Tools You Swing and Whack (Hammers and Punches)
There are a few places you will need impact tools, and a few more where you might.
R: Required
r: Recommended
O: Optional
Gunsmithing Hammer (R)
A gunsmithing hammer is an essential tool in the armorer’s arsenal. We strongly recommend a hammer that has replaceable heads and includes a plastic/rubber and brass head.
The hammer we use is nothing fancy or expensive, though you can certainly spend more. We use the Marketty hammer from Amazon.com.
If you do go with a replaceable head option, we recommend a dab of Vibra-Tite VC3 on the threads of the heads. This will keep the heads from loosening during use.
Ball Pein Hammer (R*)
A ball pein hammer is a good thing to have on your tool bench. If you are going to stake your castle nut with a manual punch, you will need something a little more sturdy than a gunsmithing hammer.
We recommend an 8 oz head. This will provide enough force for staking, but still be easy to control. Any quality hammer will do.
Steel Pin Punches (R)
We use steel pin punches a lot.
- Aligning trigger and hammer in the receiver during installation (if you don’t have a trigger installation tool).
- Driving hammer/trigger pins out of the receiver.
- Installing (or uninstalling) the pivot pin.
- Driving roll pins (always start with a starter punch, switch to a pin punch, then finish with a finish punch).
- Depressing the buffer retainer pin.
Roll Pin Punches (R)
You will need roll pin punches. Period. There are two types:
Starter roll pin punches have a hollow end that holds the roll pin while you start to drive it in.
Finish roll pin punches usually have a ball end to center the punch on the roll pin to finish driving it in or to drive it out.
The best punches we have ever encountered are manufactured by Obsidian Arms. You can get a full set of 4140 punches, including every relevant size (1/16″ S/F, 5/64″ S/F, 3/32″ S/F, 3/32″ offset bolt catch, 1/8″ S/F) for every application for $65. And it comes with a delrin punch (which has many uses), a drift pin for installing the hammer/trigger, a pivot pin installation tool, and a canvas roll up pouch. This is a great value and is of superb quality. And if that isn’t enough, it comes with a lifetime warranty. Every armorer should have one of these sets.
Center Punch (R)
Center punches are essential for staking the castle nut. There are a couple of options here.
Manual Punch: This is the traditional way to stake a castle nut. Put the tip where you want a stake and wail on the other end with a hammer. Starrett makes the best quality punches on the market. You want a 5/32″ punch.
Automatic Center Punch: This is a more sophisticated tool. The spring loaded mechanism actuates by pressing the tip against a surface. The internal hammer smacks the anvil, driving the tip into the surface. You can get away with just the automatic center punch. However, we only use it for starting our stake. Again Starrett makes the best automatic center punch.
Spring Tools Punch: This is an impressive tool. It is very simple and inexpensive. But the mechanism delivers enormous force. We won’t get into the details of the operation here, but this tool will outperform every other punch. After we start the stake with an automatic center punch, we switch to the Spring Tools Punch to finish the stake. Within about 3 “blows”, you get a perfect stake.
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