Introduction: Make a (Working!) Steampunk Hammer From Reclaimed Nails

By tim sway perspectives
About: i am an artist and musician. i make things of use out of things that no longer have use. i think the hip term is "upcycling." i post a lot of inspirational and entertainment videos on youtube.com/timsway. occa…

I jokingly call my large jar of bent, reclaimed nails my "retirement fund." Sometimes I dip into the bank to make stuff, like this ironic hammer.

I made it for a local art exhibit and it came out better than I expected, so I thought I'd share. Watch the video and read along ;-)

Step 1: Sort, Bend and Weld!

I have many types, shapes and sizes of nails and i basically just welded them together. First I made the basic shapes then I filled them in with various nails. Sometimes I would bend them or snip them to fit and look the way I wanted. For structure, I was thinking "OSB" (oriented strand board) and changing the direction of the nails, avoiding patterns, to make it strong.

The head i made from all the same square-cut nails, to make it more solid.

Step 2: Use It to Make a Display

Once I had what looked and felt like a hammer, I decided to put it to the test. I used some reclaimed lath to create a square backboard to mount the hammer. I expected the hammer to maybe nail one or two nails in then I'd switch to a regular hammer, but the darn thing actually worked well enough to make its whole backboard. Watch the video! You can see me drive every nail!

And that's about it. The hammer became a trophy in a YouTube upcycling challenge. A lucky winner (Doc Jared Hildabrandt) is now the proud owner.

Be good,

Tim