i have a 10-12oz ball pein hammer that has  a couple chunks knocked from the sides is it possibal  to grind or cut it back far enough to remove them there  on the sides and like an 1/8 of an inch deep  or should just use it like it is ?

You should always dress or discard a hammer that has cracks or pieces missing. Missing pieces are usually surrounded by cracks and more pieces will come out when you strike something. As to dressing it, it depends if it was surface hardened or not, machinists hammers sometimes are, and the hardening isn't all that deep, if the face is ok, leave it and round the sides so they are smooth, if the face is damaged, and the damage is more than 1/16 , the hammer is probably suspect...

Sometimes hammers are over hardened, especially cheap import ones, and the thing will just keep popping chunks off, there isn't much you can do with those...

Using a hand file on it will tell you if it is hard on the surface or not, if it shaves off metal easily, it isn't hardened anyhow...

(Ball pein hammers with pieces missing have likely been abused, they are not sledge hammers )

You'll have to show us.
I have saved plenty, tossed plenty too.
Just depends.
A good ball pien will be very hard all over. Maybe the face even harder, but the entire thing is plenty hard.

A 10-12 oz ball pien is not that hard to get Dust.  I probably have an old head you can have.
You'll have to pay postage though.  :) 
   yours Scott

A blacksmith friend has two solutions.  One is filling the chip with the same weld he uses for repairing anvil edges, and the other is to cut off about 1/8 inch of the face and forge welding a a piece of appropriate tool steel in its place.

But just like Scott said, these are not hard to find,  and not expensive to buy.  I probably have a couple myself (I've accumulated a bucket full of ball peins).

ill snap a pic in a few just home from a  bunch of doctor appointments..

the hammer in question i can make out "britain" then usa under it  so i assume its a new britain

here are pic

They are common enough, I would find another one in better shape...   

Yeah Brian is right
Unless what you really wanted was a special purpose custom ground hammer of an unusual shape and were planning to radically alter this one anyway??
   Otherwise too much trouble for a common BP.
Just find another.
Maybe remove the handle and save it, if its good.
  yours Scott
   

my only option is to buy new since we   dont have fleas  around here till fall.

okay i decided im not gonna buy new. i just want to try restoring this  i think a bit of time with a roloc disk on a 90degree die grinder wil help flatten it out and curve the edges.  if that dont work ill just use the ball part for peining over pins

Not sure how deep the temper goes on the face, it could be as shallow as 1/8"...

Quote from: 64longstep on January 21, 2012, 02:05:10 AM
Not sure how deep the temper goes on the face, it could be as shallow as 1/8"...

i dont think ill have to remove that much. we'll see tommorow if its gets warmer then  the 20's and i can get the garage door open

You could always make it into a double pein hammer.
Not many folks have one of those.....
;P

Quote from: Dustin21 on January 19, 2012, 09:35:19 PM
my only option is to buy new since we   dont have fleas  around here till fall.

I'll bet you that one of us has a spare ball pein that could get to you before Fall.  How fast do you need it?  Does it
really need to be a 10-12 oz head?

Quote from: Branson on January 21, 2012, 10:11:53 AM

Quote from: Dustin21 on January 19, 2012, 09:35:19 PM
my only option is to buy new since we   dont have fleas  around here till fall.

I'll bet you that one of us has a spare ball pein that could get to you before Fall.  How fast do you need it?  Does it
really need to be a 10-12 oz head?

nope just need a smaller then 24oz head.   i have no impending need for one but  sometimes i encounter spots where the smaller sized heads fit better