Winter build off 2026 - Primal Screamray

[Flying B]

Yeah it's a nice hammer, although it's a little on the heavy side for me. I got it for a present (I'm a cabinet maker by trade) but it's really more suited to roofing than building furniture.

 

[Flamingo21]

There's probably a french name for that particular style of hammer.

 

[Beej]

There's probably a french name for that particular style of hammer.

not just Marteau d'Estwing?

 

[Flying B]

not just Marteau d'Estwing?

Sounds like a fancy aftershave!

 

[Lo-E]

There's probably a french name for that particular style of hammer.

Claude.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

I remember those Estwing hammers from my youth! In my junior high school days, I used to lust over them at the hardware store, circa 1970. They were just so cool and stylish.

About your inlays, I like the idea of them being random splotchy shapes. Maybe trying hand routing the recess to pencil lines, then pouring them full of colored epoxy? Keep them simple and crazy, to go with the style.

 

[Bonkersville]

Yeah it's a nice hammer, although it's a little on the heavy side for me. I got it for a present (I'm a cabinet maker by trade) but it's really more suited to roofing than building furniture.

Yeah, I have a 20oz framing hammer as well. It's nice with 5 inch or longer nails, but I rarely do those anymore. 16oz is a lot more versatile.

But still, that's pretty. And sorry for derailing the thread. Carry on.

 

[Dave Higham]

It's a 'matreau arrache clous' (nail puller hammer). Not very imaginative as names go.

 

[Flying B]

I just had enough time in my lunch break today to make a template to inset my neck plate. Now I know the position of the bolts so I can transfer them to the neck.

 

[Beej]

So clean...

 

[Gary_M]

Ooooh, that's nice!

 

[Bruce Johnson]

I just had enough time in my lunch break today to make a template to inset my neck plate. Now I know the position of the bolts so I can transfer them to the neck.
View attachment 7436057
View attachment 7436059

That's a clever trick for making a quick rectangular routing template. I like it!

 

[Flying B]

That's a clever trick for making a quick rectangular routing template. I like it!

Yes, although it's hard to see in the pictures, in this case it's not rectangular as the sides of that plate are actually tapered to match the neck, luckily our mitre saw at work has a pretty accurate laser so it was pretty easy to match that angle. About 1.5° from 90.

 

[Bruce Johnson]

Yes, although it's hard to see in the pictures, in this case it's not rectangular as the sides of that plate are actually tapered to match the neck, luckily our mitre saw at work has a pretty accurate laser so it was pretty easy to match that angle. About 1.5° from 90.

Ah, yes, extra clever!

Note to readers: Look at the sequence of operations he used, which is optimized for a quick one-off neck plate installation.

• Make the routing template first.
• Use it to rout the recess in the body.
• Make up the neck plate, directly fitting it to the recess in the body.
• Locate and drill the bolt holes on the neck plate.
• Use the neck plate to locate and drill the neck bolt holes through the body
• Use the neck bolt holes in the body to locate and drill the holes in the neck.

Using that sequence, each operation becomes the guide for the next operation. So they all line up and fit together. Saves a lot of that pesky engineering stuff, you know, measurements and layouts.

Doing it in the reverse order would have required a whole lot of measurement and trying to match up measurements.

In Lutherie, sequence matters!

 

[Flying B]

I wish I could say I made the plate myself, but this is an off the shelf one, so the template was made just by drawing round the plate then cutting to that line.

 

[Flying B]

Frustrating time today trying to countersink this neck plate for the machine bolts. The countersink it came with were nowhere near deep enough so I tried to enlarge them. The results were not good, no matter what I tried there was a lot of vibration and the holes ended up not very round, and I also ended up going too deep.

Not really good enough. So I think I'm going to flip the plate over and use these flange headed bolts instead. Not what I wanted but looks a lot tidier.

 

[Lo-E]

That’s a drag.

 

[Gary_M]

For a cleaner result, use a drill press. Set it for high rpm, and use a light touch.

 

[Flying B]

Yeah I used a drill press. Had the workpiece clamped down. Tried fast and slow, just couldn't stop the chattering. Brand new, albeit budget countersink bit.

 

[BishopJP]

Yeah I used a drill press. Had the workpiece clamped down. Tried fast and slow, just couldn't stop the chattering. Brand new, albeit budget countersink bit.

I feel your pain! I struggle with getting clean counter-sinks, too.

What material is the neck plate? Chromed steel or stainless?