Dead Blow Hammers

[TomG]

It's not that I dislike them Ed, it's just that a ball pein is always in reach and works just as well, in fact better on a rough surface. Ball peins are generally smaller so it's easy to get your fingers on a part so you can feel when it seats on the parallels. I either use the edge of the peining end or the ball so it doesn't bounce the work. The exception is on finished parts where I just use a nylon tipped hammer.

I have used dead blows for forming sheet metal and they work great. I also helped out an assembler at work who was having trouble getting double strikes while finish stamping parts, so I got them a dead blow for that.

I'm just not the guy that has to have a lot of special tools when the traditional ones will get the job done just as well and take less room in my tool box. I still regret the day I purchased my Blake Co-Axe indicator. By the time I get the damned thing out and crank the mill table down to use it, I can have the part indicated with a dial test indicator and be making chips. Maybe I should just dump it on eBay and buy something more useful.

Tom