On Wed, 03 Aug 2005 18:01:20 -0400, Bob Engelhardt
wrote:

I was browsing the MSC catalog and came across a page of soft hammers.
Brass, of course, but also copper, bronze, zinc, aluminum, lead, and
babbitt. I can see lead (the softest), copper (harder), and brass
(somewhat harder yet). But bronze and zinc are about the same hardness
as brass (?), and about the same density. What distinguishes these
three from each other, as far as their use in hammers?

It seems that lead and babbitt are even more similar and yet both are
offered. Why?

Well there's differences in most of them. The bronze is likely
harder than the brass though both will work harden as will copper and
aluminum. There's a big difference between the lead and babbit hammers
for sure. A lead hammer is really soft and won't last long with hard
blows. But it's perfect for like pecks to knock things into alignment
when machining. On the other hand the babbit is a good bit harder and
while still good for aligning things in a lathe you'll have to be
careful of soft materials. On the other hand it's perfect for driving
a shaft out of a bearing or the like without hurting the shaft any.
However I wouldn't suggest buying either a lead or babbit hammer ready
made like that. Neither will hold up long for the price. For these
types of hammers you really need a mold system to repour them from
time to time.

I have no idea about the zinc but it sounds like a lousy hammer
material to me. Way to brittle.

BTW - I've always believed that brass being softer than steel, you could
deliver "... a solid blow to the work without damaging it." (as MSC
puts it). Don't believe it! I recently mushroomed the end of a steel
shaft using a brass hammer. Fortunately it wasn't a big deal.

Definitely especially after it's been used a while and the faces
work hardened. You either need to machine the work hardened material
off from time to time or you need to anneal the hammer (probably
both).

Wayne Cook
Shamrock, TX
http://members.dslextreme.com/users/waynecook/index.htm