Dead-Blow Hammer Recommendations Please

I suspect it is not only the item used to ‘tap-down’ for seating on parallels that causes issues. Many expect the parts to be already parallel between the vise jaws and that the vise jaws are perfectly parallel, too. Often neither one nor both may conform.

Omitting a soft insert between the movable jaw and the work may well cause a problem, particularly if the tapping merely lowers the movable jaw - which then moves up again on tightening.🙂

I use what is at hand. I did buy a couple of dead-blow hammers a couple years ago - by one of the really cheap chinese suppliers - and often use one of them- but not always. The Thor leather/white metal mallets likely get most use.

Agreed. Something I have found in my limited experience is that the vice needs to be pretty tight before you start tapping to prevent "bouncing".

William.

Look again; the first answer(mine) asked why a dead blow hammer is 'necessary' for this job.

Narex make the most suitable hammers for machine use imo, they are fully plastic so won't damage the machine in any way, are dead blow and have replacement faces available.

.

That’s presumably the one to which Jason was referring.

… I admit I had never seen one until you posted that.

MichaelG.

I have a piece of brass or bronze bar about 1" diameter by 6" long that I use. Works a treat. Used end-on. If the job is aluminium I might put a scrap of ally over it before tapping.

Two tricks to tapping down a job in a milling vice etc are: 1. Tighten the vice up before tapping down. 2. Follow through on the tap. Don't just tap and pull away. Bring the bar (or hammer) down on the job and sort of hold it there firmly for a second or two so it dampens any rebound bounce in the job.

Edited By Hopper on 01/03/2023 23:27:36

Edited By Hopper on 01/03/2023 23:28:08

I was thinking more of this type as that is what Doc is likely to have seen being used on You-tube, usually come orange or black.

I'd be interested to know how the deadblows work on lightweight hobby mills that may just be stood on a wooden bench, do the stop the machine rebounding?

I melted some lead into two lumps and use them on lathe and mill also have a brass hammer which gets occaisional

Use

Mick

.

Sorry, Jason … I had no idea that YouTube had prompted the opening question.

I thought it was just a reasonable, logical, request for opinion.

MichaelG.

See Doc's reply at 13.45.

.

Done

My tapping down tool is a small Thor mallet with a copper face and a hide face, if tapping down on to parallels I check the both parallels are gripped at both ends. Getting the blow just right seems as important as the implement used to apply the blow. Getting a feel for the process seems to be an important skill to learn and listening to the tap also indicates when the job is solidly down.

Mike

Like Mike and others I use a little Thor mallet. You do not need much force for tapping down work in a vice and a dead-blow mallet transmits more than you think.

My observation is that people buy a dead-blow mallet because thay want one, not because they need one.

JA

Good afternoon all.

My vote is for a number one Thor copper & hide hammer.

I have more hammers than any sane fellow should have. Out of the mallet types it's 50/50 between copper & the shot filled plastic variety. Copper hammers don't bounce much, so they're similar to the plastic variety in that respect. However, the plastic hammers don't mark surfaces so if it's something that one doesn't wish to mark, such as a gearbox sprocket cover it's plastic every time. Marks are not so relevant if one is going to machine it anyway.

Cheers.

Stewart.

I have a Snap-on deadblow hammer It works well

They do a wide range
https://shop.snapon.com/categories/Dead-Blow/629188

This one is small
https://shop.snapon.com/product/Compact-Slimline/10-oz-Slimline-Soft-Grip-Dead-Blow-Hammer-(Red)/HBSE10

Not cheap though.

Robert.

I bought a Thor No2 for the job and find it a bit too big for most model engineering work. So I agree with Robert that a No1 would suit most folk. Copper / hide heads are the way to go.

Martin

Oddly enough I've just been using my 10oz Snap-On dead blow for driving in some front fork seals.

Snap-On also do dead blow ball pein hammers. They're eye wateringly expensive, but are excellent for centre punching etc.

Cheers.

Stewart.

Thor do a size A copper/hide faced mallet, it has 25mm diameter faces, our millwrights would have called it a toffee hammer but I bought one just to use on my VMC mill for tapping duties.

Mike

Along time ago I bought a Yellow Hammer, I think hat was the brand name and it was yellow in colour and quite heavy. It came with a set of detachable inserts. It has a brass, steel, aluminum and nylon screw on inserts.

My late father still had it and I now use the nylon head to release the draw bar on mill.

A lead hammer feels more solid to Me.