Several weeks ago I got the soldering tripod from Rio Grande (item #502-085) so I could more easily torch fire my enameled things from below. The top of this tripod, which is going to be exposed to fire, is for some reason either powder coated or painted. The problem is this paint or whatever it is, doesn't hold up to the high heat it is going to be exposed to. When it is heated it makes a bad smelling smoke. This is just so stupid, the thing is being sold as a soldering tripod. I think this is even stupider than the chrome plated Peddinghaus goldsmith's hammer. Right now, as I type this, I am sitting in my studio breathing the (probably toxic) fumes this stupid thing has made, while a fan tries to blow the fumes out the window.
I thought it was stupid when I first got the tripod and saw that it was painted, but I got busy with trying to finish my necklace and forgot about it. Tonight is the first time I have burned it under normal use, and I haven't used it that much. I guess I will try to remove the paint it with a steel brush on my angle grinder. This is a good example of a tool being made by a company that is clueless as to how it will be used.
Showing posts with label stupid tools. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stupid tools. Show all posts
Saturday, July 4, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
Peddinghaus goldsmith's hammer
This is something I have wanted to write about for a while. I wanted to write about this hammer because I hate it. I like the size and weight, I modeled the hammers I made on this hammer, but it has one serious problem, and that is that it has a heavy chrome plating. There's a couple reasons why this is stupid, and I have yet to hear any reason why chrome plating is good.
I don't remember when I got this hammer, but I have had it several years at least. In the beginning it was fine, and I liked it. My friend also had the hammer, one day he told me that the chrome plating started chipping off his hammer. I thought that sucks, but my hammer was still ok so I didn't worry about it too much. A year or two later, the plating on the cross peen of my hammer started to chip off.
The problem with the stupid plating chipping off, other than looking like shit, is it is very thick plating, so it leaves a sharp edge which will mark the metal you are hammering. After this big piece of plating chipped off, the rest of the plating started chipping off. So I just went with it, and decided to try to chip off all the plating. It wasn't so easy, it chipped of easy enough around the corners, but the rest wouldn't come off.
Another problem with the head is the cross peen is too squared off and the edges are too sharp. Most people will want to make the cross peen more rounded. Having a hard chrome plating makes this more difficult and trying to round the edges will probably lead to the plating starting to chip off.
I can't think of any good reason for chrome plating the hammer. Rust prevention? That's stupid. It's a jeweler's hammer, not some tool that's going to be outside exposed to the elements. Did they want the head to look polished, but were too cheap to actually polish it?
No other Peddinghaus hammers I have seen are plated. Their other hammer heads are painted black except for the faces.
This is not the kind of thing I expect from a German tool manufacturer.
I don't remember when I got this hammer, but I have had it several years at least. In the beginning it was fine, and I liked it. My friend also had the hammer, one day he told me that the chrome plating started chipping off his hammer. I thought that sucks, but my hammer was still ok so I didn't worry about it too much. A year or two later, the plating on the cross peen of my hammer started to chip off.
The problem with the stupid plating chipping off, other than looking like shit, is it is very thick plating, so it leaves a sharp edge which will mark the metal you are hammering. After this big piece of plating chipped off, the rest of the plating started chipping off. So I just went with it, and decided to try to chip off all the plating. It wasn't so easy, it chipped of easy enough around the corners, but the rest wouldn't come off.
Another problem with the head is the cross peen is too squared off and the edges are too sharp. Most people will want to make the cross peen more rounded. Having a hard chrome plating makes this more difficult and trying to round the edges will probably lead to the plating starting to chip off.
I can't think of any good reason for chrome plating the hammer. Rust prevention? That's stupid. It's a jeweler's hammer, not some tool that's going to be outside exposed to the elements. Did they want the head to look polished, but were too cheap to actually polish it?
No other Peddinghaus hammers I have seen are plated. Their other hammer heads are painted black except for the faces.
This is not the kind of thing I expect from a German tool manufacturer.
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