Stanley has discontinued their 16 oz Compo-Cast dead blow ball pein hammer, model 54-516.
It is my understanding that the Proto version has also been discontinued, and I have been told that Proto is in process of removing the 16 oz hammer from their website.
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Mac Tools still lists an identical Compo-Cast hammer on their website, but I do not have any information about whether the Mac version has been discontinued or updated in any way.
A couple of months ago a reader got in touch with us after encountering problems with Stanley’s customer service and warranty process. His Stanley dead blow hammer failed and after he sent it back to Stanley, they replaced it with a cheaper wood-handled hammer.
As you can imagine, the reader was not happy to have received a wood-handled hammer in place of the much more expensive Compo-Cast it was intended to replace.
I reached out to Stanley Black & Decker on their behalf and learned that this model was discontinued. What probably happened is that Stanley customer service sent the reader the closest replacement they could find.
The reader’s story ended on a positive note – after some back and forth, Stanley customer service sent them a 24 oz dead blow ball pein hammer, which they accepted.
Why does this matter?
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Well, I have a Stanley Compo-Cast 16 oz ball pein dead blow hammer, and I really like it. I’m not thrilled that it has been taken off the market.
As you might know, ball pein hammers are the go-to for striking center punches, cold chisels, and other hardened metal materials, as well as in metal fabrication work. Ball pein hammers were traditionally used for peening work and for shaping rivet heads.
Dead blow hammers and mallets have lead shot or other materials that shift with heavy strikes. Dead blows are a special type of mallet designed for controlled rebound. Basically, you strike what you need to move or manipulate, and a dead blow hammer doesn’t bounce back the same way that a rubber mallet might.
Combine the two, and you have a dead blow ball pein hammer.
I use ball pein hammers quite often, and bought a Stanley or Proto 16 oz Compo-Cast dead blow ball pein a few years ago to see if it made a difference. Since then, I tend to use mine for smaller tasks where I want more control and a solid metal striking surface.
I also have a 3 lb dead blow hammer with steel striking face, but it’s way too big and heavy for more precise striking tasks.
The 16 oz size seemed perfect for my needs, and it has worked out well. I also like the Compo-Case handle material.
The Compo-Cast hammer design has a steel core for strength, and cast urethane outer handle. The urethane material is said to be very corrosion-resistant.
I have another Compo-Cast dead blow, and while the urethane handle grip might be a little more slippery than hammers with over-molded grips, it has never been a problem.
This is a tool I purchased for my own use, and I’d do it again – except now I can’t. If my hammer should ever fail, I suppose this discontinuation means I’d have to replace it with a different brand.
With the Compo-Cast 16 oz dead blow ball pein now discontinued, there are two alternatives:
1) Choose a larger/heavier hammer size.
Stanley and Proto are still offering the Compo-Cast dead blow ball pein in 24 oz and 32 oz sizes.
Buy Now: 24 oz via Amazon
Buy Now: 32 oz via Amazon
Compo-Cast Ball Pein Specs
| Model | Head Weight | Face Diameter | Ball Pein Diameter | Head Length | Overall Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 54-516 | 16 oz | 1-1/4″ | 1″ | 4-1/8″ | 12-11/16″ |
| 54-524 | 24 oz | 1-1/2″ | 1-3/16″ | 4-7/16″ | 12-15/16″ |
| 54-532 | 32 oz | 1-11/16″ | 1-1/4″ | 4-3/4″ | 13-3/4″ |
(54-516/16 oz is the model that’s being discontinued.)
See Also: Trust-Cook 32oz via Amazon
2) Buy a different brand.
Buy Now: SE 16 oz via Amazon
Buy Now: Xtreme 16 oz via Amazon
Buy Now: Gearwrench 14 oz via Amazon
The SE brand hammer is said to have a PVC coated body, while the Gearwrench 14 oz is made in the USA and advertised as having a polyurethane-coated handle and body.
Does anyone else care?
Although this is a hammer size and style I enjoy using, it does not seem to be a popular size.
Trusty-Cook, for example, makes dead blow ball pein hammers with 26 oz being their smallest size, and it appears to be sold at fewer retailers than their 32 oz version.
Gearwrench doesn’t have a 16 oz USA-made polyurethane-handled dead blow ball pein hammer, but they do have a 14 oz model. They also have 22 oz and 31 oz hammers, which suggests that perhaps they’re advertising actual head weights instead of nominal weights, meaning it should be fair to assume the 14 oz is comparable to a 16 oz, or at least reasonably close enough.
Perhaps Gearwrench’s are legacy Armstrong products. If you recall, Apex Tool Group shut down the Armstrong tool brand in 2017, and in 2019 their website started diverting customers to Gearwrench and Crescent for striking tools.
Is the 16 oz size of dead blow ball pein hammer so unpopular for Stanley and Proto to discontinue it? Users still have Gearwrench if they want USA-made, and import brands on Amazon if they’re shopping on a budget. OR, users can step up to a larger and heavier size, but going from 16 oz to 24 oz isn’t ideal for tasks that call for a smaller and lighter striking tool. Consider the differences between a 16 oz claw hammer and 24 oz framing hammer.
Going from 16 oz to 24 oz means slightly wider striking faces and a slightly longer handle length, but the difference in head weight is going to be more pronounced.
It’s worth noting that all this happened before the COVID-19 pandemic, with communications about the matter starting at the end of February.
This isn’t really a big deal – brands do discontinue tools every now and then, but it still seemed worth talking about.
Stanley and Proto discontinued their smallest dead blow ball pein hammer. Does anyone else care, besides me and the reader that wrote in?
Tom D
Some inappropriate joke about Stanley not wanting to have a small pein.
Sales must not have been that great otherwise they could have just made a bunch of them before shutting down the line.
Doc John
Really,
How do you know of the true business?
Your comments seem superficial and inaccurate
Mr. Certainly
Moral of this story: never buy a product solely because of its warranty. Products change all the time, go in and out of availability, and companies fold up/get bought out.
Buy for quality, buy for features, and the warranty is icing on the cake….but never expect them to honor it unless you have a written contract.
Tom D
Or another aspect – if you have a tool you really really like and it’s made by one manufacturer only – buy a couple more.
Doc John
Agree
Open the wallet
fred
Discontinued – but not recalled? I wonder if there was some issue or failure mode that resulted in this action. I’ve had the Stanley 16oz. (54-516) and an Estwing 50oz. (CCB50) for about 6 years. I don’t use either one every day (or even very often) – but have had no issues. I’m not sure if the Estwing (UPC 034139327042) is still made – since I can’t find it for sale using a Google search.
Stuart
Discontinued.
I have not heard about any safety issues or failures of that nature.
fred
I posed the question because you started out the discussion with a note about a reader having experienced a failure and warranty replacement with a wood-handled hammer. This cessation of production may well have resulted purely from poor sales. But some design flaw or manufacturing issue may have prompted your reader’s request for warranty replacement. From what you say, such failures did not rise to the level of being potentially dangerous requiring recall or CPSC action. But they possibly contributed to the tool being discontinued.
Fred
I had bought a hammer exactly like this from princess auto it was terrible quality. I have since invested in Trusty Cook hammers (They make snap on hammers) and they are truly amazing. Then pair them with a Re-Grip to have them no slip and its a match that can’t be beat.
bubbrubb
Came here looking for the Trusty Cook comment, was not disappointed.
https://trustycook.com/
blocky
Most of my hammers are for finish or install, so 12oz or under, but most of my dead-blow hammers are 27oz or over (because that is what was available). At least for woodworking, if it takes less force than that, I’m probably pressing it or smacking it with my hand.
I think impact stress on the arm is less when people are using a rocking, chasing action rather than arm swings, and much of that finer work requires rapid small strokes while continuously observing the workpiece – so the rebound can assist the workflow.
The lighter deadblow hammers that I have from Hultafors are definitely for assembly, and not really for swingin’ or even shaping.
A 16oz deadblow ballpein sounds great, but it never even crossed my mind. I’ve got stuff all around that range that I reach for. Middle child syndrome.
fred
For my furniture building – I’ve moved over to using Sorbothane mallets more than deadblows:
https://www.amazon.com/s?k=B002SRS86Q&ref=nb_sb_noss
Blocky
Ooh. Thanks for the rec!
Greg
I was going to buy into a set of these compo cast peins but I guess not now. I might be going the Snap On direction instead.
PTT
Well looks like another item for my aisle of discontinued tools.
Greg
I’m just a DIY guy but no, I don’t think 16oz ball pein love is crazy. For more precision tasks, I really like the control I can get out of my Vaughan 8oz.
Bobby
Same here. An 8oz ball pein is my most used hammer. I don’t drive a lot of nails, but its a good size for using chisels or punch’s.
Doc John
Hi Stuart, great column-
….The reader’s story ended on a positive note – after some back and forth, Stanley customer service sent them a 24 oz dead blow ball pein hammer, which they accepted…
I didnt understand your writing- its unclear if it is Stanley ( plural “they” and “them” or the customer returning the hammer”…).
Paul E Hacker
I have purchased some cheaper 16oz dead blow hammers one from sear and one from northern tool .. both got quite a bit of use in the past year or so .. so far so good .. money wise unless you need it everyday to do major work for the average person they will work fine … and when and if they fail cheap enough to replace 1/4 of the cost of a brand name hammer.
Richard
The specs of the Trusty-Cook 26 oz ball peen are identical to the specs of the Stanley 54-516. The Trusty-Cook hammer has a 16 oz head and the other measurements are the same as the 54-516.
Stuart
Thank you!
Did you (Trusty-Cook) opt for a different sizing nomenclature, or was that an established standard that Stanley diverged from long ago?
Richard White
The head weight is an old GSA convention. In the 1970s, the GSA put in place a standard for the hammers and chose the weights of the heads as the standard. Compocast, the predessor to Trusty-Cook, worked with the GSA on creating the specs for the hammers. Stanley purchased Compocast in the early 1980s. Trusty-Cook began selling hammers again in the early 1990s and used the GSA standard until a few year ago. There was too much confusion with head weights and total weights of the hammers.