How to use an air hammer

If you don’t know about air hammers, then let me tell you about that in short. An air hammer is a pneumatic tool that runs with the help of compressed air. It is very useful when it comes to cutting, carving, smoothing, shaping, or breaking any concrete or metal surface. Basically, it is used for construction purposes. There are mostly five types of bits or chisel that an air hammer uses according to the need because of which it is also called air chisel.

These air chisels are placed inside the hammerhead and move back and forth with a great force, which breaks everything that comes on its way. If I talk about a good air hammer, it takes about 3500-4000 BPM (Blows Per Minute), i.e., 3500-4000 back and forth movement of air chisel a single minute.

The lower the BPM, the harder the air hammer will hit. As I mentioned earlier that an air hammer runs with the help of compressed air that it takes from the air compressor. All the air hammers come with a slot that connects with the air compressor and that is connected with an air connector and that connector is connected with a hose. It depends on the capacity of the air compressor that how long the air hammer will work. The more the capacity of the air compressor, the longer the air hammer will work.

It was a brief description of air hammers. Now let’s dive into our main topic of how to use an air hammer.

First of all, you should know about the chisels of an air hammer, i.e., which chisel is used for which type of work. For example, if you want to cut something, you will need a sharp head chisel, and if you’re going to hammer something, you’ll need a broad head hammer-like chisel.

Also, check if the bits or chisels condition is good and suitable for work, i.e., if it is not, you may need to buy a new bit. You can learn about them in the user manual that comes with the air hammer set or can learn about them manually on the internet.

After learning about the chisels, now it’s time to connect your tool with an air compressor. If you have an air connector that usually comes with the air tools to combine it with the compressor, it is good, but if you don’t have one, you’ll need to buy one as it is not possible to connect the air tools without an air connector.

All the air hammers have a slot at the bottom to connect it with the air compressor. So it is not a big deal. The air compressor should also be capable of running the air tools and have a good capacity to contain compressed air; otherwise, your device might be stuck in the middle of the work. Before doing all these setups, just make sure that you use gears to keep yourself safe as it is a machine, and you never know that what mishappening is waiting for you. So use good quality glasses and hearing equipment first, before even holding the air hammer in hand.

Now, take out a chisel that you need to work with, put it inside the barrel, and make sure it is locked; otherwise, it may cause serious injury. Point the chisel toward the material on which you need to work and hold the air hammer tight because it vibrates while working, and if you do not keep it tight, it might slip from your hand and get broken.

After pointing it towards the required material, press the trigger and hold it until the task has finished. After finishing the task, remove your hand from the trigger, keep it slow, and remove the chisel and make sure that the compressor is off. If you want to make it work perfectly without any problem, you’ll need to lubricate it from time to time and check the bits if they do not get blunt.

Tips for using an air hammer :

1. An air hammer is a very powerful tool so don’t take it lightly. Its sharp headed chisels should be used very carefully or it may cause serious harm.
2. If you don’t know much about air hammers then you can check the user manual that comes with them. Companies have always mentioned they prefer settings in that. You can check the recommended air pressure level and other connection settings which might help you and make your work easier.
3. The hose should also be of good quality and you should always clean the hose before using it otherwise its dust might cause damage to the tool.
4. After setting you the tool, check for leaks, and if it is then fix it first.