How to Work a Puncher Over Concrete

Both in construction and in repair, the perforator became an indispensable assistant. This powerful electric tool, one kind of which is already respectable, is designed for brick and concrete work, but with no less success it can be used for wood or metal work, like a conventional drill.

How to work with a puncher so that the tool of your choice lasts for many years? Proper operation of the punch not only increases the tool life, but also significantly reduces the risk of injury when using it. You should use certain working methods that do not allow overloading the tool, as well as monitor its timely prevention.

Brief description of rotary hammers

To understand how to work with a rotary hammer, consider its capabilities.

The purpose of this powerful hand-held power tool is impact work in such hard structural materials as reinforced concrete, metal and stone. Using a puncher, you can not only drill holes of different diameters, but also chip old tiles, break through floors and walls, and punch openings for utilities.

The rotary hammer is capable of working in different modes, which makes it an almost universal tool. This rotation with and without impact, drilling in concrete, stone, metal and wood, impact without rotation. A professional hammer drill can also replace a jackhammer.

How to Work a Puncher Over Concrete

Inside the punch is a percussion mechanism. Electropneumatic or electromechanical. To activate it, just press the button. The mechanism itself produces a blow; additional efforts are not required.

The main disadvantage of this tool is its significant weight. By weight, perforators are conventionally divided into 3 groups: up to 18 kilograms. Light, from 18 to 25. Medium, more than 25. Heavy. The technical characteristics indicate the impact force, which in most household rotary hammers can be from 2 to 3J, and in professional tools. From 2 to 10 and from 5 to 18J, as well as the frequency of beats per minute, depending on the power reaching from 23 thousand beats per minute to 44.5 thousand.

Two rotary tool mounting systems are used in rotary hammers. These are SDS and SDS-MAX. Their differences in the diameter of the shank, respectively, 10 mm and 18 mm. On light punchers, the weight of which does not exceed 5 kilograms, an SDS cartridge is installed. Such tools can be both domestic and professional. The SDS-MAX cartridge is designed for rotary hammers whose weight exceeds 5 kg. Sds-MAX tools are used professionally.

How to prepare a hammer drill for work

Before starting work, you need to understand the installation and removal of the interchangeable tool, the fastening system of which depends on the weight of the hammer.

Consider the installation of an interchangeable tool using the BOSCH GBH 2-26 hammer drill as an example. Four-slotted SDS shank drills are used here. Before installing the drill, it is necessary to clean its shank and lubricate it with special lubricant for drills. Lubrication contributes to a softer work of the punch and increases its service life.

To install the tool, the lubricant ring must be moved back. The cartridge opens and is installed. Then it needs to be turned a little and fixed in the desired position. After that, the sliding ring should be released, which makes it possible to lock the tool. Make sure that the tool is properly locked in position. Before installing or removing parts, be sure to make sure that the punch is turned off and unplugged.

For more convenient work with a puncher, you need to attach a soft additional handle to it, which reduces the level of vibration. Before starting work, make sure that it is attached securely enough.

How to work with a punch in different modes

Drilling mode

The tool should first be switched to drilling mode, avoiding impact. The toggle switch is installed opposite the mark, which has the form of a drill. After that, it is necessary to place the drill in the right place and turn on the tool using the button. When drilling, you do not need to press hard on the hammer, the pressure on it should not be more than five kilograms.

When using drill chucks, the positions “counterclockwise rotation” and “drilling under impact” cannot be used, since in this case the chuck may be damaged and it may become detached from the power tool. To prevent this situation, the “hammer block” function has been added to the punch, designed to drill various holes in wood or metal.

Before working the tool directly, check the mode in which it is located. For about one minute, the punch should idle. Pay attention to the operation of the gearbox. There should be no extraneous noise, vibration or knocking. The smells of burning or the appearance of smoke should also alert. They can appear in the event of a malfunction of the power tool.

Hammer drilling mode (drilling)

First you need to switch the puncher to hammer drilling. The toggle switch is installed above the mark with the image of a drill and a hammer. After that, the drill must be placed where it is necessary to make a hole, and then turn on the tool.

During drilling, you must try not to skew the drill, not allowing it to slide from the desired point. The hammer must be held tight, but not pressed on it. Optimal results give light pressure.

When filling the hole with crumbs and dust, to clean it of debris, try to remove the drill idle. This will facilitate further work.

When drilling concrete, the drill may stumble on rebar. In order not to lose control of the tool, you need to consider this possibility before starting work and immediately take a comfortable position, holding the punch firmly.

Hit mode

The shock mode is used for jacking and chiselling, as well as for chipping. The toggle switch is set to hit mode above the mark with the image of the hammer. The tool must be held with both hands and very firmly. Turn on the punch. In order for it to be in the right place for the blow, some effort should be applied. A lot of power is also not needed here, since the result from this will not improve.

Remember that during the operation of the punch, you can not change its position.

Techniques for working properly with a hammer drill

1. When working, use protective equipment. These include safety glasses, gloves, ear plugs. You need to work in buttoned overalls, removing everything that accidentally can be wound up while working on a drill.

2. Do not press hard on the hammer in the direction of impact or drilling. This is not necessary, since this will not affect the power of the impact and the performance of the tool, but it can fail due to this.

3. The punch should not be idle, because in this case the impact energy is absorbed by the mechanisms, and this leads to their additional wear.

4. When working with porous and loose material, it is better to use hammerless drilling to avoid scattering.

5. When working with materials of increased hardness, it is recommended to use a special lubricant. You can use machine oil as a lubricant.

6. Working with solid materials also requires the use of liquid cooling. Special emulsions can act as cutting fluids, grease or machine oil are also used.

7. If it is necessary to use long drills, it is advisable to start drilling with shorter drills of the same diameter to save money.

8. Regularly, every 180-200 holes, it is necessary to grease the shanks of the drills with thick grease, having previously cleaned them of dust and wiped them with a dry cloth. As a lubricant, you can use solid oil or lithos.

9. To increase the resources of the consumable, it is periodically necessary to allow the hammer to cool and cool the drill in water or machine oil.

10. It is necessary to monitor the heating of the tool body in the area where the gearbox is located. With strong heating, a break should be made in the work until the hammer drill cools down. It is not recommended to use water for cooling, as water can damage the instrument if it enters the case.

11. It is necessary to alternate the periods of work and rest of the tool. For professional rotary hammers, it is recommended to take a break of 10 minutes after every 30 minutes of operation.

Care and maintenance of the rotary hammer

The length of its service life directly depends on how the basic rules for operating a perforator are observed. First of all, you need to pay attention to the lubrication of the tool. This is not worth saving, especially if you have to work on concrete.

When working, a lot of building dust is always generated. You can protect the puncher from it with a vacuum cleaner. Many models on the body have special devices to which the hose is attached. To protect yourself from concrete particles, you can put a shield on the drill made, for example, from the bottom of a plastic bottle.

How to work with a puncher to avoid overheating? Keep in mind that when rotating quickly and when operating the tool at low speeds, it heats up very quickly. Therefore, it is important to comply with the operating and resting conditions of the hammer drill.

In order not to have to ask the question why the hammer does not work, you need to properly monitor the power tool and keep it in good condition. After use, the disconnected tool should be cleaned with a soft cloth. If necessary, you can use a damp cloth dipped in soapy water. It is imperative to clean the air vent from dust and dirt.

If, however, the puncher stops working, please note that specialists must deal with its repair. By the way, the service center should be contacted after intensive use of the tool, even if it is in good condition. A routine inspection will help prevent malfunctions that could lead to personal injury. This recommendation should not be neglected, especially if instruments with high power and strong impact are in operation.

When you can “make noise” with a puncher

A separate conversation about the noise created by the tool during operation. It is no secret that the sound of a working punch in the mornings and weekends few people delight. What to do if repairs need to be done, but you don’t feel like quarreling with your neighbors? When can I work with a puncher so as not to quarrel with the law? It should be borne in mind that, according to the law, a “period of silence” in a country is considered to be a time interval between 23.00 pm and 07.00 am

Not all people wake up by seven in the morning, so it’s better to postpone any noisy repair work until at least nine o’clock. In each region, as a rule, their own time frames are set. In some, repairs are allowed only on weekdays from 09.00 a.M. To 19.00 p.M. Therefore, the question of how many hours to how long you can work as a puncher is better to decide based on the CAO of your region. Appeal to local laws and regulations will not be superfluous, because other issues regarding the regulation of repair work or other information that will be relevant in your area can also be considered there.