Hi,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MalletI have a hide mallet which has uses like all striking tools.
Used it most for aluminium, tapping the work down onto parallels, rubber bounces too much, metal would damage work.
Rubber one yes, probably used least as it bounces.
Wooden preferred for chiseling wood.
7Ib lump for masionary.
Full range of hammers and it depends on job or size of nail.
14Ib sledge is a tool that is a must have for mechanics if you don't have a hydraulic press, and even if you have its not mobile.
Anything else is futile.
When you meet seized swinging arm bolts on motorcycles there is only one way to remove them, normally reverse the nut on the end of bolt before a clout or many.
Bike laid down on its side, a socket on the down end of bolt, the socket needs to be supported with packing or extenders and on the concrete floor, most will move, I think I abandoned one in total in 10 years.
The main problem with mallets is they do not swing very well like a hammer so you find it hard to get the right blow.
If I was doing it all day and for money today then I would probably buy one, but I am not building generators or transmissions.
A sledge hammer can sometimes be the only way of removing a drive shaft from large wheel bearing, a mallet used with one hand would simply bounce all day long, this is the only way of getting the shaft out of my truck.
Pullers on there own in these cases are useless.
When I was removing alternator rotors on motorcycles (several a day) the puller like a crank puller would not budge the tapered seat.
Some times you would need several tyre levers (3) gently levering the rotor, the puller is done up tight and even then it will not budge, a sharp tap with a standard hammer popped it.
How you use three levers and hit the puller
Left knee against one, left hand on the other and left forearm on the remainder, then right hand for the hammer
Many customers would watch intensely when I arrived to do the task, even their mates would turn up to see how it was done.
This after they had all had a go and wrecked all their tools.
A friend of mine was struggling with a clutch centre on his BSA A 10, puller an all, took me several seconds with a few tyre levers and a sharp tap.
This all comes from working in all weathers every day of the year for money, they wont pay you till the job is done, and as a sole trader your reputation is everything.
Of course you would always guard against damage to the part as much as is possible.
It might sound a bit gruesome to some more refined here but being mobile and repairing in the road and in customers garages means that you need to use what you can carry and load into a back of a van and up stairs, even into their conservatory's.
Removing cycle cranks remain the most difficult for sure
).....
