I'm looking for a decent air hammer for occasional use (busting out old bushings and the like).

Now, I'm not looking to lay out the kind of cash that something like Matco or Snap-on would cost because I'm not made of money.

I have been looking on ebay and seen some decent looking Ingersoll-Rand air hammers in the price range I'm looking for (around $50). I like them because they have a built in regulator.

Lowe's also has their Kobalt brand air hammer for $20 (which makes me suspicious), and the Craftsman air hammer at sears is $40. Did not happen to notice if either of these had a built in regulator.

Any personal experience, particular brand you'd like to vouch for?

 

Mine is a Mac

 

NOBODY here has recommendations on an air hammer?

 

If you want hard hitting you will have to pay for it. I just looked on E-Bay under "Chipping Hammers" In Business/Industrial heading and found several of them. A sullair unit -No Reserve- @ one cent right now. The typical industrial unit will have 5/8" or 3/4" shanks but tooling is cheap.
Ingersoll Rand - Gardner Denver - Thor- Sullair are all American and will serve you well. I have a Gardner Denver and it has worked for over 30 years.

Good Luck
Steve

 

Lowe's had a decent looking IR Hammer. It resembled the mac,that a buddy of mine had. Try to get one with a quick change, dealing with that spring is kinda of a pita.

 

WE had a thread on this last year didn't we?

Mine is a CP. It is the best I have ever used. It has a long stroke, and slow rate. The long stroke gives more power. The slow rate gives better control. I will look at it to get a model number for you.

It is a CP 716 Zipgun. There are other models, I just know this one to be great. It is old, over thirty years, but still far better than the foreign brands on the market.

 

Recently purchased an IR Impact gun and on the handle there was a china label. Kinda set me back, always thought they were made in USA. Finding many manufacturers import the parts then assemble in USA, thus 'made in America'. Imagine manufactures with decent reputation have a quality control department.

Purchased a Chicago Pneumatic air chisel and it works great, they can run in price between $60-$300, depending upon its particular features. Have more than enough pneumatic tools, now looking for a decent electric metal shear that's not too expensive.

dave

 

I have a craftsman. It works fine no more than I have to use it.

 

IR works well but they have 2 grades of tools. Their first grade is sold at mass merchants like Sears and Lowes. They are made in China or Japan.IR is also the maker of Craftsman and MAC tools.I have this one from MAC in my tool box http://www.mactools.com/Mac/Mac+Prod...s/Hammer/AH520

 

I built an english wheel and plannishing hammer, I used a air hammer from Home Depot on it and have had no trouble with it.

 

Mine's the AH 700, and at nearly eight years old now it still works great.
Do yourself a favor, though, and get a solid locking collar regardless of which tool you get. The spring collar is garbage, I have had them break unexpectedly and launch the chisel while firing bits of the spring as shrapnel in all directions. This is especially a concern on cheap Chinese versions.

 

You are not likely to have any trouble in that application because the tool is fixed in place.

Unless you have something to compare to, not having trouble is not a great reccommendation. Working well, is a relative thing. Seldom do these simple tools fail.

 

Ford_Six, the reason for the spring breaking is you are running the hammer without bearing down on your work. When you run the tool free the internal piston goes all the way down the cylinder and smacks the chisel and then stops against the internal stop. The chisel then hits its retainer, whatever that might be. Doing this is very damaging to the tool. Even the ball chuck (similar to an air hose quick disconnect) will break up under that kind of abuse. With any type of percussion tool you should keep pressure on the business end. This includes Jackhammers, paving breakers and rock drills.

 

Not having any trouble is exactly that, not having any trouble. Not a reccomedation, just an observation.

 

Or I could have been bearing down on the tool busting a rivet, had it slip, fire the chisel out from under the truck nearly hitting a co-worker in the leg, and showered myself with shrapnel from the spring, in case you need a specific scenario to know where I am coming from.