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Just curious.....I wanted to pick up one of those plastic hammers you see on american chopper, and what kartboy says to use to knock the shifter down in the ball.

I haven't found a plastic type hammer, but I've found dead blow hammers. Which seem mostly plastic, with a slight bit of rubber. Are these the same type of hammers, or are there hard type plastic hammers out there?

Yah, that sounds right we use the dead blow hammers to re-insert ball joints. They are hard plastic and that would probably work.

The dead-blow hammers are filled with shot, so the same force is supposedly distributed over a larger time interval. I like them more; they just feel better.l

Oh I love a good dead blow hammer. They don't bounce back because of the shot inside so all of the force goes to whatever you want to put the hurt on.

Could have used one to split my crankcase instead of a hammerfor and a block of wood. Aluminum is soft...

maybe the plastic hammer requirement is just to protect the threads on the shifter? I imagine any soft hammer would work well. FWIW, harbor freight has big orange plastic hammers for like $5.

Yeah it's just so you won't mess up the threads. But a good dead blow hammer is a great tool to have around. I like the ones that cost a bit more and are made of metal with plastic inserts in the head, they also have smaller shot in them so they work a little better.

yeah I have a craftsman deadblow, it is metal with the head mostly soft plastic, the shot is pretty fine. one thing about deadblow hammers, its not a good idea to pound small stuff as the hammer face gouges pretty readily.

You could also use a small block of wood and a regular hammer (or small sledge).

Steve

thanks guys