I definitely was not implying that I do that. I always have the top off of my hammer when in use.
What I mean is, if you look at where the rod joins the base of the Hammer 1200, everything is metal except for the ceramic rod itself. When you look at where the mini Hammer in the Hercules joins the base, the ceramic rod is surrounded by a large ceramic surface area (which seems to be where all of the oil has been seeping through.
I was suggesting getting rid of that ceramic surface are on the base of the mini Hammer, effectively rendering it identical to the build of the Hammer 1200. I hope this all makes sense?