Pneumatic drills are excellent when working with wood but for denser materials like brick, stone and concrete and other materials often used in masonry, you will need a tougher tool, like a pneumatic hammer drill.

A hammer drill, also called an impact drill, looks just like your regular drill and works almost in the same way, except that combines drilling power with some hammering action, which allows the drill bit to penetrate the material faster and more smoothly.

Pneumatic Hammer DrillIn order to perform this hammering action, the hammer drill has a chuck that can move back and forth whereas the chuck of a regular drill remains in place. The chuck holds the drill bit in place and can be adjusted with a wrench-like key or without one in the case of newer keyless models.

There are two main types of hammer drills – rotary hammer drills and percussion hammer drills. The former can have a separate hammer and drill mode, but the latter cannot because of the way the chuck moves.

Most pneumatic hammer drills are of the rotary type. However, these should not be confused with rotary hammers.

Rotary hammers are more heavy duty, and can be both electric or pneumatic. They also work more similarly to a jackhammer because of their piston mechanism, and require clutches in order to clear drill bit jams.

Just like a regular pneumatic drill, a pneumatic hammer drill makes use of compressed air in order to drive the drill bits into the material. This makes it more powerful than an electric or cordless hammer drill, but at the same time, still easy to control.

Buying A Pneumatic Hammer Drill

When shopping for a pneumatic hammer drill, which can be a tough decision, you have to consider a few things. First, you have to ask yourself what you will be mainly using the tool for, like on what material you will be working on or the size of the projects you plan to accomplish. You also need to ask how frequently you will be working with the tool.

Next, you have to consider the power and speed provided by the tool, making sure it matches your need. At the same time, it still has to be compact and more importantly, comfortable in your grip.

There are also some features you might want to keep an eye out for. These include:

- Variable speed modes
- Reverse option for removing stuck drill bits
- Depth rod
- Removable side handle
- Anti-vibration mechanism
- Adjustable exhaust

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