight. It drives nails amazing well despite being only 16oz.


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## J Thomas (Aug 14, 2012)

Nothing like driving 3/4" roofing nails with a 22 oz Estwing waffle-head on a frosty morning & biting your frozen fingers with it!!
You can feel that SOB clear up to your eyebrows.
You can do the dance,
Walk the walk,
Swear the highest sermon to God or Satan
BUT... there's nothing that will stop the pain.... except time & usually lots of it!
Sorry bud but I really don't feel your survey is going to fix the problem.
Good luck just the same...
..Jon..


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

ryan50hrl said:


> .....although my solution for that is a nail gun.


 Nail guns can result in carpal tunnel .
Same with many of the trigger operated tools we have adopted in the last 10 -15 years .
45 years in the trade , and I get


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*guns and hammers are safe, it's the bullets and nails....*

A hammer will not hurt you on it's own. It take an owner/operator to make it work. They must have some hand/eye coordination. The nail must be started before the hammering really begins. It's the getting the nail started operation that causes the most mishaps. 
Some use the 2 finger approach, mostly roofers with those short nails. Others use the thumb and forefinger method. This is where any miscalculation results in a sore thumb. Finally, a partially started nail, when hit with the wrong angle of attack, will fly off and hit ...something or someone .... eventually. 
If your head falls or flies off your handle you are guilty of improper service and maintenance. 

So, any problems associated with the simple tool, a hammer, can be solved by leaving it in the tool box or improving your aim. JMO.
Titanium hammers are the bomb.


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## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

Hammerstop





​Amazing new flesh sensing technology integrated into the hammer head to deflect its force when skin is detected.


















.

​



 ​
​




​


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## tc65 (Jan 9, 2012)

:laughing::laughing::laughing:

Now we're going to hear about how the government has no right to force us to use the new hammer technology even though it could save tens of thousands of finger bruises each year. 

I know the new hammer technology is more expensive, but think about the cost of all the ice packs you'll need if you don't get the new hammer.

Everyone better keep it polite or the mods will probably close this thread as well!


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

it's all in the wrist.


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## Miller Woodworks (Dec 11, 2013)

If there was a hammerstop, I'd buy one just so I could be in the cool kids club.


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## gideon (May 26, 2010)

Miller Woodworks said:


> If there was a hammerstop, I'd buy one just so I could be in the cool kids club.


so, if you lose control your arm would immediately separate from your body?


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

J Thomas said:


> Nothing like driving 3/4" roofing nails with a 22 oz Estwing waffle-head on a frosty morning & biting your frozen fingers with it!!
> You can feel that SOB clear up to your eyebrows.
> You can do the dance,
> Walk the walk,
> ...


 ... and the colour *EXPLODING* across your eyeballs


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## rrbrown (Feb 15, 2009)

J Thomas said:


> Nothing like driving 3/4" roofing nails with a 22 oz Estwing waffle-head on a frosty morning & biting your frozen fingers with it!!
> You can feel that SOB clear up to your eyebrows.
> You can do the dance,
> Walk the walk,
> ...


Sure there is smashing your finger on the same day with a 40oz framing hammer with the waffle-head. I remember those days. Drive a framing nail in 2 swings or make you wish you had a smaller hammer or better aim with one Swing. :laughing:


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

john sayles said:


> _full disclosure: I haven't looked at the survey, so don't know if this has been addressed_


 I have looked at the questionnaire , and it reads as though it was drawn up by a committee of non skilled non woodworkers . 
Kids who are out of their depth , lead by a teacher of that same ilk , is what comes to mind .


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## Gilgaron (Mar 16, 2012)

Manuka Jock said:


> I have looked at the questionnaire , and it reads as though it was drawn up by a committee of non skilled non woodworkers .
> Kids who are out of their depth , lead by a teacher of that same ilk , is what comes to mind .


I'm sure the gist of the program is _problem solving_, not woodworking. He said it was a pre-engineering program. So the goal here is product design research.


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

Manuka Jock said:


> I have looked at the questionnaire , and it reads as though it was drawn up by a committee of non skilled non woodworkers . Kids who are out of their depth , lead by a teacher of that same ilk , is what comes to mind .


Keep in mind, you and I were at one point unskilled woodworkers that were out of our depth.....

We all start somewhere.


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## amckenzie4 (Apr 29, 2010)

I agree with the general trend here. The problem isn't the design of the hammer, it's the design of the user. Our eyes are too close together to give us perfect depth perception in more than one plane, and our muscles don't always do exactly the right thing, so sometimes we hit ourselves.

Since moving to a wood-handled hammer, my arm and wrist are less sore when I use a hammer. Since learning to aim better I hit my fingers and the workpiece less often. Since moving to a lighter hammer for smaller jobs hitting myself hurts less. None of these improvements are due to the hammer. They're all due to me.

I'd say the survey doesn't address the real problem; the user. Until you address that, you're not going to make a hammer that works better.


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

cabinetman said:


> Hammerstop
> View attachment 89960​Amazing new flesh sensing technology integrated into the hammer head to deflect its force when skin is detected.
> 
> 
> ...


Damn that is funny!!!

I guess I should have expected it.

George


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

Gilgaron said:


> I'm sure the gist of the program is _problem solving_, not woodworking. He said it was a pre-engineering program. So the goal here is product design research.


The first thing in problem solving is to find a legitimate problem.

In this case the students/professor (we have professors in college, not teachers) have to define a legitimate problem. In this case they have failed.

Second they said they wanted to do a survey, but failed to present a survey.

George


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## ryan50hrl (Jun 30, 2012)

GeorgeC said:


> The first thing in problem solving is to find a legitimate problem. In this case the students/professor (we have professors in college, not teachers) have to define a legitimate problem. In this case they have failed. Second they said they wanted to do a survey, but failed to present a survey. George


George....

They linked to a survey....it appears to be there. 

Also.....if you pick up a titanium stiletto hammer....and then switch back to a 10 dollar hammer, I think you'd change your mind that the 10 dollar hammer wasn't a problem that could be improved on. The world thought the model t was as great of an invention as could ever be invented....until the next model came out. Even the smallest things that we don't believe are issues can be improved upon.


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## Gilgaron (Mar 16, 2012)

Eh, they didn't fail to define the problem (hammer injuries), nor link to the survey. The main problem is, I doubt _hammer design_ is the cause of _hammer injuries_. Probably need to come up with something to hold the nail that people would actually use. I agree that the survey is poorly written in terms of reaching their goal.


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## Joeb41 (Jun 23, 2012)

I still have my Estwing 16 oz leather handle. The only time it has hurt me is by my own stupidity.


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

Gilgaron said:


> I'm sure the gist of the program is _problem solving_, not woodworking. He said it was a pre-engineering program. So the goal here is product design research.


 Have you read the survey questionnaire ?


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

ryan50hrl said:


> Keep in mind, you and I were at one point unskilled woodworkers that were out of our depth.....
> 
> We all start somewhere.


 Exactly . 

Both the kids and the teacher need to start at that same place .
In a few short years they will have their answer


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

GeorgeC said:


> The first thing in problem solving is to find a legitimate problem.
> 
> In this case the students/professor (we have professors in college, not teachers) have to define a legitimate problem. In this case they have failed.
> 
> ...


College , what collgege ?

Stratford High School in Connecticut is a school, not a university.


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## woodnthings (Jan 24, 2009)

*college not collage*



Manuka Jock said:


> Collage , what collage ?
> 
> Stratford High School in Connecticut is a school, not a university.


If you are being critical, be correct in your correction....just sayin'


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## Manuka Jock (Jun 27, 2011)

woodnthings said:


> If you are being critical, be correct in your correction....just sayin'


Cheers :thumbsup:


damned spellchecks :blink:


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