Different tools let you break,cut, dig, or tamp with thesame pneumatic bre a k e r.but you can make the work

easier and faster by choosing theright tool.

Quite often, the material yo urew o rking on tells you which tool tou s e. Use the wrong breaker tool andthe concrete wont give it back. Oryo ull spend time punching holes inthe concrete without doing muchb reaking. Rather than basing toolchoice on trial and erro r, learnwhich tool was made for each typeof j o b.

The standard moil point is awidely used all-purpose tool forc o n c rete breaking. Some work e r s,though, prefer a blade point and use

a standard narrow chisel. Both toolsa re made in a heavy-duty ve r s i o n .

When workers pry too much withthe point and tools start bre a k i n gp re m a t u re l y, you might try usingthe heavy-duty tool. It has a ro u n drather than hexagonal cro s s - s e c t i o nso theres more metal to resist stre s s.Or you could use a standard tool

with a 1 14 -inch shank instead of them o re common 1 18-inch shank.

For soft or friable materi a l s, thewedge-shaped arrowhead pointw o rks well. It rapidly breaks we a k e rm a t e ri a l s.

The brick wedge was ori g i n a l l yd e veloped to re m ove paving bri c k sf rom city stre e t s. Now contra c t o r smostly use it to break up curbs on city stre e t s.

The standard 3-inch chisel bitcuts asphalt and line cuts or score sn o rm a l - s t rength concre t e. It alsob reaks up weak concrete or otherm a t e rials that are too soft for effi-cient moil point work. With soft ma-

Choosing the right jackhammertool for the job

Breakers Cutters Spaded and frost wedges

t e ri a l s, a moil point simply punches ahole; a chisel bit does more bre a k i n g .

For deeper penetration with ac u t t e r, use the 3-inch digging chisel.It cuts through thick asphalt pave-ment or frozen eart h .

To re m ove deteri o rated asphaltq u i c k l y, try an asphalt cutter with a5-inch-wide blade. But dont usethis tool to break or cut concre t e.The thin blade is too easily dam-aged. An asphalt we d g e, howe ve r,can be used for concrete or asphalt.The wedge leaves a wider cut thatd o e s nt close up as much after thecut is made.

Spades for clay cutting and re-m oval come in blade widths of 4 12inches and 5 12 i n c h e s. These light-

weight tools are a good choice forthe utility contractor who wants toreduce operator fatigue and in-c rease the cubic yards of exc a va t i o nper day. The blade section is thinand curved for faster cutting andeasier earth re m oval. An 8-inch-wide heavier blade is available forl a rge hammers used for tre n c h i n g ,t rimming, and general exc a va t i o n .

The inclined shape of the fro s twedge breaks frozen ground ra p i d l y.Its a favo rite tool of utility companyand city workers who have to makeutility cuts during winter months.

Bushing tools are used to re m ovehigh spots in a floor or roughen thes u rface before adding a topping orcoating. Engineers sometimes spec-

ify a bushing tool for ro u g h e n i n gc o n c rete surfaces at constru c t i o nj o i n t s. The tool also is used for tex-t u ring arc h i t e c t u ral concrete sur-f a c e s.

Bushing tools ha ve a serra t e dface with rows of py ramidal pointsmade of hardened steel. Ty p i c a l l yt h e re are 9 or 16 points. The pavingb reaker tool has a 2-inch-squareface and the smaller chipping ham-mer and electric hammer tools have1 34- i n c h - s q u a re faces. Bushing toolsfor electric and chipping hammersalso are made with tungsten carbideteeth. The tungsten carbide lastslonger than hardened steel unders e ve re wear conditions.

You can save time and effort byusing tools that dri ve stakes andpipes into the ground. Pin dri ve r s,f u rnished in diameters ra n g i n gf rom 58 inch through 212 i n c h e s, areused to dri ve form pins, curbingp i n s, and different sized steel andwood stakes. A pipe dri ve r, designedto accommodate more than ones i ze pipe, uses a center stem toguide the pipe and the cup does thed ri v i n g .

To use a paving breaker as a tam-p e r, first insert a detachable shankinto the bre a k e r. Anfter attaching as q u a re or round tamper pad to theshank you can tamp backfill orrepack loose materials in tight cor-ners or narrow tre n c h e s.

Ma n u f a c t u rers design tools forsafety and dura b i l i t y. Its up toyou to choose the best tool forthe job.

Editors noteInformation for this article is adaptedfrom a pamphlet titled What tools do Iuse? For a copy, write to Brunner &Lay, Inc., P.O. Box 1329, Franklin Park,Illinois 60131. Ask for pamphletTA988.

Bushing tools Drivers and tampers

P U B L I C AT I O N# C 8 9 0 6 3 1Copyright 1989, The Aberdeen Gro u pAll rights re s e r v e d