In pursuit of the perfect gunsmithing hammer

Claven2

Claven2

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As silly as it may sound, I've gone through maybe 20 hammers in search of "the one", over the last 20 years or so, that I would consider the ideal gunsmithing hammer.

I've tried everything from 4, 6 and 8 ox ball peens, tack hammers, jeweller's hammers, etc. A friend of mine a German-trained master gunsmith and he put me onto 8oz rivetting hammers as his "go to".

I've tried a few now and have settled on what I now think is the best bang for the buck in gunsmithing hammers, the Bodovix 8ox rivetting hammer.

It's got a forged 8ox head, a polymer shaft guard and a nicely formed hickory handle.

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You can even find it on amazon for under $20 - amazing considering its competitors are largely sold by european vendors and cost 40 euro and up.

What hammers have you guys settled on as your favorites?

I also still have a variety of 4ox and 6ox ball peens, but I find I use them less these days.
 
Mightymoose410 said:
I don't think I could ever choose just one hammer for all your needs, have the small and large both brass and nylon. Ball peen and tack as well as a couple different rubber mallets. Different hammers for different jobs
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That's true. And I would add to it a lead (or lead filled) deadblow hammer.

But that said, a basic hammer for driving pins, hitting munches and meening splines is used more than any other implement in my show with the exception of hand-ground screwdrivers.

What hammer do you use most often?
 
A large faced engraving hammer... for driving pins out... the large face makes it easy to hit the punch while watching what the tip is doing...

I used the top hammer for many years until I bought the bottom hammer...

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and more hammers... some home made

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guntech said:
A large faced engraving hammer... for driving pins out... the large face makes it easy to hit the punch while watching what the tip is doing...
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I think those are called chasing hammers. I've never used one, most are quite dainty, in the 2 to 4 oz range.
 
Hammers are like screwdrivers and punches.

Use the proper tool for the job at hand.

Same goes for vises, clamps and wrenches.

Some tools will be OK for multiple uses but there are just some jobs that they are inappropriate for.

I've seen a lot of nice firearms finishes/edges/surfaces etc marred or ruined by use of improper tools.

OP, just so you know, the hammer you show is an excellent tool for most jobs I do and I full approve of your choice. Just don't make it do more than it was designed to do.

I have hammers that are less than a half ounce up to 2 pounds for working on my firearms. Some are iron, brass, plastic, leather, buna N and one I have only used a couple of times made from a resin/cloth electrical insulator.

I'm the same with most of my tools. Special wrenches/hammers/screwdrivers often have to be made up on demand. Not always possible, depending on time/availability of resources.
 
I use a light hardwood mallet and a brass hammer turned from a nautical fitting, keeping one side smooth and the other for harder work. I use hardwood punches a lot as they don't leave a mark. Dogwood mainly. Then brass, steel, etc.
 
I picked up a small ball peen hammer at a second hand store a while ago. Originally it had a long, thin handle and the head was loose and a bit corroded. I cut the thin neck down and shaped the remaining handle to fit the head, then finished the handle with linseed oil, wire-brushed the head and gave it some Oxypho Blue. Overall length is now 8". It feels good in my hand. I keep it in my range bag along with some range rods in case of a squib but it's useful for general work.

Claven2's tack hammer would be very useful for small pins, though. Like screwdrivers, it's good to have a good selection. (You can tell Dennis has been in the biz for quite a while.)

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Any collection of hammers for gunsmithing should include at least one "deadblow" hammer - non marring but still gets the job done... no need to post a reply since I've only been dicking with gunsmithing both rifles and 1911 for over 50 years.
 
I can't imagine any "ONE" hammer for all my gunsmithing and metal working needs. With care and thought I think I could get it down to three steel headed types for size and weight. But then there would still be the "other" hammers from brass, lead and plastic heads used for specific things.

Much of how well hammers work for what we do is related to the angle of the face. A perfectly parallel face to handle axis is almost never the best setup. So it may not be the shape you like so much as the weight and the angle of the face on that "ideal" hammer.
 
I agree, trying to choose just one hammer as my favorite is like asking me what my favorite song is... hammers are one of those things you can never have too many of. but I am partial to my 10 ounce ball P....and I have a neat plastic mallet.....oh and a brass one...geez
 
I made a couple of wood leather faced mallets - one very light with a lot of leather on the face and the other filled with some lead weights to probably 6/7oz or so.... those are the go-tos, as well as a light ball peen for pins. though on reflection a small tack hammer would be a welcome addition. there is quite a stash of other hammers, but the need to bash something hard does not come up a lot when stock making ;)
 
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