Dead Blow Hammers ? Why ?

[Weedwaka]

I need me some education on them there dead blow hammers.

Why would I use one over a regular shop hammer ?

[Diesel-Mech]

They don't rebound for one, also they are a clever way of exerting more force with less mass.

[Weedwaka]

Crazy. I have never used one.

[onesickastre]

with a rubber face on them, they do not marr the surface as a regular would

[bmwpower]

More force without the marks produced from metal to metal contact. They also are nice on the ears. Every wail on a piece of metal with a metal hammer? Ouch....

[garfunkle24]

Do you mean the 'soft faced' aspect or the 'dead blow' part?

For the non-marking part, they allow you to beat on something you don't want to wreck. For example, if you needed to beat on a shaft but then had to pull a bearing off, the dead blow would stop you from mushrooming said shaft.

The 'dead blow' part reduces recoil, directing more force into the work piece.

For some really nice ones, see this thread: http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/s...dead&showall=1

[T VETTE]

I used one on my old Corvette that had knock off wheels, did not do any damage to the knock off .

[Danglerb]

Tsk tsk, I may have this all wrong, but a hammer with recoil like a ball peen delivers more force than a dead blow for the same weight and speed. With a deal blow part of the energy goes to heat as the "stuff" inside sloshes around. With a hammer that recoils the energy transfer is the energy of the hammer going toward the item, PLUS the energy of the hammer going away.

[speed bump]

Originally Posted by Danglerb

Tsk tsk, I may have this all wrong, but a hammer with recoil like a ball peen delivers more force than a dead blow for the same weight and speed. With a deal blow part of the energy goes to heat as the "stuff" inside sloshes around. With a hammer that recoils the energy transfer is the energy of the hammer going toward the item, PLUS the energy of the hammer going away.

Think of a regular hammer as a semi-elastic collision, think of a dead blow as an in-elastic collision. More energy is transferred in an inelastic than in an elastic one.

My favorite things about dead blows are:
1 It easier on the arms
2 Its quieter
3 it hits much harder

[84scrambler]

I believe you have that backwards, more energy is transferred in an elastic collision then an inelastic collision to the moving bodies. In an elastic collision kinetic Energy is conserved while in an inelastic collision some energy is lost due to noise and heat.
From basic mechanics you can prove that impacting on a surface with a recoil will transfer more energy into an object then no recoil what so ever. Its been a while since I looked through my mechanics book but I believe this should be correct.
To add to the original question for me its mainly not damaging the surface when using a dead blow hammer.

[Merkava_4]

$99.75 is the reason I've never had the pleasure of using one.

A true rich man's tool.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog

[Stuey]

You guys are starting to mull things up. Ignore inelastic and elastic collisions and momentum and all that jazz since different conditions will produce different results. In some cases a standard hammer will impart more energy, other times the dead blow will.

I haven't used dead blows for long, but I too love them. I'm almost tempted to throw my old mallets away, but they still have their uses.

[Weedwaka]

Originally Posted by Merkava_4

$99.75 is the reason I've never had the pleasure of using one.

A true rich man's tool.

http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item....re&dir=catalog

And that would explain why I have yet to see one in the shop

[LGMechanical]

I use the deadblow hammer on aluminum parts or parts that are more fragile. At time I place the deadblow on top of what I need to hit, then hit the back of the deadblow with a steel hammer.

[Frank Elson]

Like others, I use a dead blow when I want to 'ammer summat, but without hurting it.

[kindyr]

if you are just looking at the non marring aspect, there are other options.
notably rubber mallets, UHMW(ultra high molecular weight plastic) and Rawhide. in standard formats, all three are a bit light if you really need to hit something though. My preferred option for non marring are Chicago Rawhide split rawhide hammers. I have several sizes depending on what I'm using them for. They also can have the rawhide heads swapped out for plastic or brass if need be.

the deadblow portion is meant for the lack of rebound. the hammer simply hit and doesn't bounce back. I won't get into the physics of if it imparts more energy that way, but no rebound is useful in tight areas where the hammer might rebound into something expensive like another engine part, and back into the weilders face...

no clue is the name brand deadblow does that much better than the HF brand, but they have their uses.

[johnny1290]

I'd always wanted one sso I got one at Sears when the one near me was going out of business

I <3 my hammer.

it's great for hammering in a tight spot or anywhere that you don't want the recoil to bounce into something

Mainly I like it because it's just so much more pleasant to use with no recoil and sound or slippingi off the the surface

and I like the way the sand inside sounds..it's an imprompteu toy/musical instrument

[Adam McLaughlin]

A dead blow hammer is probably THE most used hammer by myself, as a transmission mechanic. I don't think I have use for any other nearly as much as I use a dead blow.

Adam

[Major Ramifications]

I can't believe some of you guys don't have a dead blow hammer! At home and at work, I use the dead blow hammers more than any other. A good dead blow doesn't have to cost a crazy Snap-On amount of money. Sears has Nuplas, SKs, and Craftsmans for way less. I love my Nupla with the steel face on one side and the urethane face on the other.

[Coach James]

Dead blow hammers for many things...

My HF dead blow has served me well.

And kinetic energy is conserved in elastic collisions, but not in inelastic.

Coach