killforfood Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 What are your favorite ramming hammers? Gorski quit using a dead-blow in favor of what he calls a "Barney Rubble" hammer.He said it is hard faced with a preferred weight of 4lb to 6lb. That's a lot of hammer!4lb and up is considered a sledge hammer. He said in one of his rocket tuts that it helps him feel the comp consolidate.What do you guys like?I'm asking because my machinist buddy finally came through with my cored and end burner 1lb tooling and I need to buy a good rammer hammer. YIPEE!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 This would be the cheapest: LINK Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 (edited) What are your favorite ramming hammers? My favorite is the iron clamshell head on a hickory handle with rawhide inserts in the head (the only mallet I have that rammed a rocket as tight as a hydraulic press!!!). It does the job without killing the tools . WSM Edited May 10, 2011 by WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Whats the name on that one WSM? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nater Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 I've been using a Garland #3 rawhide mallet, but I am beginning to wish I would have bought one of the weighted ones. I'm wondering if poor consolidation was contributing to my slow rockets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dagabu Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 Nope, slow rockets can occur when the fuel is pressed to very high pressures but it burns voraciously when under-packed. -dag Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WonderBoy Posted May 10, 2011 Share Posted May 10, 2011 My favorite is a garland split head mallet, but I often just use a cheapo dead blow mallet from Harbor Freight. I like a 2.5lb mallet for 1lb'ers. I used to use a 2lb mallet, but I really like the extra oomph the added half pound gives. Although, the face of the dead blow mallet gets chewed up after a short while, especially if the top edge of your tooling isn't rounded off. But for only about $7 they work nicely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guntoteninfadel Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 I have a 3lb dead blow I believe. It was the only dead blow my Lowes had. Seems to work pretty good but have not built enough to know about its ability to hold up. I can see like wonderboy said it could easily get chewed up on metal rammers. Really Really want a press...... I think that will solve my hammer issues! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killforfood Posted May 11, 2011 Author Share Posted May 11, 2011 (edited) My favorite is a garland split head mallet, Those are some nice hammers. I wasn't sure what you meant by "split head" until I went to the Garland web site and saw the pictures.WSM, Is this the type of hammer you are reffering to when you said "clamshell"?Check out the prices on the copper faced hammers. WOW! now I know why Dag said the brass Harbor Freight hammer would be cheapGarland Split Head Hammers GunTotenInfadel, Does the deadblow give you any feadback? What I mean by that is can you feel through the hammer when the comp is compacting and getting hard? I use some honkin big deadblows at work and don't much like them. Edited May 11, 2011 by killforfood Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WonderBoy Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 The dead blow mallets I have are shot filled and I've been using them for several years now(I ram almost all of my BP rockets), so I can "feel" the compaction pretty well by now. But this took me a couple rocket motors time to get the "feel" of. I have found that for a 1lb motor, 5-8 good raps with a 2.5lb mallet, using rounded tsp. increments, is more than enough compaction for my BP motors and I use some fairly hot fuel.Also, there are sometimes some pretty good deals on split head hammers on eBay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Whats the name on that one WSM? It's a Vaughan Split Head #3 I've had for about 10 years. And, Yup (Gulp!), they're expensive, BUT they'll last longer and do a better job than any number of cheap deadblows (I should know, I've got a LOT of cheap deadblows here). WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WSM Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 Those are some nice hammers. I wasn't sure what you meant by "split head" until I went to the Garland web site and saw the pictures.WSM, Is this the type of hammer you are reffering to when you said "clamshell"?Check out the prices on the copper faced hammers. WOW! now I know why Dag said the brass Harbor Freight hammer would be cheapGarland Split Head Hammers GunTotenInfadel, Does the deadblow give you any feadback? What I mean by that is can you feel through the hammer when the comp is compacting and getting hard? I use some honkin big deadblows at work and don't much like them. That one is similar and ought to work well. If you shop around, you may find a lower price somewhere (eBay?!). Good hunting... WSM Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guntoteninfadel Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 (edited) GunTotenInfadel, Does the deadblow give you any feadback? What I mean by that is can you feel through the hammer when the comp is compacting and getting hard? Not really...... I think. I am going to be working on number 8,9,10 rockets today so I will admit to limited experience. Usually the first three blows just knock the BP down to the end of the tube then I follow with three sets of three "strong" blows. I really do not notice much compaction after the 4th or 5th blow but experienced some unusual rocket performance if I stop there. Well, that was rockets 1, 2 & 3. It very well could have been the initial BP I was using too. Hope that helps. Oh and those are REALLY nice hammers on that link killforfood! Edited May 11, 2011 by guntoteninfadel Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
319 Posted May 11, 2011 Share Posted May 11, 2011 What are your favorite ramming hammers? 32 oz Snap On Bronze hammer I got at a yard sale for $5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shagaKahn Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Love how this list seems to operate in sync with my activities. Was just thinking how I really need to step up to the plate and quit using ole woody here. Though he'll never cause a spark and though he weighs a good stout pound, he ain't exactly ideal for the task. (Wasn't Harbor Freight polite to put all their DBH's on sale this week? Got a 24 oz. for 5.99). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NightHawkInLight Posted May 14, 2011 Share Posted May 14, 2011 Won't a brass hammer mushroom the end of the rammers? In my experience metal on metal impact usually results in damage to one of the two surfaces after repeated hits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
killforfood Posted May 16, 2011 Author Share Posted May 16, 2011 Love how this list seems to operate in sync with my activities. Was just thinking how I really need to step up to the plate and quit using ole woody here. Though he'll never cause a spark and though he weighs a good stout pound, he ain't exactly ideal for the task. (Wasn't Harbor Freight polite to put all their DBH's on sale this week? Got a 24 oz. for 5.99).Luckily they were still on sale and I picked up a 1 1/2lb and 2 1/2lb Dead Blow.I actually think Ole-Woody is pretty cool. I always cheer for the guys making do with Duct Tape and Baling Wire. The Fastest Indian was a great movie for the same reasons. Won't a brass hammer mushroom the end of the rammers? In my experience metal on metal impact usually results in damage to one of the two surfaces after repeated hits.Considering how long it took for me to get tooling; I wouldn't risk it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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