Have any interesting fixes that involves using a BFH?
You know, a Big Friggin Hammer. My father, a life-long mechanic claimed this was his favorite tool to use, usually after every other tool failed.
The term we used in the Air Force was BMFSD. Screwdriver.
I guess everyone has used a BFH or BMFSD at some time or other.
I think the BFH goes right along with “I’ve never broken anything so bad that I couldnt replace it”. I’ve used the BFH & the BMFSD several times.
I usually insist that unless you are doing body work, a hammer is not meant to be used on a car. However, I have used a hammer to loosen a tight oil filter on a motorcycle, and I have used a hammer to pry exhaust pipes apart so I could get them back on a motorcycle. I try to reserve the hammer for carpentry whenever possible.
You know, I do remember a BMFSD lying around the shop as well. Most times they were used in conjunction with one another. I have a funny story that goes along with this at
check it out if you’ve got time. I would post it here, but its kind of long.
Here’s an airplane one.
B52 Bombers used to use a gyrostabilized platform in special lubricant to stabilize the navigation system. North Dakota, where I was PCS, gets very, very cold. -40 below ambient. Sometimes more. More than once I’ve used the BMFSD to get that platform unstuck from its nonenergized position.
You all know the first two rules of carpentry:
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If it don’t fit, get a hammer.
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If it still don’t fit, get a bigger hammer.
A really appropriate use for a BFH (about 3lbs)is popping brake drums off. Wack that stuck drum in the center (good idea not to hit the studs) and I feel 80% of stuck drums pop off.
I also put to very good use is the BIG screwdriver (really a pry bar) The one I have from Matco is about 4ft long and cost 75.00,invaluable.
What are you going to use to hit a punch or drift then? Hammers have their place but I suppose it’s a matter of how “deep” you go in your definition of car repair/work.
One thing about a BFH, it has a lot of mass. I think many people associate using a hammer with an over the head arcing blow at full force. Sometimes, you need the mass in a very confined space to get the power necessary to do the work.
But I agree with you, the hammer is one of the most abused tools in the box…
I like the cars that have bolt holes on the brake drums for removing them. All you have to do is insert the bolts and tighten them, and before you know it, the drum is off like a prom dress.
That’s how the draft board reputedly used to determine who went into what branch in the old days.
They gave each draftee a sqaure peg, a triangular peg, and a round peg, along with a board with three corresponding holes.
The ones that got all three in the right holes were put in the Air Corps.
The ones that couldn’t get any in went in the Army.
The ones that got the square pegs in the round holes went in the Marines.
Many Europeans refer to the mallet or hammer as the “AMERICAN TOOL”. It will make anything fit or work ultimately. (I without sounding like a prude, think it best not to use the profanity implied by the BFH.)
Rocky…the Docky…
I found it equally important during a surgical procedure with the patient under regional anesthsia not to let the word S–t or O–s slip out with something going wrong as well as not asking for the BFH.The patient literally levitates.
We must not forget about the other tool. That is of coarse the BFW.
Now sometimes the two can be interchange. I have used a BFW in place of a BFH, but its best to use the specific one for its intended purpose.
Things could really get dangerous if both the BFH, and BFW are used together, and usually nothing good becomes from it.
My drums will be off before you find the bolts you want to use. Really I have seen drums so stuck that all the threaded holes did was get pulled out of the drums.
I have found the best special tools are the ones that are improvised. Example, two feet of small rope used to hold parts out of the way that should not be disconnected or a simple putty knife heated with a torch to slice through certain rubber bushings.
I am sure there are countless other applications from readers here.
If you can’t Duct it, $%&@ it. 