Ball-peen hammer
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A ball-peen (or ball-pein; also known in Europe and North America as ball pane[1]) hammer is a type of peening hammer used in metalworking. It is distinguished from a point-peen hammer or chisel-peen hammer by having a hemispherical head. Though the process of peening has become rarer in metal fabrication, the ball-peen hammer remains useful for many tasks such as tapping punches and chisels.
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[edit] Uses
The original function of the hammer was to "peen" riveted or welded material but today, the ball end of the hammer is most commonly used to expand and shape the free end of copper roves, light rivets and similarly, "setting" the rivet in place to complete the joint. Peening is also the method by which steel drums are formed and tuned.
A ball-peen hammer is also known as an engineer's hammer or a machinist's hammer and may be graded by the weight of the head. It is the mechanic's hammer of choice when making gaskets or driving drift pins.
The ball-peen hammer's crowned, or rounded, edge works metal smoothly without marking it. The ball portion can straighten, soften and expand metal into the desired shape. The other, straighter end of the hammer can be used to strike punches and chisels. A chisel is a steel metal cutter that cuts sheet metal, rivets, bolts and even plaster. Punches mark metal or wood for placement of holes and a ball-peen hammer is used to strike the punch when an automatic punch is not used.
Actual peening is not used in most metal fabrication operations today, but it was the original use of peen hammers. Peening is striking welded or riveted metal to make it as flexible as the rest of the metal in an object. The result of peening is a strain-hardening property added to the metal.
Peening hammers include the cross peen and the straight peen as well as the ball-peen hammer. The straight peen hammer has a wedge-shaped rather than a ball-shaped head. The head is straight in a straight-peen hammer, while the cross peen hammer features the wedge-shaped head at a sideways angle. Peen hammers, spelled pein or pien in the United Kingdom (UK), have a steel head that has been hardened to prevent chipping during striking.
[edit] Variants
Ball-peen hammers are divided into two classes: hard-faced and soft-faced. The head of a hard-faced hammer is made of heat treated forged high-carbon steel[2] or alloy steel;[3] it is harder than the face of a claw hammer.[4] The soft-faced hammers are made from brass, lead, tightly wound rawhide, or plastic. These hammers usually have replaceable heads or faces, because they will deform, wear out, or break over time. They are used when there is the danger of damaging a striking surface.[5]
[edit] Notes
- ^ Oxford English Dictionary, Pane, sb. 3
- ^ Cavette, Cavette, How hammer is made, http://www.madehow.com/Volume-4/Hammer.html, retrieved 2008-12-19.
- ^ Stanley Hand Tools, http://www.stanleytools.com/default.asp?CATEGORY=BALL+PEIN+HAMMERS&TYPE=PRODUCT&PARTNUMBER=54-508&SDesc=8+oz.+Compo-Cast%26%23174%3B+Ball+Pein+Hammer, retrieved 2008-12-19.
- ^ Benford, p. 36.
- ^ Szykitka, p. 435.
[edit] References
- Benford, Tom (2006), Garage and Workshop Gear Guide, MotorBooks/MBI Publishing Company, ISBN 0760323127, http://books.google.com/books?id=Db5Xdju1lAYC.
- Szykitka, Walter (2004), The Big Book of Self-Reliant Living: Advice and Information on Just about Everything You Need to Know to Live on Planet Earth, Globe Pequot, ISBN 1592280439, http://books.google.com/books?id=E0bb14gPCZsC.
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