Handmade Gift for Dad

Stephen Scott Johnson
by Stephen Scott Johnson
My dad played such an important part of my life growing up, I wanted to make him something special. So I came up with this simple gift and used my wood burner to add a personal message to a plain hammer. Once you've seen this project, you'll probably think of tons of other ideas to honor your mom or your dad.
It won't take you very long to find a plain hammer like this one. Look in most any hardware store, department store, or home improvement store. Since I wanted to wood burn a message, I picked the lightest colored wood handle I could find.
Pull out or buy your favorite letter stencil. Pick a font you like and one that will fit on the handle.
Before I applied my words with the pencil, I took some 220 sand paper and removed any finish. My store-bought hammer had a light coat of lacquer.


Using a straight edge, I drew a line along the handle for a reference point. Before I started any wood burning, I first lay out the words / phrase I wanted to use. BTW, you can use my phrase if you like. What ever you choose, get it all sketched out to see if it fits the handle.
Use a simple wood burner and begin burning the letters. Adjust the heat to get the right depth of burn. If you're new to wood burning, read the manuals that come with your tool. I would suggest that you practice on some scrap pieces first until you get the hang of it.
Here is the finished hammer. Once I finished burning all the letters, I applied some light colored Danish Oil. But you could just as easily apply some spray on lacquer.


Check out my link at the end to follow the entire tutorial.


BTW -- My dad loved the gift.
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Stephen Scott Johnson
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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