Updated: 04.07.2025
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A Needham Conversion hammer is a standard M1863 hammer with modifications.
The hammer is cut in order to enable a wedge to be pinned to the hammer to strike the firing pin.
It should be noted every Needham Conversion uses a M1863 style hammer whether or not the rest of it is a M1861.
The only real difference is some use the slotted method to insert in the hammer and most have the oval that must be inserted from the bottom of the hammer. The slotted method seems to always use two flat pins to secure the wedge. The oval crown is almost always secured with one round pin. However, and there is always a however, hammer #356 uses two flat pins to secure with an oval crown. My research tells me the slotted method was the earliest and the oval crown came later. Possibly could be because the oval crown only takes one pin so it is cheaper and faster to develop.
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There are 5 types of Hammer Wedge Pins.
Flush
Flathead 1 Pin
Flathead 2 Pin
Domed
Inlet
By far the most numerous are the domed type. Here are the exampls found thus far.
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All hammers are from my collection.
Each link opens in a new window.
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