Hot take: swapping my 3 lb hammer for a lighter one fixed my wrist on long seam welds
For years I figured the heavy hammer was just part of the job, and my wrist paid for it after a full shift of tube work. Last month a fitter on our job in Gary handed me his 2 lb cross peen and told me to run a whole header with it before I made up my mind. I did, and I finished the day without the dull ache I usually get, mostly because I was letting the head do the work instead of gorilla swinging it. Now I keep both in the bucket, and I grab the light one for anything over about 40 minutes of straight peening. Curious what weight you all keep in your box, and if you ever switch for different flange sizes.
Read a post on a welding board a while back where a guy said he switched to a 2 lb head for overhead work and never went back. Made sense to me once I tried it. I keep a 2.5 lb for everyday stuff and a 4 lb that mostly sits in the truck unless I'm really moving metal on thick plate. For big flanges I still like a little more weight, but the light one wins for anything long.