Dead Blow Hammer

EmilioG

Active User
H-M Supporter Gold Member
Joined
Jul 20, 2014
Messages
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Hey Guys, I'm looking for a new dead blow mallet for setting work in a vise on parallels.
I don't want to destroy anything so what type and weight is reasonable for this work?
I've been looking at Garland, Lixie, Halder, Nupla and others. Rawhide, plastic, urethane, replac. tips,
and on and on....Please advise. Thanks
 
Actual dead blow hammers are pretty much lead, or plastic with shot in them. They do not bounce enough to matter. I have two sizes of orange HF dead blow hammers, am completely happy with them, and want for no others. I have brass, urethane, rawhide, and others, but they are not dead blow. They rebound. They do have their uses, where rapping without marring is more important than really moving something, where the dead blow hammer excels, when considering effort vs. results.

Edit: Lead is also good, but becomes badly distorted with use (more or less, depending on hardness), is toxic, and will need to be re-cast after some time. I do not have one, but would not turn one down for occasional use.
 
No lead for me. I like the idea of interchangeable tips also. I've read great things about the Rawhide dead blow mallets.
I don't think you can ever have enough hammers.
 
I've been using a 1" Lixie for decades now, along with a small section (3/4 OD x 2-1/2") of round copper bar for fine work.
 
No lead for me. I like the idea of interchangeable tips also. I've read great things about the Rawhide dead blow mallets.
I don't think you can ever have enough hammers.
I have a nice smaller rawhide mallet. It is lightweight for it's size (opposite of lead) and is not suitable for really whacking anything. Also, Emilio, you were saying it is for tapping down work in a vise. For that work, with sharp edges and corners, a rawhide mallet would be torn up pretty quickly. Lead, copper, soft brass, or plastic dead blow would likely be better for your purpose. Many knowledgeable machinists use a hand held chunk of copper or soft brass rod as a "knocker", no handle at all.

I understand the classic feeling of using traditional tools like an old school craftsman might have used them, along with wearing a leather apron, but I also am a pragmatist, and what I really want is the work knocked down solidly in the vise.
 
These are the hammers I keep by the mill. The Wiha I use for tapping parts. The Nupla handleless hammer I use for the drawbar but I also use for tapping parts sometimes. Both are deadblows. The Matco/Nupla is not a deadblow but it has interchangeable faces with different hardnesses. The faces simply unscrew to change unlike the Wiha hammers which are pressed on. A couple of the Garland rawhide hammers are on my wish list but not for use for setting parts in the vise.

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For setting work in the mill vise I tend to use one of the plastic filled with shot dead blow hammers. I do have a couple of Garland split head hammers and really like them. I have one of the #3 hammers with what I think is nylon faces. It has heft to hit with without marring the work.
I have a couple of Stanley plastic face hammers, they are OK for what they are but I almost always pick up either a dead blow or one of the Garlands first.

Mike
http://www.garlandmfg.com/mallets/split.html
 
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