Machinist Hammer Material?

HBilly1022

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For my next little project I want to make a machinist hammer. I've got scrap steel and aluminum but no brass or bronze and I don't know where to get that around here. So I was thinking of making the hole thing from steel and using aluminum for the ends of the head.

Is this a bad idea or not? Are there pitfalls to using aluminum vs brass / bronze?
 
Seems to me that it would simply wear faster than brass, but should still give you the non-marring benefit on steel. I considered doing exactly that before my father started giving me all of his spent brass casings (rimfire, non-reloadable), and he is going through A LOT these days. Something about the election seems to be making him nervous. Anyway, now I have the brass to melt down, just waiting for a weekend to do it...

Hard plastics are also used.
 
But you can get the weight from the steel, or even load it with lead if you're worried about it. But most machinist's hammers aren't particularly heavy. You're using it to make very slight position adjustments, not for driving nails or demolition. And he's specifically talking about making the ends/caps of the head out of aluminum, not the whole thing. Steel weighs less than bronze and brass, but not much less.
 
I suppose it depends a lot on your intended use. Each of the options (steel, brass, plastic, etc.) has it's place, but one thing I would mention is that with a little use, brass work hardens and is not nearly as soft as many folks believe. I think the best option would be to make your hammer with replaceable faces and make faces from the various materials that you can interchange quickly. Other options that I use in the shop are lead, rawhide and of course the trusty ol' dead blow hammer.

Ted
 
intjonmiller is right. My intent is to make the entire hammer from scrap steel except for the end caps and I will make them replaceable so that I can use other materials, especially brass or bronze if I ever come across some. I think I will give it a go with aluminum and see how that works out. At least I will have the basic hammer to use when tapping parts into place on the lathe and mill.

The reason I asked is that I have no machining experience and have never used a machinist hammer so I'm not sure if AL is functional or not. Guess I'm going to find out. But first I need to make a hand crank for my lathe, to use when threading with dies. I just discovered the need for this, after finishing my die holder and using it. It is a PITA to turn the chuck by hand, using the chuck key. A handle on the outboard end of the spindle would be much nicer.
 
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