Modify air hammer - piston weight?

[01ps]

I was wondering if I were to drill out and add lead to the back side of an air hammer piston if it would potentially increase the power?

 

[HaroRider]

I think you still have to take into account the air passages.

Same volume of air with a bigger piston weight seems like it would make it less powerful.

I could be wrong, I am curious what others say.

 

[Buckgnarly]

If it's heavier, it would be moving slower. Doubt you would see any gains due to a guy named Newton...F = ma.

 

[Dustin Echoes]

^This^

Sorry to disappoint, but he's right. Sounded like a great idea though. I'm all for modifying tools to make them work better.

 

[Elvenhome21]

lead wouldnt help anyways being a soft metal. It would cushion each blow. Needs to be a hard metal.

 

[Charles (in GA)]

If you need a more powerful air hammer, buy a bigger, more powerful one, or get a larger air hose, higher pressure, more CFMs, etc. Don't go trying to reinvent the wheel.

Charles

 

[machine_punk]

generally, air hammers (very close to rivet guns, which are very dear to my heart) come in different 'powers.' In the rivet gun world, you can get anywhere from a 1X to about a 9X rivet gun. The bigger the 'X,' the harder it hits. The biggest difference I have noticed physically is length of the 'barrel,' i.e. how far the hammer travels. At about 5X, you switch from 0.401" tooling to 0.498" tooling (diameter of the piece which actually fits inside the barrel of the air hammer). You can buy adapters to use either tooling on either size. They make some true monsters, if you need a bigger hit--tools used for forming heads on iron rivets on structural steel. In general, you can find an rivet gun with as much, or as little power as you need, for just about any job.

So, it is generally like this:

Smaller X = shorter barrel = lighter, faster hits (more hits per minute).
Larger X = longer barrel = harder, slower hits (fewer hits per minute).

Kev

 

[Murphy4570]

Get a Snap On PH3050A and call it a day. Best damn air hammer money can buy. Powerful enough to pound out balljoints all on its own.