An air hammer, also known as an air chisel, is a

pneumatic Pneumatics (from Greek ‘wind, breath’) is a branch of engineering that makes use of gas or pressurized air. Pneumatic systems used in Industrial sector, industry are commonly powered by compressed air or compressed inert gases. A central ...

hand tool A hand tool is any tool that is powered by hand rather than a motor. Categories of hand tools include wrenches, pliers, cutters, files, striking tools, struck or hammered tools, screwdrivers, vises, clamps, snips, hacksaws, drills, and kni ...

used to carve in

stone In geology, rock (or stone) is any naturally occurring solid mass or aggregate of minerals or mineraloid matter. It is categorized by the minerals included, its Chemical compound, chemical composition, and the way in which it is formed. Rocks ...

, and to break or cut

metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...

objects apart. It is designed to accept different

tool A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...

s depending on the required function.

Tools

The following are various tools that can be used in the air hammer: ;Universal joint and tie-rod tool: Used to separate

universal joint A universal joint (also called a universal coupling or U-joint) is a joint or coupling connecting rigid shafts whose axes are inclined to each other. It is commonly used in shafts that transmit rotary motion. It consists of a pair of hinges lo ...

s and tie-rod ends. ;Ball joint separator: Used to separate

ball joint In an automobile, ball joints are spherical bearings that connect the control arms to the steering knuckles, and are used on virtually every automobile made. They bionically resemble the ball-and-socket joints found in most tetrapod animals. ...

s. ;Shock absorber chisel: Used to break loose

shock absorber A shock absorber or damper is a mechanical or hydraulic device designed to absorb and damp shock impulses. It does this by converting the kinetic energy of the shock into another form of energy (typically heat) which is then dissipated. Most sh ...

nuts. ;Exhaust pipe cutter: Used to cut through

exhaust pipe An exhaust system is used to guide reaction exhaust gases away from a controlled combustion inside an engine or stove. The entire system conveys burnt gases from the engine and includes one or more exhaust pipes. Depending on the overall system ...

for disassembly. ;Tapered punch: A general tool that can be used to free frozen nuts, insert pins, and align holes. ;Rubber bushing splitter: Used to remove

rubber bushing A bushing or rubber bushing is a type of vibration isolator. It provides an interface between two parts, damping the energy transmitted through the bushing. A common application is in vehicle suspension systems, where a bushing made of rubber ...

Free-standing style

Free-standing air hammers are an adaptation of the hand-held version. An air hammer can stretch or shrink (shape) a variety of metals, from thin

aircraft aluminum An aluminium alloy (or aluminum alloy; see spelling differences) is an alloy in which aluminium (Al) is the predominant metal. The typical alloying elements are copper, magnesium, manganese, silicon, tin, nickel and zinc. There are two princip ...

s, all the way down to 10-gauge

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

. They are also used for smoothing metal that has already been roughed, shaped or formed.

History

In the 1920s, two pneumatic devices were invented that would permanently change the way metal and stone were hammered. The pneumatic rivet gun was originally developed to set hot rivets on

girder bridges A girder bridge is a bridge that uses girders as the means of supporting its deck. The two most common types of modern steel girder bridges are plate and box. The term "girder" is often used interchangeably with "beam" in reference to bridge de ...

and high steel buildings. This tool was later scaled down for

sheet metal Sheet metal is metal formed into thin, flat pieces, usually by an industrial process. Sheet metal is one of the fundamental forms used in metalworking, and it can be cut and bent into a variety of shapes. Thicknesses can vary significantly; ex ...

, as the 1930s saw the advent of

monocoque Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell". First used for boats, ...

aluminum aircraft. The other new device, hitting at twice or three times the speed of the rivet gun, was the stone carver's hammer – a great blessing for smooth and rapid dressing of granite and marble. In 1930 F.J. Hauschild adapted the original stone carver's hammer into a portable hand-held steel tube frame for the purpose of straightening auto bodies. For the next 25 years his "Ram's Head Body and Fender Machine" improved and increased production for

auto body work Auto may refer to: * An automaton * An automobile * An autonomous car * An automatic transmission * An auto rickshaw * Short for automatic * Auto (art), a form of Portuguese dramatic play * ''Auto'' (film), 2007 Tamil comedy film * Auto (play), ...

men all over the U.S. Copying Hauschild’s patented design, a

pneumatic tool A pneumatic tool, air tool, air-powered tool or pneumatic-powered tool is a type of power tool, driven by compressed air supplied by an air compressor. Pneumatic tools can also be driven by compressed carbon dioxide () stored in small cylinders ...

company in Chicago marketed a number of "destined-to-be-classic" pneumatic

planishing Planishing (from the Latin ''planus'', "flat") is a metalworking technique that involves finishing the surface by finely shaping and smoothing sheet metal. Process This is done by hammering with a planishing panel hammer or slapper file against a ...

hammers, both hand-held for auto body work, and also free-standing ones, with a variety of throat depths for industry and manufacturing.White, Kent, "Pneumatic Power Shapes Metal," ''Home Shop Machinist Magazine'', Bonus Issue, June 2007, Village Press. By

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, rivet guns were used widely in U.S. aircraft factories both for riveting aluminum sheets, and for flow forming, the process of working aluminum sheet into and over wooden forms by the application of the pneumatic rivet gun. Post-war industry brought many new applications for the "air hammer" technology. Among these were: * sand rammers and tampers for

sand casting Sand casting, also known as sand molded casting, is a metal casting process characterized by using sand as the mold material. The term "sand casting" can also refer to an object produced via the sand casting process. Sand castings are produced i ...

metal * plating rack scalers * weld chippers * destruction guns for cleaning up concrete * needle scalers * pavement breakers * metal chisels. Each of these tools has a different purpose despite nearly identical appearance in many cases. File:Air hammer FK702a.jpg File:Air hammer for granite work.jpg File:Air hammer Cuturi E-type.jpg

References

External links

Air Power Hammer shrinking 14-gauge steel demonstrated
{{Power tools Hand tools Pneumatic tools