Let's start with my nomenclature. At the top is the Projectile, the unit of stuff we want to get off the Moon. In the set position it sits on the Carrier. It deserves its own label because this could vary wildly in design, depending on what sort of shape gets sent up into cislunar space. The object at the base I call the Hammer, apposite considering this is where all the energy is coming from when it hits and bounces. Everything in between I term Transmitters, and the whole thing I call a Stack.
The diagram above embodies a pair of ideas I had way back in 2001: 1) we do not need complete spheres; 2) we can employ rails. There are further modifications to describe but these can wait for a future post.
The amount of volume removed from each part is 50%. An alternate configuration is to 'lathe' the spheres, leaving spherically capped cylinders, but this type of design will not interface as easily with rails. The first time I saw a complete render of the design above, I had a sensation of revelation. If Lunar Hammer is made real, it will, I believe, look similar to this. What is not shown is the replacement for the rubber mass taken away. This is denser material, sourced locally, to act as ballast and form the rail-stack interfacing mechanism.
When I first thought of rails I considered them acting as guides, but for the descent phase they are not necessary, except for a variation that is only relevant to the Hammer. Where they come into play is post-impact, to keep the Stack neatly in place. With an angled variant, there will be reactive kicks that need absorbing by dampers. The thick lines in the diagram are for visibility and to mark the centres of each part of the Stack.
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