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Hand Tool
Updated August 31, 2025
Ball peen hammer
A ball peen hammer shapes and flattens metal. It's perfect for riveting and metalworking tasks.
Category
Hand Tool
Use Case
Used for metalworking tasks such as shaping metal and riveting.
Variants
Standard ball peen, Engineer's ball peen, Blacksmith's ball peen
Key Features
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Rounded Metal Shaping Surface
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Flat Face For Driving Tasks
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Ball End For Riveting & Forming
In Simple Terms
What it is
A ball peen hammer is a type of tool used for hitting things. It has a metal head with two different ends. One end is flat and round, like the head of a standard hammer you might already know. The other end, however, is different; it’s rounded into a ball shape, which is where the name "ball peen" comes from. The handle is usually made of wood or a tough composite material, giving you a good grip to swing it.
Why people use it
The unique design makes it a specialist tool. The flat face is for the usual hammer jobs, like driving a nail or tapping something into place. The ball-shaped end is the real star. Its rounded surface is perfect for shaping and molding metal without cutting or sharpening it. Think of it like using your thumb to gently shape a piece of clay or dough into a curve; the ball peen hammer does the same thing, but with metal. It allows for precise, controlled strikes.
Basic examples
You’ll often find a ball peen hammer in a mechanic’s toolbox or a metalworker’s shop. Here are a few simple ways it helps in everyday tasks:
Shaping metal: If a metal part is bent, you can use the ball end to carefully tap it back into its original shape.
Riveting: It’s used to flatten and secure the soft metal end of a rivet, which acts like a permanent bolt to hold two pieces of material together.
Texturing: Artists and blacksmiths use it to create decorative patterns on metal surfaces.
Starting punches: The rounded end is great for hitting a punch or a chisel without the tool slipping off, making the job safer.
A ball peen hammer is a type of tool used for hitting things. It has a metal head with two different ends. One end is flat and round, like the head of a standard hammer you might already know. The other end, however, is different; it’s rounded into a ball shape, which is where the name "ball peen" comes from. The handle is usually made of wood or a tough composite material, giving you a good grip to swing it.
Why people use it
The unique design makes it a specialist tool. The flat face is for the usual hammer jobs, like driving a nail or tapping something into place. The ball-shaped end is the real star. Its rounded surface is perfect for shaping and molding metal without cutting or sharpening it. Think of it like using your thumb to gently shape a piece of clay or dough into a curve; the ball peen hammer does the same thing, but with metal. It allows for precise, controlled strikes.
Basic examples
You’ll often find a ball peen hammer in a mechanic’s toolbox or a metalworker’s shop. Here are a few simple ways it helps in everyday tasks:
Technical Details
What it is
A ball peen hammer is a hand tool categorized as a striking tool, specifically a type of hammer. It is distinguished by its two distinct heads: one flat, circular face and one rounded, hemispherical peen. It is a fundamental tool in metalworking.
How it works
The tool operates on the principle of transferring kinetic energy from a swing to a target object. The user grasps the handle and accelerates the head toward the workpiece. Upon impact, the energy is delivered through the chosen face to perform a specific task, such as shaping or riveting. The technology is purely mechanical, relying on leverage and force.
Key components
The hammer consists of three primary parts.
The head is the weighted metal portion, comprising the flat face and the ball peen.
The handle, or haft, is typically made of wood, fiberglass, or steel, providing leverage and a grip for the user.
The wedge is a metal component driven into the top of the wooden handle to secure it firmly within the head's eye (the hole).
Common use cases
Its primary applications are in metal fabrication and machining.
The flat face is used for general-purpose striking tasks, such as driving punches and chisels, or for bending and shaping metal.
The rounded ball peen is specifically designed for "peening," the process of hardening and shaping metal by hammering, and for riveting, where it is used to form the rounded head of a rivet after it has been passed through a hole.
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