DIY Non-Marring Hammer with an Old School Twist

When disassembling furniture for repair, it is important to keep the parts in pristine condition so when reassembled you can make the piece look brand new.  Sometimes softer woods have a habit of very easily taking dents or nicks.

I ran across a situation the other day where I was disassembling a piece of knotty pine furniture and needed a non-marring hammer to break apart glued joints.  I started by using a rubber mallet, but had to stop when I found it left some dents in the wood.  Wanting to preserve the pieces in their original condition, I knew another solution was out there.

I recalled a while back reading up on furniture restoration, a hammer wrapper with rags could be a substitute for a non-marring hammer.  This sounded like a good time to put it to the test.

To make my hammer, I used:

- 3 pound sledge hammer (or other hammer with flat ends)
- 8 shop rags
- 1 large zip tie

Step 1

Lay all 8 rags flat and place the hammer in the middle.

Step 2

Wrap your rags as evenly as you can around the head of the hammer.

Step 3

Put a zip tie around the rags as close tot he head of the hammer as you can.  To tighten it very tight, use a pair of pliers to pinch near the excess zip tie material and rock it back and forth.  After it is snug, cut off the end of the zip tie.








To my surprise, this hammer left no dents or marks in the wood even though I swung it very hard.  Making it took less than five minutes, but the best part is it was made for free with things most of us already have lying around our garage.