Finally tried a lying press for rounding and backing after 2 years of fighting with a bench vice

I was sure it was just a fancy way to spend money but after wrestling a 400 page text block on my third try last month I broke down and ordered one from a local woodworker, and the first book came out cleaner than any I have done before, has anyone else had a tool they resisted that turned out to be a game changer?

2 comments

2 Comments

troyjackson1d agoMost Upvoted

My rounding hammer, believe it or not. I bought a cheap cross peen that I argued with for three years. Finally broke down and got a proper one with a nice balanced handle and it made me wonder why I waited so long. Sometimes you just have to spend the money to save the headache.

leo_campbell1d ago

@troyjackson you're right about spending the money but that cross peen you were using isn't really a rounding hammer anyway. They're built different. A rounding hammer has a flat face and a rounded one on the other side for spreading metal. A cross peen has that wedge shaped end for drawing out stock. Different tools for different jobs. Sounds like you got a proper rounding hammer and it just happened to fit what you were doing better. Not trying to nitpick but that cheap cross peen probably wasn't doing you any favors if you were using it like a rounding hammer.