Talk:Jackhammer

History section needed...
Having just watched the hand-drawn opening credits of One of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing and noticed a picture of a workman with a pneumatic drill, we wondered whether it was an appropriate illustration for a film supposedly set in the 1920s...

So, who invented the pneumatic drill, and when??

EdJogg 23:24, 13 February 2007 (UTC)


 * About.com says "Samuel Ingersoll invented the pneumatic drill in 1871.

Charles Brady King of Detroit invented the pneumatic hammer (a hammer which is driven by compressed air) in 1890" billbeee 11:04, 5 March 2007 (UTC)  billbeee has been known to use a jackhammer in the past, and has the carpel tunnel to prove it!  (was it the Carpel Tunnel where John Henry met his end?) Removed a section that was a little "How-to". billbeee 07:42, 7 March 2007 (UTC)


 * Agree - needs some history. For instance, it is called a Jack hammer afer the cornish miners that used it so skillfully in the gold mines of CA in 1849.  these men were called "Jacks" in the same way irish were called "micks" HarneyCreek 03:18, 20 August 2007 (UTC)


 * Please could someone explain? "Samuel Ingersoll invented the pneumatic drill in 1871." But then Germain Sommeiller (1815-1871) "pioneered the use of pneumatic drilling and dynamite to achieve record-breaking excavation speeds" in constructing the Fréjus Rail Tunnel (completed 1871, would otherwise have been completed in 1887). Must be some kind of magic!!!! Budhen (talk) 17:59, 21 January 2013 (UTC)

Manual jackhammer
Agree on the history. Recently I read Ask the Dust, written by John Fante in 1939, he has a meat-loving character who sneaks into a barn at night, kills a calf with a jackhammer to the head, and brings the carcass back to his hotel. I don't remember where I found the description, but a manual jackhammer looks like a long shaft with a shoulder at the bottom and a heavy sleeve that slides down it to deliver the impact. --CliffC 04:39, 20 August 2007 (UTC)


 * I believe the device you are describing is actually called a slide hammer. Frankja79 (talk) 17:44, 11 June 2012 (UTC)

Physics
Hmmm... The version as of 08/09/2009 said as it relies on the inertia of the mass of its body to drive the bit into the work.

No it doesn't. It relies on the momentum of the hammer to drive the bit into the work. The massive body is there for a number of other reasons: reduce recoil amplitude, workplace-abuse resistance, temperature insensitivity (i.e. cylinder and hammer made of same material), etc. 161.111.166.117 (talk) 15:04, 7 October 2009 (UTC)

I believe the "body" may be referring to the entire "body of the jackhammer." — Preceding unsigned comment added by CocolutoBeans (talk • contribs) 01:53, 31 March 2011 (UTC)

Re momentum v inertia, agree comment made. As a person using a handheld pneumatic drill, they work most effectively when held lightly keeping it upright allowing handles to almost float in the hands. Pushing down reduces breaker effect - and causes vibration injury to user — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.14.58.54 (talk) 14:34, 2 February 2018 (UTC)

About name of article
Wouldn't power source agnostic "jackhammer" be more appropriate overall name of the topic than pneumatic drill. --Usp (talk) 11:00, 3 February 2010 (UTC)


 * Agreed! I definitely support this proposal. Wizard191 (talk) 13:51, 3 February 2010 (UTC)

The proper and formal definition of jackhammer IS in fact a pneumatic drill. Air hammer is reserved for the definition of a percussive ONLY tool. 01:59, 31 March 2011 (UTC) — Preceding unsigned comment added by CocolutoBeans (talk • contribs) 01:55, 31 March 2011 (UTC)
 * I have used a pneumatic drill for most of a day, on canal restoration. Anthony Appleyard (talk) 22:15, 7 June 2011 (UTC)

Jackhammer is not a common or even a known term in some English-speaking countries, they are often referred to simply as pneumatic drills. 176.255.105.93 (talk) 22:38, 31 October 2012 (UTC)

I wonder what happened to the English language? If I were in a workshop and wanted a drill I wouldn't dream of asking for a hammer, nor would I ask for a drill when I needed a hammer. Somehow if air is applied then "hammer" means "drill". Or maybe "drill" means "hammer". Does anyone know why? Budhen (talk) 18:08, 21 January 2013 (UTC)

This page lacks basic information
This article does not explain the most common uses, functions, and types of jackhammers. It spends too much time discussing specifics and history of air compressors, horizontal and overhead drilling, and electric and hydraulic hammers. It lacks much (if any) information on the most common usage and applications of jackhammers (vertical drilling?), the interior mechanism, modern data, etc. This article appears written as if it assumes the reader already knows a great deal about jackhammers, which is probably an incorrect approach for an encyclopedia article. 159.118.146.183 (talk) 20:40, 27 July 2014 (UTC)

Conflicting information
The patent information in the overview section is in total conflict with the patent information in the history section. Which is correct ? If both, they need synchronising for clarity — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.14.58.54 (talk) 14:38, 2 February 2018 (UTC)

Article conflates subjects
The article discusses demolition hammers and pneumatic drills as if they were the same thing. They are not. Demolition tools work primarily by moving a bit in a straight back-and-forth motion to wedge materials apart while pneumatic drills rotate a bit and may also apply impact to pulverize rock. The former is used mainly in outdoor construction work and the latter in mining and tunneling work, most often to create boreholes for emplacement of explosives. Moreover, drill bits in drilling machines are usually equipped with channels for air or fluid to extract chips and dust from the borehole while jackhammers lack this important feature. This causes problems in articles discussing mining and tunneling, as they may link to this article and may leave the reader confused. A section should be created specifically dealing with pneumatic drills, or the topic of pneumatic drills and drilling machines should be broken out into a separate article. — Quicksilver (Hydrargyrum)T @ 17:23, 27 August 2018 (UTC)


 * I tend to agree with this. While to the average Joe Schmo on the street, "jackhammer" is any kind of pneumatic/electric hammer, a jackhammer is technically a device for breaking rocks or concrete into pieces, whereas a rockdrill (as we call them in the US) rotates the bit slightly with every strike. Basically the difference between an air hammer and a hammer drill. Even the bits used are very different. (I used to have a rockdrill I used as a hammer drill for concrete. Made beautiful holes for anchor bolts in about a tenth of the time!) I don't recommend creating a separate article, since the difference is often just a few extra parts and different bits, but rather explaining better the differences right here in this article.


 * Just think, when the transcontinental railroad was built across America, workers had to drill with sledge hammers and hand-held bits.) Star bits, as they're called, due to the shape of the tip. Just imagine being the guy holding the bit, and having to give it a slight turn after every strike, each time praying the guy with the hammer doesn't miss.


 * Another thing we're missing here is the gasoline-powered jackhammer. I've only seen one in my life, so there may not be much in the way of sources out there, but once I had to fix a 2-cycle jackhammer. It was some Swedish contraption, and a hell of a thing to figure out; like some alien technology. It was a 2-cycle engine that started like a chainsaw, but the piston was the hammer. I mean, this was a free-floating piston, with no crankshaft or connecting rod or anything! It took me a good while to figure out it used the hot-exhaust gases from the power stroke to go under the piston and push it back up for the next compression stroke. I don't know if anyone out there has any sources on such a thing, but if so I think it would make a good addition to the article. Zaereth (talk) 10:14, 29 May 2021 (UTC)

Dvice naming
I have used a pneumatic drill although it was referred to as a pneumatic pick while smaller hand-held versions were referred to colloquially as a windy pick. I've seen an air drill in use - isn't that a pneumatic drill? Stuffed Cat (talk) 19:03, 9 July 2019 (UTC)

Please make this sentence clearer...
'and it is not considered under earth moving equipment'

It is not classed as, or classed, with earthmoving equipment?

Is a pick or a shovel classed as 'earthmoving equipment'? Or are they tools?

Surely 'earth moving equipment' describes large and complex machinery?--2001:44B8:3102:BB00:D02C:48D4:942A:448E (talk) 00:10, 20 December 2021 (UTC)