Hammers are striking tools, generally, and among striking tools, even the most specialized hammers are among the least specialized of tools. On the grand scale of tools, hammers consist of a head and a handle that extends the users reach and allows more leverage and mechanical advantage.
Hammers are used for driving spikes and nails and breaking, forming and shaping materials like stone, brick and metals. Among the scope of hammers are a class of hammers that are known as sheet metal hammers, which contains some specialized representatives like tinner’s hammers, seaming hammers, polishing hammers, grooving hammers, and others.
A common feature of most types of sheet metal hammers, whether they’re used for seaming, grooving or forming, is that they have non-marring faces. The hardened steel faces of most hammers would create an unsightly finish on many soft sheet metals, like copper and aluminum. Even stainless steel, though tougher than these two, is not so hard that a hardened hammer face would not leave a mark. For that reason, many sheet metal hammers have heads made of nylon, pvc, or even wood. These carry the mass necessary to form and alter the sheet metal, but are not hard enough to mark it. Check out panel beating tools
With that being said, some of these types of hammers, such as polishing hammers and stretching hammers, have metal heads. These hammers are used for shaping and forming metal by stretching one side of the metal surface through impact; as one side lengthens, it extends around the other side, creating a curve.
Many sheet metal hammers have wedged heads that are made either of PVC or wood, along with a flat face. These specially shaped hammers can be used, alongside other seaming tools, for starting seams and making crimps in sheet metal. Forming hammers may have round heads, heads with square faces, and they may even be angled. It all depends on the type of work the craftsman needs to accomplish.
In addition to the general forming work for which these types of hammers can be used, they are also useful for removing dents and unsightly marks from sheet metal. This is another reason a mallet or a hammer with a soft face is valuable. You can’t remove dents from sheet metal with a tool that will add dents of its own.
Sheet metal or tinners’ hammers may also be used for striking sheet metal punches and chisels, although in a scenario such as this a softer mallet face would not be as necessary. In fact, for this purpose, a sheet metal hammer with a metal head is actually preferable, which is the reason that some tools, like the Malco Sheet Metal Hammer, have metal heads.
The hammers themselves are also often used in conjunction with tools such as wooden sheet metal wedges. The wedges can tighten and straighten sheet metal and are useful for smoothing out lines created by tongs on sheet metal.
To learn more about the various types of tools used by sheet metal roofers – including but not limited to specialized hammers and other striking tools – visit Stortz.com. For over 150 years, John Stortz & Son, located in Old City, Philadelphia, has been a provider of expert insight and excellent quality tools that are built to last a lifetime.
In addition to the highly-regarded equipment they carry from manufacturers like Malco, Friend and Stubai, Stortz also carries their own lines of high-quality hand tools for sheet metal roofers. This includes sheet metal hammers in addition to sheet metal benders, tongs, pliers, aviation snips, seaming tools, and a range of other sheet metal forming and cutting tools. Visit their website, Stortz.com, or call their customer service team at 888-847-3456 today to learn more.
