Air Hammers - what would you recommend?

[Jelly_Sheffield]

I am looking for an air hammer for two purposes:

1) I need to replace the three ball joints I haven't yet changed on the Hilux front end, and it looks a lot easier to get them out using air than the 11lb copper sledgehammer (and they bent the biggest screw press I could fit in there).

2) Removing spot welds, I have loads to remove on the landy, and it will be a lot easier to separate them with an air hammer than a chisel after using one of the little rotary cutters to mostly separate them.

They range in price from about £20 to £200 and then an additional £20-£30 for a quick change chuck (which seems to be an add-on, when I would have thought it standard), but it's not really clear what differentiates them.

Compressor can deliver upto 20CFM, but is rated to 30CFM if I change the motor pulley, with a 90Gal/420L receiver.

 

[Blobber]

Ive found using the ball joint screw press thingy to put some tension on the joint and then a bit of heat on the arm works on all the big stuff ive done

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

Ive found using the ball joint screw press thingy to put some tension on the joint and then a bit of heat on the arm works on all the big stuff ive done

Yeah, that has generally done for me in the past, which was why I wasn't really expecting it to be such a palava when I did the first one.

But with more heat than I was entirely comfortable with (given the potential for ball joints to go pop violently if you get too enthusiastic with the heat) and a reyt lot of tension, it was still just bending my machine-mart grade press tool.

I'm figuring that a decent air hammer will still be a lot cheaper than upgrading to a high quality ball joint press like a Sykes-Pickavant.

 

[MetalMonkey]

Shank size and hitting power is basically the difference.

They are all derived from air rivet guns, most of them are a .401" shank size and you will find most of the attachments fit this - you can get needle descalers for them which are quite handy too.
There are really beefy ones with larger shanks (.498") that hit really hard, but they are very expensive and not what you need.

They usually come in long and short barrels, with the longer barrels giving a bigger hit, and the shorter ones giving lots of lighter faster blows.
They should have an output rating for how much energy they impact, both have their place, short ones can be easier to control on lighter stuff, long ones have more power.

The most important feature is a good teasing trigger which gives control and allows you to start it up slowly on something without it bouncing off.
They eat air so put a decent size hose and free flow coupler on it.

I have a CP7110 with a kit which puts out 7.2 joules, wasn't too expensive and has done everything I’ve needed.
You won't go far wrong with CP, IR, Aircat etc.

The amount of things they can loosen with a bit of vibration is amazing, you won't use it often but when you do you'll wonder how you coped without one.

 

[JOEPRO]

I am looking for an air hammer for two purposes:

1) I need to replace the three ball joints I haven't yet changed on the Hilux front end, and it looks a lot easier to get them out using air than the 11lb copper sledgehammer (and they bent the biggest screw press I could fit in there).

2) Removing spot welds, I have loads to remove on the landy, and it will be a lot easier to separate them with an air hammer than a chisel after using one of the little rotary cutters to mostly separate them.

They range in price from about £20 to £200 and then an additional £20-£30 for a quick change chuck (which seems to be an add-on, when I would have thought it standard), but it's not really clear what differentiates them.

Compressor can deliver upto 20CFM, but is rated to 30CFM if I change the motor pulley, with a 90Gal/420L receiver.

Addressing spot welds first - I have a small composite Draper Storm force one this years which is invaluable for my rust repairs to my cars.

Get yourself a bit set too for it. I also use a needle descaler fitting on the storm force which makes for very fast heavy rust removal. I also use it as first step on car rust repairs to clean up the area and remove underseal and paint to expose spot welds and the extent of the rot.

Honestly - I recommend that one for most tasks. Good quality and hits moderate and rapidly. Compact enough to work under a car with it.



The long barrel chief one I picked up in USA. Bargain over there and is the same as a MAC long barrel air hammer at approx 2 or 3 times the price.

It is very hard hitting. Really only for heavy duty suspension work that sort of thing. I have several sizes of ball joint removers for it and shake n brake sets.

Air hammers are great tools - get one just also make sure you have a decent air supply. I use 12mm ID air hoses and high flow fittings genuine PCL as others don't have the proper flow.

 

[MetalMonkey]

Yeah, that has generally done for me in the past, which was why I wasn't really expecting it to be such a palava when I did the first one.

But with more heat than I was entirely comfortable with (given the potential for ball joints to go pop violently if you get too enthusiastic with the heat) and a reyt lot of tension, it was still just bending my machine-mart grade press tool.

I'm figuring that a decent air hammer will still be a lot cheaper than upgrading to a high quality ball joint press like a Sykes-Pickavant.

You can get decent ball joint splitters from sealey, laser, etc - no need to spend too much on them, just avoid the really cheap and nasty ones.

You will still want one IMO, as it allows you to wind up the tension on the ball joint - then couple of blips with an air hammer, or a BFH and they usually pop off quite easily.
If you intend to just hit on a balljoint with an air hammer you will also mushroom the thread fairly quickly, you can put the nut on, but often that ends up mangled - so I prefer to put it under tension if I can. Depends a lot if you are intending on reusing it.
The attachments with the flat hammer face are also very useful and do less damage than any of the chisel or point tools.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

You can get decent ball joint splitters from sealey, laser, etc - no need to spend too much on them, just avoid the really cheap and nasty ones.

You will still want one IMO, as it allows you to wind up the tension on the ball joint - then couple of blips with an air hammer, or a BFH and they usually pop off quite easily.
If you intend to just hit on a balljoint with an air hammer you will also mushroom the thread fairly quickly, you can put the nut on, but often that ends up mangled - so I prefer to put it under tension if I can. Depends a lot if you are intending on reusing it.
The attachments with the flat hammer face are also very useful and do less damage than any of the chisel or point tools.

I think you're misunderstanding my planned use case it's not for splitting ball joints (although certainly would do no harm to get some vibration in at times), but for driving the press-fitted body of a ball joint out of the control arm.

I have a couple of different splitters which all work fine (and if necessary I can always cut the top of the taper with the porta and and replace), it's getting the joints out to change them which is painful.

most of them are a .401" shank size and you will find most of the attachments fit this - you can get needle descalers for them which are quite handy too.

I already have a very substantial straight body needle scaler, and it's a really awesome tool for both corrosion and slag removal...

They usually come in long and short barrels, with the longer barrels giving a bigger hit, and the shorter ones giving lots of lighter faster blows.
They should have an output rating for how much energy they impact, both have their place, short ones can be easier to control on lighter stuff, long ones have more power.

This is useful info, and explains the key difference.

I figure investing in a short-barrel type now is a good way to dip my toe into the market, and if want more force per blow I can get a long barrel or a .498 once I understand the tool a bit better.

The most important feature is a good teasing trigger which gives control and allows you to start it up slowly on something without it bouncing off.
They eat air so put a decent size hose and free flow coupler on it.

Trigger control would be nice, it's definitely something I've noticed as differentiating the usability of air drills and impacts.

Most of my quick connect stuff is on ⅜" hose from drops on a ½" pipe system, but if needed I can put it on a claw fitting with a ½" hose, or even use a ¾" hose direct from the receiver if I really want to go to town...

I have a small composite Draper Storm force one this years which is invaluable for my rust repairs to my cars.

...

Honestly - I recommend that one for most tasks. Good quality and hits moderate and rapidly. Compact enough to work under a car with it.

That looks like the ticket, just found one new in box for £15 on ebay so have ordered it (along with some flat and punch type hammer attachments for a tenner) and at that price even if it's not everything I wanted from it, the tool won't owe me anything if it just gets used to help get the bulkhead separated quicker.

 

[Jelly_Sheffield]

The long barrel chief one I picked up in USA. Bargain over there and is the same as a MAC long barrel air hammer at approx 2 or 3 times the price.

It is very hard hitting. Really only for heavy duty suspension work that sort of thing. I have several sizes of ball joint removers for it and shake n brake sets.

I have seen some of the TTC stuff reviewing different models, but I always find until I have practical experience with a tool it's hard to understand what the numbers they generate in their tests will translate to in reality.

Like a lot of their higher end impact tests might convince you to go buy a ½" high-torque pushing 800nm of output because it's a similar price point to a mid-torque or compact...

But already owning a decent ¾" impact, I know the reality is that those kinds of torque levels can easily strip or even straight up sheer a lot of the bolts found on cars and light commercials.

Based on price, if I subsequently invest in a long barrel one, the Astro "Thor" .401" model looks like the best £'s-to-joules ratio available in the UK at the moment, I am surprised by how cheap they are compared to the likes of IR and Tool-Truck Brands.

 

[Ubique]

We use https://www.lasertools.co.uk/product/6031/Air-Hammer - you need a good air supply though, including 10mm bore hoses up to it, works well with https://www.lasertools.co.uk/product/6335/Vibro-Air-Chisel-100mm and https://www.lasertools.co.uk/product/5863/Steering-Knuckle-Pinch-Bolt-Drift-3pc-for-VAG

 

[sako243]

I was chatting with someone local whilst he was making up a hydraulic hose for me and they'd had a pin that was a sod to remove. Got the jack hammer on his 5t digger on it.

Sorted it out but minimum sized hole it works on is 50mm. He's contemplating turning down an old tip as it was so effective

 

[anto44]

I was chatting with someone local whilst he was making up a hydraulic hose for me and they'd had a pin that was a sod to remove. Got the jack hammer on his 5t digger on it.

Sorted it out but minimum sized hole it works on is 50mm. He's contemplating turning down an old tip as it was so effective

I seen a homemade adaptor that went onto the standard tip to make it a post driver, it worked really well. It had a length of pipe that went over the post, they had a timber plug in the bottom of the pipe to stop it mashing the tops of the post.