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See why you'll want these specialty tools in your toolbox.

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▼ Specialty Hammers. These two hammers drive small nails with ease. And without the worry of injured fingers.

I'm as guilty as the next guy. When I need a hammer or mallet in the shop, I usually reach for my trusty, old 16-oz. claw hammer. But it's not really suited for a lot of wood-shop tasks like driving a small nail or knocking together a joint without marring the workpiece.

So I decided to take a look at some other hammers and mallets that are more suited to the work I

do in my shop. They're inexpensive, but come in handy for a lot of tasks like chiseling out a mortise or driving a brad into a picture frame.

HAMMERS

When it comes to driving a small brad or finish nail, it's always a trick to get it started because my fingers are in the way. But I've found a couple of unique hammers that are

▲ In a Tight Spot. The triangular face of this hammer swivels to make it easy to drive into a corner.

designed to make this task easier — and less painful.

Warrington. Take a look at the photo above, for example. The Warrington-style hammer has a conventional, round end like most hammers. But the other end is a "cross pein" that's nothing more than a narrow, flat head for driving small nails or brads. This allows you to hold the brad to start it without having to worry about smashing your fingers. Once you get the brad started with the narrow head, you can flip the hammer over and use the round end to drive it home.

Picture Framing. I like to use small brads to hold pictures in a frame. The problem is that using a hammer with a round head makes it tricky to keep the brad flat with the cardboard backing.

The hammer at the left offers a unique solution. It has a round head, but the other end is triangle-shaped. And this triangular head spins 360° like a pinwheel.

46 ShopNotes No. 86