Cold bending percussion hammers

[Timber Wolf]

I have read, and contributed to several hammer bending threads here on the forum. Interestingly a lot of people post about heating the hammers, and indicating it is a must. Well, I just did my fifth hammer and bent it cold just like the others. Almost 40 years ago I destroyed a hammer heating it before bending. My fault to be sure but if you don’t have to heat one, why do it? So, to date I have done the hammers on my .45 and .50 CVA Mountain Rifles, both hammers on a CVA SXS 12 Gauge, and just tonight the hammer on a T/C Hawken. Pictures below are of the minimal equipment I use. Drill press vice, piece of lead cut from an old roof boot, BFH (Big Freaking Hammer). I actually stood the vice up so I could tap (smartly but gently) with the BFH down on the hammer. Took me a couple of tries, I was too gentle to start with. I am getting a little smarter in my old age and don’t destroy nearly as much stuff these days.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Interesting. I have tried bending a TC hammer six ways from sunday with no success. I have heated to almost white hot and it still wouldn't give. Never tried cold for fear of breaking it. That's my experience

 

[Old Hawkeye]

Amazing!

 

[ohio ramrod]

I have assembled over twenty kits for local Amish boys and after breaking a hammer trying to bend it cold. I have heated all hammers to be bent since with no problems. I heat them cherry red , use a small box end wrench to bend them then give the hammer a light spray of WD40 then air cool which gives them a nice case blue color.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

I've only bent a couple of hammers both cold so I'm no expert. I do know that you can do a lot more damage with a lot of hits from a light weight hammer than you can from a whack or two from a heavy hammer.

 

[VAN]

I have bent a few percussion hammers cold by placing them in a heavy bench vise and using a long handle adjustable crescent wrench slipped over the top of the hammer padded and adjusted to grip it tightly. I get more control with this setup than using a hammer. Usually just needs a small twisting tweak to center it over the nipple.

 

[springfield art]

I was afraid to try bending a pistol hammer; it just needed a little clearance, which I took care of by grinding the little "fence" around the nipple, which had the advantage of making an opening for the cap debris to fly forward. Glad I didn't try bending, very well could have broken the hammer.

 

[springfield art]

I have assembled over twenty kits for local Amish boys and after breaking a hammer trying to bend it cold. I have heated all hammers to be bent since with no problems. I heat them cherry red , use a small box end wrench to bend them then give the hammer a light spray of WD40 then air cool which gives them a nice case blue color.

You are one cool dude! People know the Amish are peace-loving, what the public doesn't know is that they love guns & hunting!

 

[erhunter]

How do you know if your percussion hammer needs adjustment? My #11 caps on my tryon seem to crack on all sides.

 

[Timber Wolf]

How do you know if your percussion hammer needs adjustment? My #11 caps on my tryon seem to crack on all sides.

On my T/C Hawken the nipple on a GM “Drop In” barrel was rubbing one side of the hammer nose skirt, even without a cap on it. It may have fired fine as there was some play in lockwork. But it is centered now and will not be a problem.

 

[SmokepoleSam]

If it works just leave it alone

 

[Whiteoak15]

I have successfully bent two T-C hammers cold with no problem using a big vice and a medium lead hammer so that machinists ink on the nipple left a perfect circle on the hammer face.. I would probably try heating anything other than T-C as I have more confidence in US steel than foreign. Tap and try progressively harder until it starts to show movement and hold there. More art than science.

 

[Mike Stone]

It sounds like everything you guys are bending is modern. I've got a hundred plus year old piece that I need to bend a hammer and this post has made me more confused LOL

 

[Mike Stone]

I see this is a pretty Old Post okay

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

I have bent Lyman and T/C hammers to shallow them out to my liking. its not hardened to begin with and will have no effects except for coloration which can be adjusted. A simple mapp torch and a proper jig will suffice...

 

[Mike Stone]

I'm a little slow on the uptake sometimes so you don't think that the harden them back in the day say the 1850s?

 

[oldwood]

I've cold bent at least five hammers over the years , successfully. Good large mechanic's vise , and bag wrench.

 

[Mike Stone]

I was making a big deal out of nothing. Put it in the vise took a crescent wrench, pull the top of the hammer about a 16th of an inch and I'm golden. And some of these old pieces it's hard to tell which parts are hardened and which parts are not. At first file didn't cut into this hammer very well barely made a scratch which led me to believe that it was hardened live and learn.

 

[springfield art]

I have read, and contributed to several hammer bending threads here on the forum. Interestingly a lot of people post about heating the hammers, and indicating it is a must. Well, I just did my fifth hammer and bent it cold just like the others. Almost 40 years ago I destroyed a hammer heating it before bending. My fault to be sure but if you don’t have to heat one, why do it? So, to date I have done the hammers on my .45 and .50 CVA Mountain Rifles, both hammers on a CVA SXS 12 Gauge, and just tonight the hammer on a T/C Hawken. Pictures below are of the minimal equipment I use. Drill press vice, piece of lead cut from an old roof boot, BFH (Big Freaking Hammer). I actually stood the vice up so I could tap (smartly but gently) with the BFH down on the hammer. Took me a couple of tries, I was too gentle to start with. I am getting a little smarter in my old age and don’t destroy nearly as much stuff these days.

View attachment 151488

Thank you! I once bent the hammer on a percussion pistol kit from Dixie; I bought the kit in the 60's and never assembled it until decades later! It just needed a small adjustment, and I was probably lucky, but it turned out OK. I'm sure you're post here will help someone out.

 

[oldwood]

Told ya so.