Piston Hammers?

[BarrelRoll]

I'm looking for a piston hammer. I see it coming in handy at work to pound bearing races into pump barrels and float cell bearing assemblies. After searching there's 3 main piston hammers out there the 24oz snapon ($90), 29oz Proto ($53) and the 32oz trusty cook ($38) also resold in blue plastic by summit racing ($27.99), eastwood ($44), and others with prices all over the place. I did some searching and couldn't find much on piston hammers period. Some people had issues with the older snapons which I believe were built by trusty cook crumbling with age. Anyone have experiance with the various brands? I can't really see the benefit of a snapon in this situation unless the trusty cooks start falling apart, the slightly shorter and lighter head seems like a disadvantage in this situation.

Trusty cook also offers a non branded hammer for $19 though I need to call them because the web site gives me a $94 shipping quote to Alaska. https://deadblowhammerdeals.com/product/slimline-hammer-model-s4/

 

[Fedwrench]

I don't think a current version trusty cook will crumble. I had some of the old snap on deadblows that crumbled in a drawer after they started turning white. I think those hammers were made from a different process. All of the Trusty Cook hammers I have are top notch,

have you thought about this for pistons or seals?

50 oz dead blow extender

Free UPS available. Trusty-Cook's dead blow extender is an indispensable specialized mallet tool for striking areas unreachable with a hammer. Built for precision work w/ minimal-to-no bounce-back/rebound. U.S.-made.

trustycook.com

 

[finn]

My old HF crumbled in the toolbox drawer in an unheated garage.

The blue TC seems to be holding up well, as is the orange one from, I think, Farm and Fleet.

 

[BarrelRoll]

I don't think a current version trusty cook will crumble. I had some of the old snap on deadblows that crumbled in a drawer after they started turning white. I think those hammers were made from a different process. All of the Trusty Cook hammers I have are top notch,

have you thought about this for pistons or seals?

50 oz dead blow extender

Free UPS available. Trusty-Cook's dead blow extender is an indispensable specialized mallet tool for striking areas unreachable with a hammer. Built for precision work w/ minimal-to-no bounce-back/rebound. U.S.-made.

trustycook.com

Good to know. I saw that and was eyeing it, unfortunately it's out of stock right now.

 

[Packard V8]

Interesting. I've been using soft-face dead blow hammers since they were a thing and never owned either the "piston hammer" or the "bopper."

jack vines

 

[finn]

Interesting. I've been using soft-face dead blow hammers since they were a thing and never owned either the "piston hammer" or the "bopper."

jack vines

I never heard that term either. Must be British or Australian English.

 

[senlow]

Piston hammers ****. The solution is worse than the problem. Swinging a hammer with a long head into a cylinder just doesn't work well. Use the handle of a standard dead blow for tapping pistons or anything else into a cylinder. Why else would the handle be urethane covered.

I'm pretty sure that the old Snappy dead blow hammers that eventually disintegrated were made by Stanley. Trusty Cook hammers are top notch.

 

[dnschmidt]

I have a Trusty-Cook piston hammer, which believe it or not is actually the name of the owner of the company - He called me up one day to thank me for an order - shocked the hell out of me. But, I've always wondered why you would have to bash a piston that hard into a cylinder to need a 24oz hammer. I use Total Seal specially made ring cones to install pistons and properly lubed the pistons only take light pressure to go through the cone. I use the wooden handle of a ball peen hammer for that purpose. I've used the specialty hammer but really didn't see what it gained me. On the other hand it works great when you've got to bash something that's recessed.

 

[BarrelRoll]

Piston hammers ****. The solution is worse than the problem. Swinging a hammer with a long head into a cylinder just doesn't work well. Use the handle of a standard dead blow for tapping pistons or anything else into a cylinder. Why else would the handle be urethane covered.

I'm pretty sure that the old Snappy dead blow hammers that eventually disintegrated were made by Stanley. Trusty Cook hammers are top notch.

I have a Trusty-Cook piston hammer, which believe it or not is actually the name of the owner of the company - He called me up one day to thank me for an order - shocked the hell out of me. But, I've always wondered why you would have to bash a piston that hard into a cylinder to need a 24oz hammer. I use Total Seal specially made ring cones to install pistons and properly lubed the pistons only take light pressure to go through the cone. I use the wooden handle of a ball peen hammer for that purpose. I've used the specialty hammer but really didn't see what it gained me. On the other hand it works great when you've got to bash something that's recessed.

I don't want it for driving in pistons. I want it for rebuilding pump barrels where the bearing is recessed 2-4" below the edge of the barrel and other industrial work you can't reach with a normal hammer head. Currently I use a block of wood or a brass drift, using a non maring dead blow would be easier. Sounds like they will work good for this application

 

[senlow]

I don't want it for driving in pistons. I want it for rebuilding pump barrels where the bearing is recessed 2-4" below the edge of the barrel and other industrial work you can't reach with a normal hammer head. Currently I use a block of wood or a brass drift, using a non maring dead blow would be easier. Sounds like they will work good for this application

Ah, now I have a better understanding of your application. As long as you have room for the long hammer head to swing, the piston hammer should work.

 

[Formula]

Piston hammers ****. The solution is worse than the problem. Swinging a hammer with a long head into a cylinder just doesn't work well. Use the handle of a standard dead blow for tapping pistons or anything else into a cylinder. Why else would the handle be urethane covered.

I'm pretty sure that the old Snappy dead blow hammers that eventually disintegrated were made by Stanley. Trusty Cook hammers are top notch.

I have a Summit Racing branded piston hammer I’ve had for years. On the newer full size GM trucks and SUV’s (2020 and newer), I’ve found using a piston hammer is an absolute must when replacing pistons with the engine still in the vehicle.

The back half of the engine is under the windshield. You’re laying over the radiator support in a plank position and trying to get the rear pistons back into their bore. There’s no room for anything else back there except a piston hammer and your sleeve tool.

 

[Packard V8]

The back half of the engine is under the windshield. You’re laying over the radiator support in a plank position and trying to get the rear pistons back into their bore. There’s no room for anything else back there except a piston hammer and your sleeve tool.

When he gets to heaven,
To St. Peter he will tell,
One more Marine reporting sir,
I've served my time in hell.

jack vines