Demonic Black Hole Hammer

From the Web site:

Stainless Steel hammer with 6 holes through it to reduce forward resistance. Available for the Impulse.

Pictures taken from www.roughneckpaintball.com

Installation Instructions:

This can be a little tricky.  Follow the instructions closely and TAKE YOUR TIME!!

1. Remove the Hammer assembly.
2. Remove the Hammer Cap.
3. Clean out any Dow 33 from behind the ram.
4. For the next step you will need a 1/8" Allen key.  The next step involves removing the hammer from the stock ram shaft.  To do this you will first need to heat the hammer to loosen the green loc-tite that is used to hold it in place.

   I recently learned a GREAT trick for removing the hammer form the ram shaft.  Instead of a hair dryer or a lighter, use boiling water.  Just remove all the o-rings from the hammer assembly.  Once the water is boiling, extend the ram forward so it is open.  Put on an oven mitt or something like it to protect your hand.  Just submerse the hammer, not the entire hammer assembly, in the boiling water for about 1 minute, maybe a little longer.  Remove the hammer from the water and be careful because it's HOT.  Should unscrew VERY easily.  When you feel that you have loosened the loc-tite, you will need to grip the hammer in a fashion that will not destroy it and use the 1/8" allen key to remove the ram shaft.  The key here is DO NOT TRASH THE HAMMER, unless you have a new one to replace it.
   

5. Once the hammer is removed from the ram shaft, you do not need to remove the ram shaft from the hammer assembly, but I would recommend you do remove it and clean it since it's available.  Do not lose either of the bumpers.  That's right, there are two bumpers, one on the outside of the hammer assembly to protect the hammer from hitting the assembly and one on the INSIDE to protect the ram shaft from hitting the hammer assembly.  NOTE: If either one of these bumpers are not installed, you will risk damaging your hammer assembly.
6. Using a little loc-tite ( I would use Blue ) thread the Demonic Black Hole Hammer onto the ram shaft.  Do not over tighten the hammer onto the shaft.  Only use light finger pressure to screw the hammer onto the shaft.  Screw the hammer onto the shaft until it stops, do not try and twist it any further on to the shaft.
7. Let the loc-tite dry for a couple hours before putting everything back together.

Comments:

The secret is in the hole.  While I can not scientifically prove it, I believe the holes allow the hammer to move more freely by not trapping air before the hammer when it is moving forward or behind the hammer on it's return trip.  If the theory is correct this hammer will allow your Impulse to cycle faster due to less pressure/resistance when it is moving.

The Demonic Black Hole Hammer is very popular due to it's weight.  When balancing the Internals of an Impulse, it can be difficult to find the correct bolt, hammer, ram, bolt pin combination.  The Demonic Black Hole Hammer is lighter than the solid Stainless Steel Hammers, but weighs more than the aluminum hammers.

Installing the Demonic Black Hole Hammer also has the added benefit of giving you the chance to clean the inside of your hammer assembly.  Something that I believe the average Impulse owner rarely if never does.

The Details

• MSRP: $45.00
• Pro's: If you are looking for a Stainless Steel hammer to balance out your internals and reduce resistance, this it the one!
• Cons: Some of the early production Demonic Black Hole Hammers left Roughneck and had some burs on the front of the hammer.  If not cleaned these burs would eat away at your valve.  This has been corrected, and by the time you read this, it's no longer an issue.  If by chance you do get a Black Hole Hammer with burs on the front, you can use a file or large drill bit to smooth them out.