Hope for a hammer?

[supermanotorious]

I found a 3 lb ball-peen at Lake Pleasant years ago, it's been a good hammer for a long time. Now it is starting to mushroom and I found THIS information on Estwing's site. I understand the mushroomed ring could chip and be dangerous. Would it be advisable to grind the ring flat? Toss the hammer? I'll try to post a pic later.

 

[itsid]

really? what's that Estwing crap?
You should discard a hammer because the face has a dent?? seriously??
you must not strike a hardened nail... since it'll void the warranty?

Remember: Nail hammers are made to drive and withdraw common unhardened nails only. Any other use is considered misuse

If that is what US quality tools are like, then I'm glad I do not have to use them

Anyways..

fillet weld cracks and shoulder of the mushroom, grind excess and proceed;
You know how to weld and what your welds can and cannot handle; use the "repaired" hammer accordingly.

Oh, you could ask your local blacksmith to reforge it if you want...
(can end up being better than new!) but that comes at a price of course

'sid

 

[Zombient]

Pretty sure that's all legal crap they have to add, just to make sure if anything does happen, they can say "We told you so."

Grind it down. I remember my old shop teacher telling us that. Don't use it if it's mushroomed, just grind it down and it will be fine for another 20 years.

 

[Poboy kartman]

When you have a tool that mushrooms past it's outside edge...be it a chisel or a hammer, the prudent thing to do is grind a new bevel on the edge...

The chisel is the easier of the two to imagine the danger and damage....so ...as you strike it a piece of that "folded over " metal breaks at the edge and embeds itself in your hand...the same can happen with a hammer.....

C'mon guys....this is tool safety 101....a dented face is one thing....a truly "mushroomed tool another....

 

[KartFab]

I found a 3 lb ball-peen at Lake Pleasant years ago, it's been a good hammer for a long time. Now it is starting to mushroom.

Someone has been eating his spinach.

 

[Poboy kartman]

Someone has been eating his spinach.

ORRRRRR.....Is really antsy and impatient, and grabs the BFH the minute something ain't going to plan??????

 

[chancer]

ORRRRRR.....Is really antsy and impatient, and grabs the BFH the minute something ain't going to plan??????

Blah Blah Blah... "Antsy and impatient" There is NOTHING a good whack with a hammer wont fix! Even if "fix" means now you get to buy a new one! And that is this "Plan" you speak of?

 

[Poboy kartman]

Well....the only time a BFH is ever part of my original plan is when I'm driving stakes or need to give wiseacre Californians an attitude adjustment!

 

[machinist@large]

I found a 3 lb ball-peen at Lake Pleasant years ago, it's been a good hammer for a long time. Now it is starting to mushroom and I found THIS information on Estwing's site. I understand the mushroomed ring could chip and be dangerous. Would it be advisable to grind the ring flat? Toss the hammer? I'll try to post a pic later.

.

Grind the mushroom ring back in line with the rest of the head, then recrown the face as well as you can. My preferred method is to use the ball end as my pivot point and constant pressure source, using the handle for the fine control of the shape of the face.

The face of a ball peen hammer need's to have a crown to it; it's not a framing hammer that requires a flat face. The same technique work's well on the ball end of the head. Once you have the face crowned, ad a bevel somewhere between 1/8 to 1/4 inch around the edge of the face and call it good.

really? what's that Estwing crap?
You should discard a hammer because the face has a dent?? seriously??
you must not strike a hardened nail... since it'll void the warranty?



If that is what US quality tools are like, then I'm glad I do not have to use them

Anyways..

fillet weld cracks and shoulder of the mushroom, grind excess and proceed;
You know how to weld and what your welds can and cannot handle; use the "repaired" hammer accordingly.

Oh, you could ask your local blacksmith to reforge it if you want...
(can end up being better than new!) but that comes at a price of course

'sid

Alex, he might have a quality control issue one (he found it on the side of the road) ; Estwing has a rep for high quality, and the two framing hammer's in our family build pack back that up. That being said, while I frown on the one's on sale at , I've quit buying expensive hammer's for work because I've had to many stolen by cheap who seem to think that just because I have skills, I'm supposedly rich, and just putting up with them for the entertainment value.

If only that were true......

 

[Poboy kartman]

really? what's that Estwing crap?? seriously??
you must not strike a hardened nail... since it'll void the warranty?





'sid

That's really not as silly as it appears at face value....but let's explore the why's!

OK....As you well know Alex ....just like top end vs. acceleration....every thing has a trade-off. And....as I'm sure you're also aware....with steel...with hardness comes brittleness. So....you're trying to make a hammer for average nail pounding framer....you want a very high hardness rating...(to give the poor schmo a good bang for the buck). HOWEVER, it then increases the likelihood of the hamerhead shattering....ergo...the need for the disclosure not to use it on "hardened" nails....

Well as you SHOULD know...they make nails you can drive into concrete and these suckers almost DON'T bend!!! SOOOO....It's a bit of a balancing act...the softer the hammer, the shorter time it will be distorted, the harder, more longevity....but greater chance of catastrophic failure.

 

[supermanotorious]

tried to upload these yesterday, ran out of time, my computer is SO SLOW I need a new one

 

[machinist@large]

tried to upload these yesterday, ran out of time, my computer is SO SLOW I need a new one

Rebevel the edge of the face, recrown the face, and call it good. Keep the head cool enough to comfortably hang on to with a bare hand, and you'll be fine. Those photos look like nothing more than heavy duty use/ wear and tear.

The head might be a bit soft, but I'm betting you can still get a lot of life out of it. Clean it up, and hammer on!!!!

 

[Poboy kartman]

What he ^ said....now....'scuse me whilst I get hammered!