Air Hammer Alternatives

[Tbird22]

Hey everyone,
thought of an idea but i dont know if it works. At home i dont have an air compressor and at times i need to remove lower control arms. I have a striking fork and it has worked for me until now. I was wondering if one can buy a cordless rotary hammer drill-one that is usually used for concrete work- and use the attachments of an air hammer. i know off the bat there are diffent shank styles (sds, sds max etc) and in this hypothetical scenario, i would have to find the accessories with that shank. other than that I have little to no experience with rotary hammers so excuse me if this is an ignorant question but externally they both seem to have piston-driven in and out hammering force. would such an idea work?
thanks!

 

[Stadger]

How would you keep the fork from spinning?

 

[mikehaugen]

How would you keep the fork from spinning?

Most will lock when in hammer-only mode

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[mikehaugen]

To the op... I'm not sure that an electric hammer has near the the power of an air one unless you maybe get into the really big ones... in that case you'd be better off buying a compressor and air hammer for less money.

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[Handyandy23]

Pickle forks in general kind of **** because they almost 100% of the time rip the boot open. Doesn't really matter if it's something you're going to replace anyways. But I have found a few little tricks for getting ball joints / tie rods apart without having to use a pickle fork.

I'd imagine an SDS would work similarly, but a couple things that come to mind:
- an SDS generally hits a lot faster, in less powerful blows. More like the really cheap air hammers that people call glorified vibrators. An SDS hits at somewhere like 4000-5000 BPM's while a good air hammer is closer to 2000 BPM's. It would still work, but maybe not the hard, violent motion you'd ideally want.
- an SDS is going to be pretty large compared to an air hammer. Working in a wheel well you have to consider if you'll even have room to maneuver the tool where you need it to be.
- you already realize this, but finding an SDS attachment that works for this might be difficult.

 

[Tonyuk]

Good luck fitting a big SDS drill into the spaces you fit an air hammer.

I struggle with mine at times.

 

[Mr_B]

look at specified forcing screw joint tools and invest in a good dead blow too .
more than 1 way skin the cat ...

 

[Tbird22]

Pickle forks in general kind of **** because they almost 100% of the time rip the boot open. Doesn't really matter if it's something you're going to replace anyways. But I have found a few little tricks for getting ball joints / tie rods apart without having to use a pickle fork.

What other methods do you have? If the Ball Joint and boot are in decent shape, i usually lightly hit the fork and take the fork out and reposition above the boot to prevent ripping. Most of the time it works.

 

[Handyandy23]

What other methods do you have? If the Ball Joint and boot are in decent shape, i usually lightly hit the fork and take the fork out and reposition above the boot to prevent ripping. Most of the time it works.

One that I was surprised how effective it is and recently learned was just tapping on the part that the ball joint / tie rod goes into with a hammer. So if the ball joint goes into the steering knuckle, tap the knuckle around where the ball joint comes through. The vibration shocks the joint apart. It's a bit counter-intuitive because you're not actually hitting the part you want to knock off, but it works really well.

Sometimes you can also thread the nut on so it's just above the end of the stud a hair, and hammer on the nut (just have to be careful you have enough threads engaged so you don't damage them).

You also get lucky sometimes where it's not threaded all the way to the end, so you can tap right on the end. Or if it has a hex or allen head you can use that to spin it and break it free.

 

[Bretny]

Get a pry bar in there prying the ball joint away from the piece with the hole. Then wack around the hole with a hammer. They usualy come out prety easy this way and no risk of boot damage. You could always use a ball joint puller too.

 

[bobcatdan]

Buy an air compressor and a good air hammer. Done.

 

[MattT]

Two hammers usually pops the taper pretty easy. I use a 4# held against one side of the knuckle and hit the other side with a 2#. Have done it with lighter hammers but they take longer.

 

[DerekV]

I was in a bind once and used a small 120v 3 gallon oil less compressor (Kobalt) with my air hammer (IR 116 I think? Nothing too wild whatever it is). The poor thing was outta breath so fast. However, while trigger time was short lived, it worked. And it wasn't THAT bad. Seriously. If you really need an air hammer, there are many situations you can make due without a proper set up. Short 3/8" or 1/2" lines and high flow fittings will help.

There's a 99% chance the electric roto hammer won't have both the power or the small size you need to get the job done.

 

[L.Cheapo]

Buy an air compressor and a good air hammer. Done.

x2. Nothing works like a good air hammer. I bought mine after beating on a rusted in place unit bearing assembly for about 3 hours until my teeth hurt. The next time I had to do it, I had it out in about a minute with virtually no effort. The tool did all the work.

I think the electric device will be more frustration and less effective than its worth.

 

[theoldwizard1]

One that I was surprised how effective it is and recently learned was just tapping on the part that the ball joint / tie rod goes into with a hammer.

The old term is "hit what it goes through". Most spindle are still cast iron. Smack them hard with a 3 or 4 lb hand sledge. I don't know if any spindles are cast aluminum, but I would not hit them. Forged aluminum, maybe use a plastic dead blow.

 

[Waterjunky]

The old term is "hit what it goes through". Most spindle are still cast iron. Smack them hard with a 3 or 4 lb hand sledge. I don't know if any spindles are cast aluminum, but I would not hit them. Forged aluminum, maybe use a plastic dead blow.

The problem with the deadblow is you are dependent on the shock wave and they generate a smoother force not a sharp shock wave. My guess is you couldn't get it to separate with a deadblow hammer.

 

[vavet]

Two hammers usually pops the taper pretty easy. I use a 4# held against one side of the knuckle and hit the other side with a 2#. Have done it with lighter hammers but they take longer.

I've used the "hit what it goes through" technique with pretty good success. I was taught it was called "break the taper." I've never used this technique with 2 hammers, but it seems like it would work well.

I've also had applications where my air hammer wouldn't fit, the hammer "break the taper" wouldn't work, and I had to use one of the forcing screw tools. The key is to put some force on it, let it set, another 1/4 turn, let it set, etc. It will often pop (loudly) while it's setting, not while you're adding another 1/4 turn.

 

[Handyandy23]

The old term is "hit what it goes through". Most spindle are still cast iron. Smack them hard with a 3 or 4 lb hand sledge. I don't know if any spindles are cast aluminum, but I would not hit them. Forged aluminum, maybe use a plastic dead blow.

That's a good name for it, makes it easy to explain!

I've done this technique on aluminum knuckles and it worked. I was taking care not to hit it too aggressively, but even just half-taps with my 4 lb sledge worked pretty quickly. As someone else said it's kind of the sudden shock force, like vibration, doesn't necessarily need to be hard.

I'd just say use common sense with aluminium. Hit it lightly and keep a close eye that you're not deforming anything.

 

[Tonyuk]

The old term is "hit what it goes through". Most spindle are still cast iron. Smack them hard with a 3 or 4 lb hand sledge. I don't know if any spindles are cast aluminum, but I would not hit them. Forged aluminum, maybe use a plastic dead blow.

VAG suspension components are cast aluminium, as mentioned they dont take kindly to being abused with a large hammer.

I've never got that far with a plastic hammer, you really near something that will focus the impact on the particular fixing or balljoint, an air hammer is essential kit for the modern tech imo..

We have a few screw-driven ball joint separators in work that work pretty well, i think they're made by Hazet.

 

[MattT]

I've never used this technique with 2 hammers, but it seems like it would work well.

Just smacking one side rubber bushings and worn components soak up a lot of the shock. Putting the larger hammer on the back side concentrates the force on the taper and works way better. Once you get a feel for it most ball joints will pop with a couple swings. I've watched other people beat on ball joints for a while with just one hammer.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I've done the smack it with the hammer thing plenty of times, possibly doing something with a slide hammer if you have or can make the right adapter.

Sounds like now is the time to to spend some cash and get a compressor. Buy once, cry once.

 

[Shehzada]

Why don't you purchase this? Cheaper and more effective.

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