# What is a California Framing Hammer?



## BentheViking

I know for most projects that people on this site are doing a framing hammer is a bit much, but I have recently seen these being advertised and was just wondering what exactly is the difference between this and other framing hammers? Advantages or disadvantages? Thanks!


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## bubbyboy

Well the short answer is the major difference is the weight. The handles are made from Hickory, the claw is basically straight unlike a finish hammer but the head is made from titanium which makes the head swing like a 28oz hammer but only weighs about 16oz so you can swing it for much longer periods without your arm falling off, My hammer was actually made by Ruger the gun company they are pricey though coming in at around $100.00 bucks


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## Loren

The style precedes the hi-tech metals. They have a particular handle shape
and a straight claw. Originally I think they had a heavy head, but these
days they've been lightened. Lots of tract homes built in California during
housing booms led to specific tool usage, including the hammers, the 
worm drive saws and dado saws for rafter cuts. The housing boom came
to an end but the influence of efficient California methods stuck around.


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## BentheViking

So if i get this correctly…at one point they were adapted to be a quicker and more efficient hammer, but now are not favored due to the emergence of the metal hammers with the "tuning fork" handles such as the Stanley Anti-Vibes and the Estwings?


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## S4S

Ben , did you haul the rocking gator with you to Westchester ? Hope you are enjoying your leisure time .
Here is a Bay Area 4 in 1 hammer . Good for crab legs , oysters , mussels , and light carpentry : )


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## BentheViking

totally not the kind of hammer im interested in…and no i did not bring the gator to New York-it'd be too cold for it. haha. Actually it was for a friend who had a baby in New Orleans. The baby was born in Sept and I recently added a photo to the original post him riding the gator while my friend holds him.


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## Finn

I believe that a framing hammer in Calif. is the right length end to end to use as a guide to space wall studs. So some rough carpenters there have told me.


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## DMIHOMECENTER

That would put the overall length at 14 3/8" to 14 1/2" for 16" on center framing… nearly all of these hammers are in the 16" to 18" range for overall length.

Vaughn (around since 1869) was / is the originator of the combination of features as follows:

The Vaughan California Framer® hammer combines the best features of two of our most popular tools into a rugged, heavy construction hammer. The smoothly swept claws were borrowed from the "999" rip hammer, and the striking face, hatchet eye and sturdy handle are a heritage of the Vaughan Rigbuilder's Hatchet. The striking face is extra large to minimize the chance of missed strikes. The hatchet style handle, available straight or curved, is made from American hickory. To provide extra strength, the handle has a large cross section where it joins the fully polished head.


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## BillWhite

It is a neander answer to the pneumatic framing nailer. They have a place in the arsenal though I don't use one. Usually have a "waffle" face.
Bill


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## maljr1980

i think its marketing, so when you walk through lowes looking for a hammer you buy the one with the cool name. I myself use standard estwing hammers, although i would toss it in the trash if i found a Stilleto


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## TopamaxSurvivor

I just googled the Vaughan California Framer® hammer. It says it holds nails. Carpenters i worked around when I was an apprentice said one whack to start it and one to drive a 16d home. With nail holding capability, these should be single whackers ;-))


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## Harry_Ch

If you are going to be whacking a lot of nails all day long, it's best to use a California hammer. A good one will have a bend towards the end of the handle like that of a hachet. The bend is easier on the wrist and it gives you more power than a straight handle hammer. The long straight claws gives you longer leverage to remove any "oops" nails, not that I did many myself(cough, cough, sputter).


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## Rust

Firstly lets back up! Following WWII house construction changed from Balloon type framing to platform. Platform framing required larger 16 penny nails and starting in the 50's cement coated nails started to be used for greater holding power however, they required a heavier hammer size head to drive them. Starting out on the West Coast carpenters began to use riggers hatchets and then later cannibalized them welding rip claws from hammers to them. This started the Californian framing hammer! As platform framing was done on the flat longer handled hammers made sense and they could be a lot heavier without causing fatigue. Typically a riggers hatchet weighed in around 28 oz. The post that mentions the 16" handle is getting confused with what sometimes are referred to as the Texas Special - a trim hammer that allows the carpenter to use the length of the handle to determine nail placement on clap board etc.


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## GasnWax

I know I am a late entry on this post but I couldn't resist. The days of framing axes, gas and wax are things many wood butchers have never seen or heard of today. Back in the day, early 70's (long before nail guns) we used framing axes. Great balance but dangerous for the guy standing behind you. Also OSHA or a union rep stumbling onto the job would get one a healthy fine. Therefore, the blade portion would be cut off and 20oz Vaughn claws would be welded on in the blades place. Ground and cleaned up these were great mill faced framing hammers. Vaughn did not have a California Framer back then and I assume what we see today was a popular idea borrowed and patented by Hart, Vaughn, etc.


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## Unknowncraftsman

This is a old post but I do remember job sites I worked on in the early 80s.Mostly Orange county and near the beach I was a roofer and all the framers used hatchets.They also had long hair but weren't really hippies,But did smoke grass during lunch.No one seemed to bother them.
Houses are built by migrate worker out here now.
I don't care really anymore I'm too old wornout and tired to roof.


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## JoeinGa

I wanna add that if you ever work with a waffle head hammer, it has a VERY SHORT learning curve. You will only hit your thumb ONCE!

Trust me, you'll learn SO FAST how not to do that again!


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## Racer2007

> I wanna add that if you ever work with a waffle head hammer, it has a VERY SHORT learning curve. You will only hit your thumb ONCE!
> 
> Trust me, you ll learn SO FAST how not to do that again!
> 
> - JoeinGa


Not even going to ask how you know that Joe. I found out the same way when I was about 16 working for my Uncles Construction Co. in the summer.


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## bandit571

The two I have are 18" long, straight handled, rip clawed, waffle faced "War Clubs" as most of my carpenter work was building concrete forms.

Missed once with an eastwing wannabe…..hit right at the base of the ring and pinky fingers…..both are still numb, ten years later. Even made a dent in the hand. The long handle came inhandy went stripping forms, too. Our's used "Dogs & Pins" to hold them together. We'd set 2×4 bases on the footers, and nail the forms down to the 2xs. half the time, went in a rush, we'd nail right through the sleepers into the dayold concrete footer. Sometimes, we'd drill a hole, add a duplex nail and a chunk of form wire, and drive that home.

Two hammer heads, and about four handles in six years…..Vaughn and Craftsman.

Could NOT hold onto a blue handled hammer…..way too skinny for my hands. Hammer would go flying out on the backswing…..

Most of the form work had to be done so we could tear it apart easy after the pour. And fast. Usually 75-100 feet of wall placed everyday, 5-6 days a week. Form both the inside and outside, and tie all the rebar each morning, place the 'crete by lunch. Start the strip before quitting time, rubber float the "show" side. Oil and place form to be ready for the next day…...go to the local drive-thru, pick up the cold ones for the ride home. Just gotta love the smell of form oil in the morning…..(yuck)smells like MONEY!


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## Redoak49

When I was still working, we made steel for a couple of major makers of hammers. We were amazed at the immense amount of steel they used and wondered where all the hammers were going. I do not know where they disappeared. But we were just happy they were buying steel from us.


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## MinnesotaMarty

Swinging a hammer is almost a lost skill in Carpentry today. I am 62 years old and the young guys today are always looking for the air nailers. Then when you want them to swing a hammer, its all shoulder. Where it should be wrist. arm, shoulder. When my Journeyman taught me, he had me do ALL the nailing on the entire house. You learn really quick to use wrist, arm, shoulder. Then you do you can do it all day and not go home feeling that your arm is going to fall off. You let the hammer do the work and if it takes 3 swings instead of 2, so be it. But, you can last all day. 
It is funny because I can nail so quickly the youngsters are just amazed. LOL. I have 3 hammers in the tool box all wood handled 16, 22 and 28 oz serrated head. Most day I use the 22 oz. I have tried fiberglass and steel handles and couldn't take it in my elbow. So, now I just use the fiberglass handles for demolition.

Marty


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## GasnWax

I love it, a post comes alive. The comments are great! Does anyone remember the art of feeding nails? I became an inspector at 40 and I had to retire out in 2009, due to CA layoffs. When your inspector loses his job well, you know the rest of the story. I have been on the I codes now for a year, I will have 11 certs by mid 2016, sad. We used to need 1-3 and all was good for life with the Uniform Codes. I am going back at 61+ with health and God willing, anywhere USA in 2016. Work till you die these days, not my fathers world. I love to take what are supposed to be #16 gun nails and peel off the wrapping and fix errors for permit holders while feeding and nailing faster than the Millenniums can work a nail gun. Makes one proud that we can work 8 hours without air and accomplish just as much. The callouses on the hammer hand from index to top of pinkie and on the nail feeding hand between the thumb and bottom index finger. Strong hands, and yes a cool one or two after work. And, those Nicholas bags that the shiners would wear holes in more often than not. A tape, a square, hammer, chalk box, and a pencil; not forgetting your issue Skill saw with two blades and a cord. Life was simple then and houses don't go up any faster today. I love construction, it is still one of the last frontiers in a world of technoligical cluster--'s.


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## BurlyBob

Marty and Gas, you guys almost bring me to tears remembering a couple of older gents who passed on so much knowledge to me. I miss them and often think them with great fondness. Thank you for being you.


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## bearkatwood

Funny and oh so true,
and if you are out in the sun all day driving nails and you are working standing on the top plate and have to nail between your feet and california framer is what you want.


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## tomsteve

im 48. until being forced into retirement due to health reasons 9 years ago, i was framing. did it for the last 10 years i was able to work. best man i ever worked for didnt have a compressor or nail guns. for the most ofthe time is was a 3 man crew. only other power tool over circ saws was a sawsall. smallest house we framed was 1500 sq ft. raised walls with wall jacks. only saw a crane for trusses two stories up.i learned a lot about levers,fulcrums,rollers and how to move stuff with man power. we would shock gc's setting 40+ ' steal beams without a crane and without killing ourseleves. might have taken longer than with a crane,but we got r done. occasionally john would hire a 4th carpenter, but for the most part it was us 3.
as martysaid, swinging, and even using a hammer, wasnt well known by quite a few carpenters ive worked with. i swung a 23oz wood handle california framer, from my understanding is just determined by the head diameter. i saw many people break wood handlessimply by improper use. i still have mine and its about a 15year old vaughn with many pounds of nails driven with it- enough that i had to grind in a fresh waffle pattern a couple times.. used a wood handle as i was taught metal ones allow the vibration to tranfers up an arm which over time can damage suff in arms.
im left handed. my left index finger has a turn at the top knuckle so when i point it lookslike im pointing to the left abit. i think thats due to banging many many nails, which i take pride in having framed that way.
one thing i did learn and goes for any hamner:
wrapping the handle with athletic tape like its a hockey stick makes for easier work. dont have to grasp as tight when sweating or a mist is falling.
theres times im working on something where the knowledge i gained working with john comes in handy.


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## Ghidrah

Never heard them called California hammers before, I've always known them as framing hammers. Although my hammer didn't have the fancy nail slots cut into the head.


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## Unknowncraftsman

I defiantly like hammers Ive bought many more than I need.My favorite is the Dalluge since I am a roofer I used it mostly for ridge boards.Nothing wrong with Vaugen its a good hammer too.My good friend John inherited his dad's hammer called a Rocket.I worked with Wilber when I was out of high school and remember how pulled nails with That Rocket Hammer.


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## Ghidrah

I still have 2 or 3 Rockets they were well balanced and had good rebound


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## allenwilson33

> Houses are built by migrate worker out here now.
> I don t care really anymore I m too old wornout and tired to roof.
> 
> - Aj2


Way to politicize a discussion on framing hammers. For the record however, there are no migrant workers on Southern California construction sites; I think you're referring to immigrants, regardless of their legal status. 
When I moved to Costa Mesa in 2005 from Tallahassee, where I was a carpenter's apprentice, I got onto a few construction and carpenter's gigs and worked in the restaurants. 10 years later in 2015 I found myself joining the carpenters' union out here for one gig in Blythe.
Anyhow, there aren't any migrant workers on construction sites out here in Orange County, CA, folks. 
Sorry to ruffle your feathers, but the correction needs to be made clear.


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## papadan

Allen, that needed to be clear years ago. You been shopping at the antique store!


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## Tony_S

> Houses are built by migrate worker out here now.
> I don t care really anymore I m too old wornout and tired to roof.
> 
> - Aj2
> 
> Way to politicize a discussion on framing hammers. For the record however, there are no migrant workers on Southern California construction sites; I think you re referring to immigrants, regardless of their legal status.
> When I moved to Costa Mesa in 2005 from Tallahassee, where I was a carpenter s apprentice, I got onto a few construction and carpenter s gigs and worked in the restaurants. 10 years later in 2015 I found myself joining the carpenters union out here for one gig in Blythe.
> Anyhow, there aren t any migrant workers on construction sites out here in Orange County, CA, folks.
> Sorry to ruffle your feathers, but the correction needs to be made clear.
> 
> - allenwilson33


WTF??...........??? 
Aj!!! Starting all these nasty rumors about migrants….or immigrants….or hammers…or…something? 
No wonder there's been so much chaos and turmoil here for the last 2 years!!
You basterd…...


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## Unknowncraftsman

Allen has his head buried in the sand.
Still like my Dalluge hammers wish I had a reason to use them more.


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## bandit571

War Club?


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## Desert_Woodworker

In Arizona, I see a predominance of non-white in construction. So what! As Aj2 said "I don t care really anymore I m too old wornout and tired to roof."
60 years ago, in Detroit- cement workers were predominately Italian.

My heart goes out to any human being in construction and for people who use their body for work; even prostitutes….
The hammer that I use today is:


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## AlaskaGuy

Google can help you!


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## AlaskaGuy

This article fits nicely into this thread

http://www.finehomebuilding.com/membership/pdf/17721/021177096.pdf


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## Desert_Woodworker

AKguy, Your posts got me to thinking about my hammer (ret.)










ps This is an excellant article, that you posted.


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## waho6o9

Good article AG, thanks


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## Unknowncraftsman

+1 here good article Alaska guy. 
I remember some of the guys before me taking about waxing nails.


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## wormil

Hurray, a 6 year old thread bumped to argue about immigration. 
But to contribute something …











=========
edit VVVVVVVVVVV Why are you AlaskaGuy?


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## AlaskaGuy

> Hurray, a 6 year old thread bumped to argue about immigration.
> But to contribute something …
> 
> - Rick


Why are you participating in a 6 year old thread?


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## Smitty_Cabinetshop

Loved the hammer video, thanks for posting that one.


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## KaiserSoze

The California Framing Hammer was invented out of necessity. Larry Haun talked about creating it out of the framers hatchet and a regular claw hammer. It was needed to keep up with demand with the housing boom in the San Fernando Valley during the 50's.


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## woodworm4303

Here is a California HAMMER with another tool!


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## AlaskaGuy

How many are familiar with the term "gas and wax" Clue has to do with house framing.


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## AlaskaGuy

If you haven't read this bit of history you should read it. It very interesting.

https://www.finehomebuilding.com/membership/pdf/17721/021177096.pdf

Yeah same as the link above.


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## 000

> The hammer that I use today is:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> - Desert_Woodworker


How many hits does it take to hammer in a 16 penny nail?


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## AlaskaGuy

> The hammer that I use today is:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> - Desert_Woodworker
> 
> How many hits does it take to hammer in a 16 penny nail?
> 
> - jbay


It depends….....is the handle made of Alder?


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## Desert_Woodworker

Jbay-not the one shown above- but here is my newest one








Alder handle-

Also, squirrels love the harvest from Alder…


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## tapper

I wanted to aid my experience with California framing hammers and other tick tools,layout etc.
I grew up in So.Calif.Got my first look at a framing/rigging ax when I was about 16.
Moved to Utah,got on with a group of guys from all over our country.The boss had me buy leather tool bags and a rigging ax,it was(is) a plumb.Still have it.Some California framers came up to Utah to cut a roof for my company.They all had Skil77's with homebuilt sky hooks and no bottom guards!They had 50 ft cords with twist lock plugs butted right into their saws.They all had home/shop crafted California hammers.
I went to a swap meet sale in Orange C.California,some guy had a S10 Chevy truck filled to the top with packaged 25 ft Stanley tapes!Robert Hart was there,selling forge shiny California hammers,21 oz.and 25 oz,with straight hickory handles.My first Cal framing hammer,I brought one back for my boss too,He is from Wisconsin,he didnt get it.But her had a Plumb ax with a regular True Temper 160z hammer,both on the same belt


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## 1thumb

> I believe that a framing hammer in Calif. is the right length end to end to use as a guide to space wall studs. So some rough carpenters there have told me.
> 
> - Jim Finn


Interesting. My angled finish nailer is 16" head to to end of magazine. Just got to find one as long as framers stay on lay out which they normally don't


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## TopamaxSurvivor

That was the height for many electrical outlets; box on top of the hammer handle.


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## Unknowncraftsman

The guys I admired all had Dalluge hammers. 
I still have and use my dalluge finishing hammer. I felt it was good length for me in my roofing days.
You guys ever use one. My brother had the titanium one I thought it was stupid expensive


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## AlaskaGuy

https://www.vaughanmfg.com/Departments/Shop/Dalluge.aspx


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