Thread: School me on Demolition Hammers

Hitachi, Kango and Hilti have very good demolition jack hammers

I used a hitachi a couple of years back to demolish a slab of concrete. I reackon it was the easiest way to do the job.

So can anyone say if they are good at digging post holes?

I have my eye on a makita which looks the goods

Tom

Bah dont muck with toys grab a Atlas copco!(you only need about a 100cfm compressor to run it!)

I hate the things with vengance, we use them to cut lead spills up at work...

Why not go and get yourself a jackhammer.I bought one from tradetools and its great.For under $400 you cant go wrong. As for digging holes, get yourself a clay spade attatchment and the holes dig themselves..

http://www.tradetools.com.au/Product...S&Category=SXT

I have a Hitachi jack hammer with pick & spade moils & find it a great tool. Just remember 2 things when using the machine you buy, NEVER use it as a crowbar/lever , let it do the work in its own way or it will cost you big time and be aware of services that may be under the concrete. These things will not hesitate when you come across the unexpected.
3rd tip....... dont lend it to anyone who cant be relied on to observe tips 1 & 2.:eek: :mad: :mad:
Best of luck, Bill

Originally Posted by sol381

Why not go and get yourself a jackhammer.I bought one from tradetools and its great.For under $400 you cant go wrong. As for digging holes, get yourself a clay spade attatchment and the holes dig themselves..

http://www.tradetools.com.au/Product...S&Category=SXT

That is excatly what I had in mind ...... I just needed confirmation that it would indeed save me time and back pain digging holes, they look great and for $400, really that is not all that much money compared to the time it would save.


Tom

The hardest part about using a jack hammer for digging is lifting it in and out of the hole you are digging - and here lies your problem. A large (electric) hammer (25-30kg) is quick and effortless at digging, but after a few hours it is hell to lift. A small hammer (10kg) is easier to lift, but horibbly slow and of limited value on rock. Medium hammers (15-20kg) are a good compromise between speed and effort.

Hammers like this work best in hard material. Soft stuff absorbs the 'whack'. I would put the bang whhere the buck is - use this on concrete, and hire a rotary auger for your stump holes - and con a mate to help with the job.

den

Hey mate,
Seriously cant go past the Hitachi one.
go for model h65sb2
42 joules of sweet hitting power.
Least vibration in its classs.
There is a reason why lots of hire companys only hire this model out!
coz they barely ever break down!!!

I used a makita and had no probs with it. Purchased at auction ( ex Council) so it already had a hard life and I have tried my hardest to kill it by removing approx 6 cub metres of sandstone from workshop footings but with no success. I think it will kill me first. As for digging, I found it great help in very hard compacted soil when digging drainage trenches but I think not of much use for holes, especially when you get down a bit. After going through the exersise of re piering house I can tell you what your biggest prob will be ..... lack of space to work. even at about 750mm clear height it is very difficult to dig down 600mm for a standard footing, let alone going deeper to allow for excavation. After much experimenting the most useful items I found were a 250mm post hole auger (hand) to bore a starting hole and then just expand which was easy. I also found a electric drill( buy a cheapie the dust will stuff it) with a 50mm wood auger bit in it very usefull for breaking up the very dyr hard compacted soil and dry clay. Be carefull with wet clay as the bit will tend to grab. A few other things you will need .... a good back,good knees, a good spa for the sore muscles, bourbon for the headaches and a lot of patients. A couple of my pier footings took up to 6 hours to dig each hole.