Bending a hammer

[Rabbit]

I just installed the drum on a gun I am building and the alignment of the hammer on the nipple is off somewhat. The hammer needs to be bent outward, away from the barrel. I have cold bent it to where the hammer is just hitting the nipple but it needs to go a little more. Is it best to heat the hammer to do this or should I continue trying to cold bend it? The lock is a small Siler and the hammer looks to be cast so I am guessing it is probably easy to break/crack.

 

[rich pierce]

I'd heat it. The challenge is keeping the face or the nose of the hammer straight so it is not bent and hits the cap on one edge only. It would be very hard to accomplish this by cold bending. If you get it orange hot and grip the base of the hammer in a vise (your helper does this quickly) then you can probably move the head of the hammer outward with tongs, water pump pliers, etc. and still keep it parallel, if you know what I mean. This will ding it up some.

Alternatively you could turn down the drum somewhat on the threaded side, make a whole turn and see if it lines up better.

 

$80 LOCK

$5 DRUM

This is a no brainer. Modify the drum.

Chuck that sucker in an electric drill and use a good file (with a handle) to remove enough material from the base of the drum to move it in a full turn.

If you mess up 2 drums you still have not set yourself back the cost of a Siler hammer!!

And the embarassment of ordering one to replace the one you broke trying to save money on a drum!

:imo:

 

[kentucky bucky]

I always cold bend them side to side. I've bent them pretty severely with a large crescent wrench while clamped it a vise with out any mishaps. Just pad it with leather, etc. or it will marr it. To bend them down is another matter. This requires heat because there is nothing to get a good grip on. If you try to pound it, it disfigures the hammer. To do this I get a small torch (with oxygen mix) and heat it up red/orange and at one point (temp) it will bend like putty. Let it cool on it's own, don't qwench it in water or it will be brittle and hard.

 

[Rabbit]

Thanks for the resposes. I was able to turn in the drum one more turn and it lined up perfect.