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ASME B107.400-2018 — Striking Tools
🔨 ASME B107.400-2018 is the consolidated standard for striking tools in the ASME B107 Hand Tools and Accessories series, the result of the committee’s project to organize hand-tool standards by tool category. This edition merges and supersedes six former component standards: ASME B107.41 (Nail Hammers), B107.42 (Hatchets and Axes), B107.53 (Ball-Peen Hammers), B107.54 (Heavy Striking Tools), B107.57 (Bricklayers’ Hammers and Prospecting Picks), and B107.58 (Riveting, Scaling, and Tinners’ Setting Hammers). Its purpose is to define the essential performance and safety requirements applicable to the tools covered, specify test methods to evaluate conformance, indicate limitations of safe use, and serve as a basis for training manuals, posters, and safe-work instruction.
💡 Striking tools couple human energy directly to the workpiece at high impact intensity. By consolidating six former standards, B107.400 lets manufacturers declare compliance for a full hammer line at once, and gives purchasers a single test framework for acceptance.
1. Scope and Tool Classification 📌
Table 1-1 lists the striking tools covered and their category numbers. The Standard groups tools into major categories, each further subdivided by structural Type/Class as appropriate:
| Category | Tool | Typical Structure / Use |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | Nail Hammers | Head plus claw; driving and pulling nails |
| 42 | Hatchets (Type I) and Axes (Type II) | Striking face at one end, blade at the other; carpentry and splitting |
| 53 | Ball-Peen Hammers | Flat face plus rounded peen; metal forming and riveting |
| 54 | Heavy Striking Tools | Sledges, long-pattern striking hammers, cross-peens, stone sledges, spalling and bush hammers |
| 57 | Bricklayers’ Hammers (Type I) and Prospecting Picks (Type II) | Masonry dressing; prospecting and sampling |
| 58 | Riveting (I), Scaling (II), Tinners’ Setting (III) Hammers | Light riveting, scale removal, sheet-tin forming |
Section 5 provides nomenclature figures for each category, giving common definitions of the striking face, head, handle, eye, chamfer, and other parts — establishing the shared language used by the hardness and test clauses that follow.
2. Performance Requirements: Hardness, Chamfer, and Finish 🔧
Para. 5.8 specifies hardness and chamfer requirements (Table 5.8-1): striking faces shall be heat-treated to a specified hardness range so that they neither fracture on impact nor shed dangerous spalls; the face perimeter shall carry an approximate 45-deg chamfer or equivalent radius, proportioned to the head size (on the order of one-tenth of the relevant head dimension) to prevent edge breakage under impact. Heads and handles shall be free of nonfunctional sharp edges, points, and surface roughness that could injure the user.
⚠️ Too high a hardness increases brittleness and the risk of face chipping; too low causes denting and deformation. Buyers and inspectors should sample-check hardness by the prescribed method (Rockwell per ASTM E18) rather than judging by appearance.
3. Test Method Framework 🧪
Section 6 provides a complete set of tests addressing the principal failure modes of striking tools:
- Tensile Force Test (6.2.2): applies a specified tensile load to the head to verify head-to-handle connection strength against pull-off.
- Static Force Test (6.3): applies category-specific static loads to the head to check deformation and connection integrity.
- Striking Test (6.2): repeatedly strikes standard target objects (Table 6.2-1) at prescribed mass and energy to verify overall durability.
- Impact Test (6.7): applies prescribed impact energy for specific categories (e.g., Category 42 Type II).
- Claw Test (6.6): nail-hammer specific; a nail-pulling test at the board-thickness parameters of Tables 6.6.1-1 and 6.6.2-1 to verify claw strength.
✅ Conformance means: after testing, the tool shows no cracks, separations, or significant deformation that would affect safe use. Acceptance reports should cite the test clauses, applied loads, and sample counts.
4. Safety Requirements and Limitations of Use 🚧
Section 7 sets the safety requirements and usage limits: select a hammer matched to the work object per the product marking and instructions; never strike hard surfaces with non-striking surfaces; stop using and discard a tool at the first sign of head cracks, chipped edges, or loose handles; and wear eye protection per ANSI Z87.1 during work. The Standard also requires safety messages to be imprinted on or affixed to the product per ANSI Z535.4 to promote safe use.
🚨 The leading causes of striking-tool injury are “hammer-on-hammer” misuse (striking the head of another hammer, chisel, or punch with a hammer) and tool-head separation. Use properly matched chisels and punches, and regularly check head-handle tightness.
5. Engineering Practice Essentials 🛠️
- 🔍 Match the category: use Category 53 ball-peen for metal forming, the Category 54 sledge family for heavy splitting, Category 57 for masonry; do not substitute a nail hammer for heavy striking work.
- 🔧 Handle care: replace handles at the first crack; re-wedge loose heads by the manufacturer’s method and inspect the wedge.
- 📊 Wear monitoring: check the face chamfer and flatness periodically; stop using a tool whose chamfer has disappeared or whose face is excessively dented to avoid edge breakage.
- 📋 Compliance buying: request performance test reports (tensile, static, striking, claw) and hardness reports per B107.400, and verify the category marking.
6. Frequently Asked Questions ❓
❓ Q: How do B107.400-2018 and the old B107.41 through B107.58 standards relate?
A: B107.400-2018 merges and supersedes those six component standards with consolidated and revised content (including a corrected striking test from B107.57); new purchases should cite B107.400, and the component editions are no longer current.
A: B107.400-2018 merges and supersedes those six component standards with consolidated and revised content (including a corrected striking test from B107.57); new purchases should cite B107.400, and the component editions are no longer current.
❓ Q: Why does the Standard require a chamfer on the striking face?
A: An unchamfered face edge can produce sharp chips and flying spalls on off-center blows — a common injury source. The approximate 45-deg chamfer or equivalent radius significantly reduces edge-breakage risk; it is an important safety clause.
A: An unchamfered face edge can produce sharp chips and flying spalls on off-center blows — a common injury source. The approximate 45-deg chamfer or equivalent radius significantly reduces edge-breakage risk; it is an important safety clause.
🔍 Q: What is the difference between the tensile force test and the static force test?
A: The tensile force test verifies the strength of the head-to-handle joint against being pulled off along the handle axis; the static force test verifies the head’s load-carrying and deformation behavior in the striking direction. They address different failure modes and must both be satisfied.
A: The tensile force test verifies the strength of the head-to-handle joint against being pulled off along the handle axis; the static force test verifies the head’s load-carrying and deformation behavior in the striking direction. They address different failure modes and must both be satisfied.
❓ Q: Does the Standard dictate manufacturing details?
A: No. B107.400 specifies performance and safety only; materials and processes are left to the manufacturer as long as the product passes the prescribed tests and meets the safety clauses.
A: No. B107.400 specifies performance and safety only; materials and processes are left to the manufacturer as long as the product passes the prescribed tests and meets the safety clauses.
