How to Use a Ball Peen Hammer for Different Applications?

The ball peen hammer is also known as a machinist's hammer. It is a must-have tool for those in the metalworking industry including DIY metalworkers and jewellery makers. Structured like a common household hammer, it has a normal cylindrical hammer head with a flat face on one end and a round head on the other. The head of the hammer is hardened, and thus, less likely to chip on impact. This makes it suitable for working with hard metal surfaces. The machinist's hammer is commonly used to drive cold chisels, set rivets, and bend and shape metal.

This kind of hammer may be categorized as either hard-faced or soft-faced, depending on the type of material they are made of. Hard faced hammers are manufactured from high-carbon steel or alloy steel which has been forged and heat-treated. These are particularly strong and ideal to work with hard metal.

Metalworkers, blacksmiths and engineers prefer to use the hard faced hammer when working on metal surfaces. The soft faced hammers are made of lead, brass, or plastic. These hammers can be subject to deformation, wear-out, and breaking. The handle of a ball peen hammer could be made of many different materials like wood, fiberglass, stainless steel, or plastic.

What are the Uses?

1. Shaping Metal
Most of the metal fabrication today is done via automated machines. But when it comes to doing a manual job, ball peen hammers are the top choice. They are ideal for striking and shaping metal sheets and pieces. The hammer is used for lending the desired shape and form to the metal being worked upon. Conventionally, this type of hammer was used to peen metals that had been welded or riveted together. It is used in welding jobs to make the joints as flexible as the metal surrounding it. The ball peen hammer is also a vital tool used in jewellery making. They help to shape, flatten, and add hammered texture to the metal.

2. Peening Rivets
A machinist's hammer is the go-to choice for manually setting rivets into metal. It can be used for peening rivets as well as for expanding the ends of set rivets and light rivets such as those made of copper. The particular task is made easy thanks to the distinct shape of this hammer. A rivet is typically used for joining two metal sheets together. For setting a rivet, a soft metal nail has to be driven through a hole drilled in metal sheets or boards. The extra shaft of the rivet needs to be cut and flattened out to serve as a strong joint for the metal sheets, while a few steady strikes from the hammer can ensure that the joint is secured tightly. As soon as the rivet end flattens out, the joint also becomes more securely fastened along with the metal sheets.

3. Removing Dents
Ball peen hammers are the perfect tool used in smoothing out dents as they work efficiently on the metal being repaired and leave no marks on the surface. The ball-shaped end of the hammer flattens and expands the metal surfaces. This, in turn, gives a greater strain-hardening property to the metal thanks to the striking and heft offered while hammering.

4. Striking Punches
During woodworking and metalworking, a ball-peen hammer is the most useful tool for striking punches and chisels. Because a punch has a small blunt end, the flatter face of the hammer provides the right amount of impact to drive the punch. This allows the punch to be used for making holes on wood or metal.

5. Sword and Knife Making
Machinist’s hammers are most helpful in shaping a metal material as desired by the user. This is what makes them perfect for manufacturing of swords and knife blades. First, the metal is cast into the form of a knife or a sword, and then molded into the desired shape using the hammer. But while peening a blade using a machinist’s hammer, an anvil is required for use as a solid metal surface.