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Old timer told me my hammer swing was all wrong... he was right
Had this crusty old carpenter named Walt come by my job site last month while I was framing a shed out in Maplewood. He watched me drive about 20 nails into a header, then just walked over and said "Son, you're fighting the hammer instead of letting it work." I thought I was doing fine until he pointed out I was gripping the handle way too tight and swinging from my shoulder instead of my wrist. He showed me this loose grip thing where you basically let the hammer fall naturally and snap your wrist at the end. First few tries felt super weird and I missed the nail head twice, but after about 10 swings I could feel the difference in how clean the nail went in. Now I'm practicing it on every job and my arm doesn't get nearly as tired by end of day. Anybody else have a random stranger walk up and fix something basic you thought you had down?
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terryrobinson1d ago
Walt sounds like he knows his stuff. That loose grip thing is key, it saves your elbow something fierce. Another trick I picked up was letting the hammer head do the work, don't muscle it. Once you feel that sweet spot where the hammer rebounds off the nail head without you fighting it, you'll never go back to the death grip. Glad you got some solid coaching from a random pro out in the field like that.
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Letting the hammer fall naturally" is dangerous advice if you've got a bad wrist.
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