Ballpeen hammer

[Joey P]

This is one of those things that have always bothered me. Why does the balpeen hammer have the ball on one end? Was it just used as a weight before someone decided to but a claw on the other side, or did it have some actual use to it?

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Formerly known as Nec3f on the AOL SDMB

[Carl Berry]

The peen has many uses in sheet metal work. It is used to shape copper & brass.To fold a hem on edges of metal is often called "peening" It's handy for making hammered metal & Steel Band instruments..............Tin knocker

[ChuckSki]

The peen (n.) is the end of a hammerhead opposite the flat striking surface. A ball peen hammer has just that; a ball (or at least a rounded surface) opposite the main striking surface. The act of peening (v.) is to hammer, bend, or shape with a peen. It is often used in metalworking for indenting, moving metal (as in setting a rivet), or many other hammering tasks where the rounded head (and more precise striking point) is desired.

Please note spelling - ball peen hammer.

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"The intellectuals' chief cause of anguish are one another's works."
Jacques Barzun
Cheers! CAL