Do I need a different hammer to avoid mushrooming metal shafts?

[reader2580]

I use an Estwing carpenter hammer for everything. I was using it today to pound a metal shaft through a bearing. I didn't realize the shaft had stopped moving and hit it a few more times mushrooming the end a bit.

Would a different type of hammer help, or do I just need a better technique to realize when the shaft stops moving and to stop hitting?

 

[PWC Repair]

I use a brass drift. You could use a block of aluminum. Whatever your pounding with needs to be softer than the shaft/other part. That way the softer metal gives. A lead hammer works great too.

 

[rsanter]

I use a brass drift. You could use a block of aluminum. Whatever your pounding with needs to be softer than the shaft/other part. That way the softer metal gives. A lead hammer works great too.

This...
Or a brass face hammer

Bob

 

[M6erfan]

Yep, I use brass drifts a lot for knocking out axel shafts and bearings. I typically use a brass or nylon faced hammer, no mushrooming...

 

[reader2580]

Can anyone recommend a decent nylon faced hammer for hitting metal? The Estwing and Vaughn hammers state they are for hitting wood.

 

[trackwelder]

I would have burned that bearing clean off that shaft with a cutting torch and avoided peening that shaft over.

 

[crguy]

I would have burned that bearing clean off that shaft with a cutting torch and avoided peening that shaft over.

That only works in a few situations.

 

[trackwelder]

That only works in a few situations.

Definitely not going to work in every scenario. In the case of a stuck shaft that you can't cut all that's needed is a torch and a brass drift.

 

[mikegt4]

A good brass hammer is the way to go. There was a thread recently on the subject.
http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=345763&highlight=brass&showall=1

 

[M6erfan]

Can anyone recommend a decent nylon faced hammer for hitting metal? The Estwing and Vaughn hammers state they are for hitting wood.

Halder makes great hammers. Matter of fact, I just ordered one of their Ferroplex "combi" hammers with replaceable nylon insert.



http://www.halder.com/Products/Hand-Tools/Combi-Hammer/FERROPLEX-Combi-Hammer/FERROPLEX-Combi-Hammer-locksmith-s-hammer-and-soft-face-mallet-in-one

But they have lots of other options to suit various needs...

 

[Tim37]

I like my lead hammer

 

[Richard Cranium]

I have a brass hammer that I use the most and then I also have a rawhide hammer.

 

[notlob]

x2 on lead hammer. rawhide as a distant second.

 

[Showkey]

Brass, copper, lead, wood, raw hide, plastic, rubber and all sizes of dead blows are all solutions to the problem and each has their merits ...........every tool box needs at least three or all.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I usually use scrap wood to protect the shaft and often with a dead blow hammer.

 

[metaldad]

Brass, copper, lead, wood, raw hide, plastic, rubber and all sizes of dead blows are all solutions to the problem and each has their merits ...........every tool box needs at least three or all.

the bottom 5 are for garland replaceable face split head hammers. made in USA
i have 3
https://www.mcmaster.com/#replaceable-face-hammers/=15m5xgk
http://www.garlandmfg.com/mallets/split.html

 

[Derek420]

I use to use a claw hammer for all my pounding and sure learned my lesson now I got trusty cook to to all the persuading just the urathane ones but they are tuff and don't crack or dent as well as do damage but plan on getting a brass hammer for rims and such.

 

[diggerrick]

I have a couple HF dead blows, rubber mallets, a brass head hammer, and soft faced with interchangeable faces. I usually just grab the first claw hammer I see, but when I really need to persuade something I don't want to damage, I dig out my "tappers". One is a piece of 1-1/2" brass round, the other is an old cheap 1/2" drive extension that I ruined years ago.

 

[cliftonbros89]

A good Trusty Cook deadblow??

 

[Jeeper]

At what point do you look at pressing or pulling options?

 

[senlow]

At what point do you look at pressing or pulling options?

Only after mushrooming the shaft.

 

[metaldad]

Only after mushrooming the shaft.

 

[woody 73]

Not to say an unkind word but my Father taught me use the right tool for the right job; the op told us he uses a carpenters hammer for just about everything in his first post and in all respect for wood projects you are good to go!

Working on cars, motorbikes, machines, trucks, subs, rocket ships, etc. you should never see workers with a claw hammer...

Working on houses, log cabins, barns, old wood bridges, tree houses, etc. use that claw hammer...

Brass hammers, lead hammers, soft face hammers would be the right choice.

Sigh... The day they stopped wood shop class was a very sad day, although computers are fantastic I learned everything in my shop class.

 

[bob15]

Not to say an unkind word but my Father taught me use the right tool for the right job; the op told us he uses a carpenters hammer for just about everything in his first post and in all respect for wood projects you are good to go!

Working on cars, motorbikes, machines, trucks, subs, rocket ships, etc. you should never see workers with a claw hammer...

Working on houses, log cabins, barns, old wood bridges, tree houses, etc. use that claw hammer...

Brass hammers, lead hammers, soft face hammers would be the right choice.

This ↑↑↑↑

A brass drift would work, but a lead hammer is probably the best tool.....heavy head with a lot of inertia striking the shaft. And no glancing off the drift punch into you hand/arm with a hammer

 

[bsaint]

I use a press whenever I can. Even if it's making something with a pressure screw.

 

[Olafur]

Brass punch for soft steel shafts, mild steel punch (bar stock) for hardened shafts. And you use the heaviest (steel) hammer you are comfortable with.

Generally speaking - soft faced hammers are not effective driving shafts through stubborn bearings and won't last long.

 

[Showkey]

At what point do you look at pressing or pulling options?

If your banging on it with a claw hammer......That point never arrives.

 

[claymont]

Brass and copper faced dead blow hammers are probably more efficient energy wise, but after using them a while the faces work harden and will burr/dent steel just like the hammer you have now. In my career, the best hammers for motivating things without damage were lead and rawhide hammers. On my service truck I had a 3 and 5lb lead hammers and a 5 or 7lb(don't remember the actual weight) rawhide. The rawhide hammer was the my main hammer for motivation; they take a helluva lot of abuse!! They're pricey, but once the initial outlay, except for the inserts they'll last you a lifetime. I also had various sized aluminum and brass bars for getting into places a hammer couldn't go. As silly as it sounds, it takes many years of 'OJT' to become an experienced Beater Apart

 

[RAYJAY]

you could always cut the bearing off with a dremel and a cut off wheel..........


http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q...E0F76A68E2A931393E5CE0F76A68E2A93&FORM=VRDGAR

 

[jeeper46]

Perhaps the most useful tools in my box are all the odds and ends of brass rod that I picked up in the shop when I was a Diemaker. I have brass drifts of various diameters and lengths, and I find myself using them constantly to take old rusty junk apart. Brass hammers are great too. Those plastic deadblow hammers have their uses, but they often just don't have the weight to really do the job. I see HF only has one brass hammer, but one of those ought to be in your toolkit, along with a variety of other hammers-not just a carpenters claw hammer. I recently picked up a NOS lead hammer at a used tool store-I wonder if anyone still even makes those?

 

[sometoyotaguy]

I usually use scrap wood to protect the shaft and often with a dead blow hammer.

Unless you have a good piece of hardwood, I haven't had much luck using that method.

 

[Know Wosad]

Naw man. This. Yea, Its $100 but is the right tool for the job. They miss labeled it. Its a bronze alloy and pretty hard actually
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003OYI7R2/?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[Heavy Metal Doctor]

21 years of working on machinery to earn my living and I don't even own a brass drift or brass / lead hammer.
Every situation can be different, this is true...but my general philosophy is "finesse, not force".
For bearing / shaft removal (a task which must happen in various forms about once a day in my shop):
Cut it all apart if you don't want to save anything. Many precision shafts shafts can be warped by applying any heat above a plumber propane torch.
Cut the bearing off carefully with a cut-off wheel (careful not to hit the shaft).
Clean the shaft well of any paint / debris and pull it off with a puller, if you can get behind it. Sometime it's cut the outer cast iron housing away, or just the outer race, and then pull whats left.
To use a hammer to drive the shaft through, reduce the diameter of where you strike it. Either with a smaller diameter shaft or a punch.
In some cases where you must hammer directly on the shaft, break it loose and get it moving, but then go back over the end of the shaft with a grinder to taper down any mushroomed end area BEFORE you get the bearing jammed on that mushroom.

 

[PBCampbell]

Naw man. This. Yea, Its $100 but is the right tool for the job. They miss labeled it. Its a bronze alloy and pretty hard actually
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B003OYI7R2/?tag=atomicindus08-20

That's a Nupla handle I'm sure, so just buy a Nupla for less.
https://www.amazon.com/Nupla-Classic-Sparking-Sledge-Hammer/dp/B000LDP68W/ref=pd_sim_328_2?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1&refRID=Y7RYBTQYY47PN880528S

 

[sberry]

Yes hardwood. Done millions of times a day. I don't even own most of those hammers.