Definition
A hand tool consisting of a weighted head fixed at right angles to a handle, used to deliver an impact blow to drive, shape, or break materials. In aircraft maintenance, specialized hammers are used for specific tasks, including riveting hammers for setting solid rivets, soft-faced hammers (rubber, plastic, rawhide, or brass) for striking surfaces without marring them, and ball-peen hammers for general metalwork.
Plain English
A tool you swing to hit something. In aviation maintenance, the type of hammer matters — soft-faced hammers are used on aircraft surfaces so the metal doesn't get dented or scarred.
Context Anchor
Seen in aircraft maintenance, repair, and shop work when a procedure involves shaping, seating, loosening, or driving a part.
Derivation
Hammer comes from Old English “hamor,” meaning a tool or stone used for striking. That original idea still fits: the important point is not just hitting, but using a tool made to deliver a blow in a controlled way.
Why Pilots Care
Using the wrong hammer on aircraft structure can cause damage that weakens the airframe. Steel-faced hammers are never used directly on aluminum skin or finished surfaces — soft-faced hammers are used instead to avoid denting or stress-raising marks that could lead to cracks.
Intuition Check
Do not think of a hammer around an aircraft as just “anything used to hit something.” In aviation maintenance, it means the proper striking tool used carefully and only when the job allows it.
Example Sentence 1
The technician used a rawhide hammer to seat the cowling fastener without marring the painted surface.
Example Sentence 2
During the annual inspection the technician used a hammer and punch to loosen a stubborn nut on the engine mount.