air chisel/hammer tools

[Roy Honcho Gregory]

I've been lookin to play with my anvil I've had for most of 30 yrs. So I read alot here and there about tools and anvils. Now I've build NASCAR mod and street stocks and had a Jag repair shop. So I'm going threw my tool box lookin to see what tricks are in the drawers. I come across my air chisel/hammer

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-piece-short-air-chisel-set-68277.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/3x-air-riveting-hammer-with-5-piece-chisel-set-97857.html

The tools that fit that tool also fit the punch hole, so I'm thinkin about using them there till I make some tools for the hardie hole. I don't have any idea of doing anything heavy work on the just playin n learnin

I'm think if the shoe fits wear it. Any Pros an Cons on this one...Thanks for lookin

[fciron]

Pros: You already have them.

Cons: Hot metal can draw the temper from tools you might wish to return to their original purpose.
Bearing surface and shank very small, so more susceptible to damage from an angled blow or getting jammed in the whole.
Much taller for its width than typical hardie tooling and much narrower working end, more susceptible to misplaced or angled blows damaging work, tooling, hammer, or smith.

Just because you can stick it in that hole doesn't mean that you should. The straight chisel is just about the only piece that resembles anything I've used in a hardy. Unless your hardie hole is exactly .400 inches and has the matching round profile at the top you'll find that much of the force of your hammer blow will be dispersed by the tool moving around. I don't think I'd want to cut anything bigger than about a 1/4 inch with it.

On the other hand, no biggie if you throw a little chisel in there and try it out. If it doesn't work your probably just out $3 and five minutes of your time.

I have modified some tooling for my air-chisel to forge dragon heads and other nifty stuff like that. They are pretty effective for driving small top tooling. I think I posted picture somewhere.

Good Luck and have fun,

Lewis

PS Put some location information in your profile. There might be someone just around the corner who'd be happy to help you get set up.

[macbruce]

Most anvil pritchel/punch holes would require a bushing in order to mount them effectively but they're so small the would not be of much use except on a jewelers level. The .680 round shank tools would be better to make this sort of tooling......Lots of forging, chasing, forming, punching, cutting, texturing etc. has been done with these tools......in the gun

[Mainely,Bob]

Here`s what I did. I made an adapter that fit in the square hardy hole to allow me to use any and all of my chatter gun tools and not worry about the flare on the shank messing up my pritchel hole or fracturing pieces out of the face of my anvil.
Anything that looks like a wedge or a cone will act like a wedge when dropped into a hole and hammered.
An added plus is that same adapter can be used in a vise and doesn`t scar up the shank of the tool so it can still be used in the gun whenever I need it.
Make that adapter big enough and with either 90 degrees or different radius corners on the edges and you can use it to do different things there too. Drill and tap it from the side and you don`t have to worry about the tool spinning on you as you work with it.
I find having to constantly sidestep around the anvil chasing tool orientation to be a huge distraction. YMMV.

[Ten Hammers]

i just use 041 shaft tools in the air hammer from time to time to speed stuff up. A straight ended tool will punch a 3/8 hole FAST in a piece of 1". Never even considered usin them for bottom tools. Interesting use of technology. Thanks.

[freeman]

Just because you can stick it in that hole doesn't mean that you should.

If only someone had taken me aside when I was a younger man and explained this simple concept...