Tips on peening a hand drill handle

[Robert Hartmann]

I've restored a number of hand drills (MF No's 1, 105, 2, 2A, 3, 303, 05, 5, 5A, 94). I'm still perfecting techniques. I finally have one (MF No 3) that the crank handle needs some work to the point I had to take it apart. There seems to be enough material to peen the small handle back on the crank when ready. I'm looking for some tips. Is it simply a matter of patiently whacking it with a 16 oz ball peen hammer? I know I don't want to hit it hard enough to bend the post, but how hard and how long should it take? Should I be using a lighter hammer? It's probably one of those you just have to do it and learn, but any advise would be appreciated. I have a non-useful handle off a 105 I'll experiment with.

[george wilson]

It mostly depends upon your PERSONAL SKILL level,and experience. A lighter hammer doesn't guarantee a better job. If you want lighter blows,DON'T HIT IT AS HARD.

Be careful to not hit it too many times,or you'll hane a NON ROTATING handle for your efforts. That is easy to do,so make frequent checks on handle tightness as you go along. PATIENCE and CHECKING are 2 things I'd suggest.

[michael langman]

Use a pin punch to hold against the part being peened and hit that with the ball peen hammer.
In tool work it is called staking, if the tip if the punch is ground to a 30* V shape with a slight radius stoned on the tip.
With the tip of punch more radiused like the round side of ball peen hammer it would be more like peening.
You can leave the tip of the punchjust as it is, flat, if that looks like it will work.

[Dan Hulbert]

I had to do something similar last weekend on a pizza wheel (don't ask). I used a large center punch. Tap Tap, check. Repeat. No progress. Good Whack, check. Better. Tap, tap, check. Nearly there! Tap, check. Tap, check. Done!

[Robert Hartmann]

Michael, thanks for the tip using a punch. I hadn't thought of that. I should have better control hitting a punch without damaging the crank handle. Should the punch be about the same size as the rod I'm trying to peen? That seems logical to me.

[michael langman]

Robert, If the pin you are trying to peen is flush to the surface of the handle, then a slighly smaller punch would be better, and if it was shaped to a 30* angle and a small radius on the tip it would move the metal in the pin easier.
If the pin is sitting above the surface of the handle a flat punch may work if you can support the end of the pin on the other side of the handle on a vice anvil or metal block.

[george wilson]

Punch is probably a good idea if you aren't skilled with a hammer.

[Robert Hartmann]

Thanks for the tips. I used an old center punch with the tip filed off. It worked pretty good. I switched to just the hammer once it started to peen and it was much easier than I expected. I moved on to a couple other handles that were loose and fixed them up in no time. In the end I probably didn't need the punch, but it at least got me started.