Every homeowner needs at least one hammer and probably several -- for driving or pulling nails and tacks, splitting and setting brick, working with drywall, shingling, and auto-body work. In this excerpt from The Homeowner's Ultimate Tool Guide, author Sandor Nagyszalanczy shows you the important features of each tool and explains the pros and cons of different materials and designs. You'll learn how to swing a hammer and discover tips from the pros -- valuable information you can't get in most DIY books.

Hammers are only one of the many tools featured in The Homeowner's Ultimate Tool Guide. This 282-page book, illustrated with more than 400 photos, is packed with tips and advice that will help you assemble a tool kit for any home-improvement job -- basic repair, carpentry, plumbing, electrical, painting, tiling, demolition, flooring, sharpening, and more.