[Glowzinski]

I ordered a northern tool planishing hammer. It was like $129. I've no clue how to use it. haha But, it seems like an interesting thing to learn HOW to use.

I see Harbor Freight has one cheaper. Anyone have any idea on how the two compare? The one I ordered is back ordered and will ship in like 18 days. So, if Harbor Freights works just as well, I could save money.

Compressor. Again, I will have no clue how to hook this stuff up. But, I will learn. Someone told me to get minimum of 60 gallon tank. I saw that the power it requires, will require me to use my Bobcat to run it. The thing is, my mom is putting the compressor in her shed and the Bobcat is in mine. So, it seems I will have to run cables all over the place. So, first, is that the smallest tank I can get?

Klutch told me this. This pneumatic planishing hammer requires a compressor that can provide a minimal 4 SCFM at 50-100 psi.

Also, since I have never once used anything like either of these things, if the compressor was less, what would that mean? I think, it would mean that I would use the hammer for a shorter time, then have to wait for air to build up. Is that at all correct?

I just thought I would see what people on here thought. I know not a person who is in to any of this stuff. So, you guys and a guy on youtube are my go to people.

Thank you for that.

[cj737]

I won't render an opinion about the brands you reference, but regarding the compressor, tank size mostly dictates the duration you can run a tool before the compressor needs to recover. Recovery speed is very important if you plan to use a tool that is compressor driven.

The time required to recharge the tank is very dependent upon the stage of the motor, and whether it's a single cylinder, dual, or more. A single stage 60 gallon compressor will likely run that tool for less than 5 minutes and require close to 10 minutes to recover. That's not useful...

Also, running lines from your compressor to the workshop, you need lines rated for the pressure you'll use. And you probably also need a regulator, water filter unit, and some valves. The tank will need regular draining to bleed off accumulated moisture, especially if you plan to store and operate it in an environment that is not climate controlled (shed).

Just so you know-

[olek]

I use a "palm nailer " , brand Danair
Lifetime guarantee , gaskets pockets available .

This tool do not use much air, the way I use it ( nailing tuning pins in a pinblock).

A certain FLOW of air is necessary for any pneumatic tool.

If the compressor do not deliver it the tool can only work a short time when the tank is full at a high pression, regulated l on the line.

But the time gained by using high pression is not that large.

There is also an important value that the pump of the compressor given it is the amount of air pumped from external .

The pumps with V cylinders ( or 3 cylinder) are the ones that deliver the best flow ( single stage) , largest filling flow too.
They are used on semI pro compressors for paint guns, for instance (Devilbiss) for that reason.

You can add a second compressor or at least a tank , to obtain a better reserve.
In Europe, most pumps come from a German maker . The name escapes me. But you can buy an unit to upgrade an old compressor, for instance the VCF unit is 160 Euro delivered.
I have a similar unit it delivers about 500 liters/minutes at 5 bar.

[olek]

Air should be dry and if possible oiled.

A simple trick to condensate the water from compressed air is to use a good lenght of at least 1/2 ' copper tubing, in a barrel full of water.
It takes the warm sir from compressor tank and cools it so the water goes out.
It is then trapped with a specific filter . I use a cyclone but simpler filters work as well. Then the air is filtered for oil mists and humidity. Before going out to the oiler or the paint guns line

https://goo.gl/photos/jygmSzT1vrPfyS3i6

[homeboy]

I know nothing about planishing hammers until I read your post and found a You Tube video to see what they are all about. Really neat tool and the one takeaway I got is that it appears they work fast in cycles of fairly short duration. That could be a big consideration for compressor capacity, not just the pump cfm or storage tank capacity but how long and how often are the operating cycles and how far between.Another thing to consider is whether you will be having any higher volume requirement air tools such as a die grinder so you have some redundant capacity.

[AndersK]

Do you have neighbours?
You have chosen the noisiest tool known to mankind

[Oscar]

Do you have neighbours?
You have chosen the noisiest tool known to mankind

Not only that, to have bought one seemingly "just for the hell of it" to learn how to use it? Done any drugs lately?

[Glowzinski]

Haha. Well, my Bobcat is loud also.

I have had visions of stuff. Designs I mean. Then I found out about the hammer.

I think the air one would work better. I can find nothing out on the electric one.

[AndersK]

The bobcat might be loud but at a lot better frequency than the planishing hammer

Google Ben's Metalshaping or Mechammer for the electric style. A friend of mine has one and it's a very good machine, beats the pneumatic ones every day.

If you want to do an easy upgrade of the pneumatic one ditch the air hammer provided and put in a 4X rivet Gun instead. You can find used quality guns at Yardstore.com at decent pricing.

Better dies you can get from Hoosier profiles.

[olek]

The bobcat might be loud but at a lot better frequency than the planishing hammer

Google Ben's Metalshaping or Mechammer for the electric style. A friend of mine has one and it's a very good machine, beats the pneumatic ones every day.

If you want to do an easy upgrade of the pneumatic one ditch the air hammer provided and put in a 4X rivet Gun instead. You can find used quality guns at Yardstore.com at decent pricing.

Better dies you can get from Hoosier profiles.

why the electrical one is better ? Is not the pneumatic providing more power ?

[Glowzinski]

I found nothing when I looked up the stuff you said. haha Well, I DID see a hammer that was expensive as hell.

If the electric one, from jet, will have less noise, than I would get that one. I wish I know someone who had one of these things. I would hover to their location and listen.

[Glowzinski]

Also, as for buying the stuff to put on instead of the things that come with it, haha, I may have a hard time with that. I am just learning about all of this stuff. You should make a youtube video.

[AndersK]

http://fairclothmachine.com/mechammer/
http://www.bensmetalshapingshop.nl/
http://www.hoosierprofiles.com/

Making it too easy for you


The main two things with electric planishers is noise level and variable speed control.
You can slow things down a lot without loosing power. Makes it easier to learn to use when things don't happen too fast.

[Glowzinski]

Super helpful. But, haha, no way can I spend all that money. My mother would actually murder me. LOLOL