Pneumatic Chipping Hammer and Air Chisel Tools for Construction and Demolition

What Is an Air Chisel and What Work Does It Do?

Champion Chisel Works manufactures professional grade pneumatic chisel steel, demolition chisels, drill bits, and air tools for contractors, demolition crews, and surface prep professionals working in concrete, masonry, tile, and steel. An air chisel is a pneumatic tool that drives a chisel bit with compressed air instead of an electric motor, and the category covers a wider range of tools than most buyers expect.

In the Champion lineup that includes mini 4 bolt chipping hammers, 4 bolt chipping hammers, rivet busters in open handle and closed handle configurations, pavement breakers, clay diggers, sand and bench rammers, scaling hammers, and needle scalers. Contractors reach for air tools where a compressor is already on the job and where a tool has to keep working through a full shift. The tool itself is only half the decision. The steel that goes in the front of it is what actually does the work, and that is where fitment matters.

Which Shank Does Your Pneumatic Chipping Hammer Take, .580 Hex or .680 Round?

Champion Chisel Works manufactures pneumatic chipping hammer steel in two shank families, .580 hex shank and .680 round shank. Each family is offered in a round collar version and an oval collar version. The shank is the end that seats inside the hammer, and the collar is the shoulder that the retainer grips.

Both dimensions have to match. A .580 hex chisel will not seat correctly in a hammer built around .680 round steel, and forcing a mismatch chews up the retainer and can let the steel work loose under load. The reliable way to identify what you are running is to pull the chisel that already fits the tool and measure the shank across the flats, then note whether the collar is round or oval.

What Is the Difference Between a Round Collar and an Oval Collar?

The collar is the shoulder machined behind the working end of the chisel, and its shape determines which retainer style will hold the steel in the tool. Round collar steel is held by retainers built for a round shoulder. Oval collar steel is shaped to index in retainers built for that profile. Champion Chisel Works stocks both collar styles in both the .580 hex and .680 round shank families, so the collar is a separate choice from the shank, not a consequence of it.

Retainers and retainer springs wear out faster than the steel does, and a worn retainer is a common reason contractors think they have a fitment problem when they do not. Champion supplies chipping hammer retainers, retainer springs, air inlet hoses, swivels, and in line oilers alongside the steel.

Measure the shank across the flats and note the collar shape before ordering steel.

What Shank Do Pavement Breakers and Clay Diggers Take?

Heavy duty pavement breaker steel uses hex shanks in four sizes: 7/8 inch by 3-1/4 inch, 1 inch by 4-1/4 inch, 1-1/8 inch by 6 inch, and 1-1/4 inch by 6 inch. Tool class is the fastest way to narrow it down. The Champion 30 lb class pavement breaker takes 1 inch by 4-1/4 inch shank chisels, and the 60 lb class pavement breaker takes 1-1/8 inch by 6 inch shank chisels.

Clay diggers follow the same shank convention, and Champion offers a 30 lb class clay digger for 7/8 inch by 3-1/4 inch shank chisels and another for 1 inch by 4-1/4 inch shank chisels. Moil points, clay spades, tampers, tent stake drivers, ground rod drivers, pipe drivers, and pin drivers all share these hex shank sizes, which means one breaker can cover several trades once you have the right steel for it.

What Bits Fit an 11X Jumbo Rivet Buster?

Rivet busters run their own steel family and nothing from the chipping hammer side interchanges with it. Champion Chisel Works manufactures 11X jumbo rivet buster steel including 2 inch wide chisels, moil points, narrow chisels, ripper tools, back out punches, and long clearance back out punches, plus the retainer springs and parts that keep the tool in service.

Rivet busters do the heavy industrial work that a chipping hammer is too light for and a pavement breaker is too awkward to reach, which is why crews doing structural steel demolition, bridge work, and concrete removal around embedded steel keep one on the truck. Ordering by tool family first, then by tool profile, avoids the most common mistake in this category.

Which Scaling and Zip Gun Chisels Fit Your Tool?

Scaling hammers, needle scalers, and zip guns use a smaller shank family than demolition tools. Champion Chisel Works supplies zip gun bits and scaler chisels in .401 and .498 shanks, each available in turn type and non turn type. A turn type shank is indexed so the bit holds its orientation in the tool, while a non turn type shank is free to rotate.

Champion also makes Cleco style and Ingersoll Rand style scaling tools, a 371 style scaling chisel in 3/4 inch width, and a .432 style scaling chisel in 3/4 inch width. Scaling is surface preparation rather than demolition. The job is removing slag, weld spatter, rust, mill scale, and old coatings without cutting into the base material the way a demolition chisel would, so the profile and the shank both matter more than raw impact energy.

How Do You Order the Right Air Chisel Steel the First Time?

Start with the tool, not the catalog. Pull the steel currently in the hammer, measure the shank across the flats, note whether the collar is round or oval, and check the class or weight marked on the tool housing. Those three pieces of information identify the right family in every case covered above.

If the tool is secondhand, unmarked, or you inherited it with the job, call Champion Chisel Works at 800-239-1434 with the make and model and the fitment can be confirmed before anything ships. Wrong fitment is not a returns problem, it is a safety problem, and it is worth two minutes on the phone to rule out.

Air Chisel Fitment: Frequently Asked Questions

What shank sizes does pneumatic chipping hammer steel come in?

Champion Chisel Works manufactures pneumatic chipping hammer steel in two shank families, .580 hex shank and .680 round shank, and each is offered with either a round collar or an oval collar. The shank and the collar both have to match the hammer and its retainer, so contractors should measure the steel already in the tool before ordering.

Can you use rivet buster bits in an air chipping hammer?

No. Champion Chisel Works supplies 11X jumbo rivet buster steel as its own family, including 2 inch wide chisels, moil points, narrow chisels, ripper tools, and back out punches, and none of it interchanges with .580 hex or .680 round chipping hammer steel. Running the wrong steel in a tool damages the retainer and can allow the bit to work loose.

What size shank does a 60 lb class pavement breaker take?

Champion Chisel Works supplies its 60 lb class pavement breaker with 1-1/8 inch by 6 inch hex shank chisels and its 30 lb class pavement breaker with 1 inch by 4-1/4 inch hex shank chisels. The Champion heavy duty pavement breaker steel line covers 7/8 inch by 3-1/4 inch, 1 inch by 4-1/4 inch, 1-1/8 inch by 6 inch, and 1-1/4 inch by 6 inch hex shanks.

What is the difference between an air chisel and an air scaler?

An air chisel such as a chipping hammer removes concrete, masonry, and tile, while an air scaler removes surface material such as slag, rust, and old coatings without cutting into the base material underneath. Champion Chisel Works makes both, supplying chipping hammer steel in .580 hex and .680 round shanks and scaling chisels in .401 and .498 turn type and non turn type shanks.

Where can contractors buy air chisel bits and pneumatic tool steel?

Champion Chisel Works manufactures and sells air chisel bits, pneumatic chipping hammer steel, heavy duty pavement breaker steel, 11X jumbo rivet buster steel, and zip gun and scaler chisels direct to contractors at championchisel.com, with free shipping on orders over $100. Fitment questions are answered by phone at 800-239-1434.

Champion Chisel Works, Inc. - family-owned and American-made in Rock Falls, Illinois since 1968. Tough Jobs. Tough Tools. One Source.