Replies

1. 
   polarsea1 | Oct 12, 2009 06:55am | #1

   In general terms hardened steel hammers are used for driving nails, pins and brads; unhardened for machine work - driving roll pins, taper pins, punches, etc.

   Brass I don't know, unless you are on a minesweeper - then bronze would be a better choice.

2. 
   roc | Oct 12, 2009 07:30am | #2

   > When would you use a brass hammer<

   Why for banging away on your fittings around your gas tank or natural gas fittings of course . Brass won't create a spark like a steel hammer will.

   : )

   Oh you mean for wood working. Brass beats up the plane parts less than steel. The brass hammer does get kind of ragged over time. You can file it to clean it up.

   OK lets be truthful. It is because it is pretty and cool looking.

   One of my favorite hammers, I use it on punches and some on planes, is made of copper.

   roc

   Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe. Abraham Lincoln ( 54° shaves )

   
   

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   Edited 10/12/2009 12:34 am by roc

3. 
   hammer1 | Oct 12, 2009 02:08pm | #3

   Basically, hammer faces are chosen so they don't mark or damage the objects being hit. Brass is often used for it's non-magnetic, non sparking and non marring properties. If you bang two hardened steel hammers together, you may send a shard of metal flying. A hard hammer is used on softer metals. Softer steel hammers are used on harder materials. There are at least 10 different levels of hardness on steel hammer faces, alone. In addition, there are many other types of hammer faces, nylon, plastic, copper, aluminum, rawhide, as well as different sizes and shapes. Some are very specialized.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

1. 
   JohnWW | Oct 12, 2009 03:54pm | #4

   Conventional brass hammers are not considered spark proof by safety regulations. Special alloys containing copper and aluminum or beryllium are used in spark resistant tools. If you are really serious about avoiding sparks you can even purchase items like small chain hoists, at $5,000+ per, made out of the special alloys.Hammer faces are not necessarily chosen to be softer than the object being struck. In most cases a steel hammer face is fairly hard and the tool, a chisel or pin punch for instance, is softer and will mushroom with the blows. After some use, the damaged head of the struck tool will have to be ground back to keep chips from being thrown from the mushroomed rim. Brass or copper hammers are typically used for disassembling or adjusting steel and iron tools where you want to avoid damaging the surface being struck. Since the brass is soft the hammer is best used for only light to moderate blows to avoid chewing up the hammer's face. You can buy perfectly good, though less sculptural, brass hammers from other sources for far less money than the L-N version. Unhardened hammer faces are not commonly used, their main purpose is to strike hardened steel pieces like assembly pins and the like. It is generally not a good idea to strike a hardened hammer against another hardened surface since this can cause small sharp edged chips to fly off at high speed. A soft steel hammer's faces will be damaged when striking harder surfaces and will need to be dressed down smooth with a file occasionally. They also leave dark grey marks on wood, if used to drive small brads flush for instance, so they aren't practical for many woodworking jobs.Also, it is difficult to control a hard faced hammer when striking another hardened object, the contact point is slippery and the hammer glances off easily, possibly causing unintended damage.John White
   Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998 to 2007

1. 
   docrx | Oct 13, 2009 03:35pm | #5

   Not trying to hijack a thread here but I have a similar question, on some tools, especially C clamps that I have seen and seen advertised I see the word "malleable" stamped on the side.  I'm sure I spelled the word wrong but what does this refer to and why is it desireable?  I understood malleable to refer to the working characteristics of the metal.

   Thanks

   Tony

    

1. 
   JohnWW | Oct 13, 2009 04:54pm | #6

   Malleable means that the clamp is made from malleable cast iron.Ordinary cast iron is rather brittle, if a c-clamp were made from basic cast iron it would crack if tightened down hard. Malleable iron has had its chemistry fine tuned, and is then heat treated, to make it tougher and less brittle so the clamp won't crack in use though it might bend if tightened down really hard. Malleable iron is more difficult, and therefore more expensive, to make, but it is a sign that the quality of the tool is better and a sign that the maker is taking some care in the tool's manufacture.John White
   Shop Manager for FWW Magazine, 1998 to 2007

1. 
   docrx | Oct 14, 2009 12:38pm | #8

   Thanks John, that clears things up.

   Tony

    

4. 
   dkellernc | Oct 14, 2009 02:44am | #7

   This is along the lines of what John mentioned, but if you want one of the L-N hammers, the brass one would be appropriate if you've wooden planes that you want to adjust the iron in, or one of L-N's bevel-up planes.  The L-N BU planes do not have a lateral adjuster, and tapping the side of the iron with a brass hammer is a considerably more accurate way to adjust it than loosening the lever cap and trying to shift it sideways with your fingers.