Cheap air chisel for removing tiles...wow!

[alchemysa]

Today I had to chisel all the tiles off a toilet and bathroom floor. Years ago when I did a similar job I hired a smallish electric jack hammer. This time the hire shop wanted over $100 for a 1 day hire! But tools are much cheaper to buy these days so I looked at our local 'Bunnings'. (A huge cheap hardware and tool chain over here). A cheap Chinese Ozito impact hammer was $89 and would have done the job easily but they are pretty heavy and take 2 hands to use, so I decided to look at air tools at the local auto parts store. An air chisel alone was $39 but they had a couple of 30 piece kits they were clearing for just $59. The kits included chisel, rattle gun, air wrench and numerous fittings so the choice was obvious. I also bought an air hose for $20 (I already owned a small cheap GMC compressor)

Now the performance of this dirt cheap air chisel was just amazing. It only had about a 1" wide chisel but it sliced up the mosaic tiles like a hot knife through butter, and it was so easy and light to use. It virtually fit in the palm of one hand, and easily fit into tight spots like behind the toilet. I did the whole lot in a couple of hours. (Hearing and eye protection essential!)

So anyway I just thought I'd mention all this in case anyone is planning (or dreading) a similar job. If you already have a compressor an air chisel is well worth considering. You can probably pick up a cheap one for $20 to $30 on special. (Or look on ebay). It might not suit a really heavy duty job with large tiles but it was perfect for the job I described.

One really useful fitting that was in the kit was an air hose swivel attachment that fitted between the air hose and the chisel. It really made the the whole thing very easy and comfortable to use.

The pics below are not of my chisel and swivel, but they are basically the same as the mine. (I just grabbed the pics off the net). As far I'm concerned, even if I never use the thing again, its still worth every cent I paid for it.

 

[ray66v]

You should see how good a "real" air chisel works.

 

[Travelover]

This air chisel looks similar to one that HF sells for less than $10. I used mine recently when replacing some bricks and it worked great. That, combined with my $15 4 1/2 inch angle grinder made the job quick and clean.

 

[jinman]

I recently was building a retainer wall and driving long spikes. I have one of those cheap air chisels and decided to modify the pointed chisel to help me with the job. I ground off the tip and made a 3/8" square tip that fits into a 3/8" socket. I used an old 1/2" socket and placed it over the head of the spike. One squeeze of the trigger and it drives the spike like a hot knife into butter. It's the best use of that air chisel I have found. It sure made driving spikes easy. I can see where that swivel would also be handy. I'll have to look for one of those at Harbor Freight.

 

[dillo99]

Wish I had read this 9 months ago. I did the same job with a hammer and tile chisel and it was brutal.

 

[Redbug]

I'm with Mike...Why didn't I think of that when I redid my bathroom...

 

[EddieWalker]

I've been using the air chisel for tile removal and light jackhammer work for a few years now. My first one was a Campfield Housman (sp?) from Home Depot that did a good job before dying on me. I replaced it with one from Tractor Supply that was just a little nicer. Be sure to buy some extra springs. They are the weak link. You can rebend them when the part breaks off that holds the chisel in place, but after awhile, there isn't enough left to rebend. I have about four or five brand new springs on my shelf right now.

They are loud and they do require the air hose and comprssor. Last year I discovered Rotary Hammers. They are drills the just melt through concrete. I have a big SDS Max that is a small jackhammer. It's amazing at what it does and how easy it goes through concrete. I have an attachment on it for putting in ground rods, or rebar through wood landscaping timbers. It's too heavy for tile work, so I bought a smaller SDS hammer drill that does the same thing, but is allot easier to handle. I can drill small 1/4 inch holes in concrete in seconds, or put on a chisel tip and break up concrete. I do allot of remodels where we want to move drain lines under a concrete slab, so being able to cut out those holes quckly and easily is important to me.

Anyway, the SDS Rotary Hammer Drill is also great at removing tile. If it's a broken tile, just hit it on top of the tile and it breaks up into small peices. Then use the chisel end to clean up the thinset mortar. It takes a minute to do a tile. I just took out the tile in my bathroom with it last weekend. It took less then an hour to take out my floor tiles. The tile came up really fast, but then I went over the thinset on the floor with it a few times to get it nice and smooth. It wasn't 100% perfect, but all I had to do to get it perfect was scrap off what remained and vacuum it all clean.

The air hammer is a good, affordable tool for this. The SDS Rotary Hammer is a step up if you are going to do this more then once and/or need to drill holes in concrete.

Eddie

 

[Scooby074]

Or if you want to kick it up a notch over the air chisel get a Fein Multimaster. Really good machine, plus pretty versatile. Quite a bit more money though, but who doesnt enjoy a new tool?

Amazon.com: Fein MultiMaster FMM 250Q Top: Home Improvement

 

[Egon]

air hammer from Northern Tool + Equipment

I got several from Princess auto for about twenty bucks. They have seen a lot of use scaling and chipping rust.

The attchment really works nice on metal barrels.

 

[EddieWalker]

Or if you want to kick it up a notch over the air chisel get a Fein Multimaster. Really good machine, plus pretty versatile. Quite a bit more money though, but who doesnt enjoy a new tool?

Amazon.com: Fein MultiMaster FMM 250Q Top: Home Improvement

That's going to be my next tool. I've been comparing the various models and what you get with each kit. So far, it looks like ebay is the best place to get what I want.

I read a review of the Bosch and the Rockwell versions of the Multimaster. While they are half the price, neither compare. The guy writing the review said that you are better off saving a little longer to buy the Fein.

What I didn't know is that you can take out tile and remove thinset with one. I saw where they can cut out grout, but that's all I thought they could do in that area.

I mostly want one for cutting wood and trim. The way it cuts makes it ideal for remodels.

Eddie

 

[rox]

That's going to be my next tool. I've been comparing the various models and what you get with each kit. So far, it looks like ebay is the best place to get what I want.

I read a review of the Bosch and the Rockwell versions of the Multimaster. While they are half the price, neither compare. The guy writing the review said that you are better off saving a little longer to buy the Fein.

What I didn't know is that you can take out tile and remove thinset with one. I saw where they can cut out grout, but that's all I thought they could do in that area.

I mostly want one for cutting wood and trim. The way it cuts makes it ideal for remodels.

Eddie

Eddie,
Our son bought his first home a condo in Washington DC and he has pink and blue tiles in the bathroom. I have been encouraging him that he can remodel his bathroom himself and looked around for tools for him that would help him probably for a Christmas gift. One thing about the Fein is that the blades are very expensive and this is a drawback. However in my research I found one guy that makes excellent blades. I spent the better part of two evenings on this research so I can save you some time. I e-mailed the guy if he was the guy I had been reading about and he is. His background is he is trained as some kind of extreemly fancy type of special sheetmetal guy. Here is the link to the lower cost blades- index
I read a forum when he built his very first blade and he posted how he did it, he kind of reminded me of wrought iron harv, and then he went on to form a company making the blades. Alos in my Fein research I read where the Super Fein whihc is more contractor grade, they are coming out with a new model where the Super Fein will have the attachments connect without an allen wrench. One guy from Denmark posted that it is sold in denmark as the test market.

What can I say I love tools, I always have. I may be a girl but I just like having the right tool for what I want to do and I appreciate them. Probably because I'm a girl tools are even more important since I don't have the boy muscles to muscle my way through. At this time I don't really have a need for the Fein but if I would need it and I could afford it I would get one. Everything here is concrete there is no wood in the house practically at all. I do extensively use our hammer drill.

 

[alchemysa]

I can see where that swivel would also be handy. I'll have to look for one of those at Harbor Freight.

I liked your smart thinking to turn it into a air hammer too.

The swivels are only $4.99
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Its not obvious from looking at the pic but they they swivel in all directions like a universal joint. The female end screws onto the chisel, then I screwed a quick connect barb onto the male end. (Hmmm, Not having the chisel in front of me I might have that the wrong way round but i'm sure you get the picture)

(And they have chisel kits for for just $15!)

After finishing the job I discovered my brother recently bought one of those small cheap electric impact hammers. He said it was terrific for breaking masonry and brickwork. But I'm still glad I bought the air chisel. Its so light and 'one handed'.

 

[PILOON]

As Eddie pointed out the air guns are great for that sort of job.

They basically came into being as rivit guns and got adapted for automotive work.
All share the same shank configuration and are refered to as a .401 shank.

For riviting usage they rate them as 2X or 3X etc, the most in demand generally being the 2X and 3X (for aviation).
If you find a 4X (and generally cheaper) you would have a great tile tool.
The higher the X rating, the slower the BPM's and easier to control.The cheepies kinda go braaat while the aviation ones go rat-tat-tat with the higher the X# the slower the blows. On the 4X you can actually count the blows.
Also the aviation ones are real good quality and very durable with fine trigger control as well.
There are thousands on the surplus market, with some still leftovers from WW2 production facilities.

 

[alchemysa]

Eddie,
However in my research I found one guy that makes excellent blades. I spent the better part of two evenings on this research so I can save you some time....
What can I say I love tools, I always have. I may be a girl but ..

Rox, you're a gem. Liking tools is one thing but spending 2 nights tracking down replacement blades is special.

 

[EddieWalker]

Rox, you're a gem. Liking tools is one thing but spending 2 nights tracking down replacement blades is special.

You make an excellent point, and one that I agree with 100%

Eddie

 

[California]

I had a similar application for air tools, a leak where a replacement plastic sewer pipe had been poorly cemented into the septic tank. Redwood tree roots were growing in and clogging the tank. I paid a septic pump company to repair it but whatever they did didn't slow down the roots at all.

I used a HF Needle Scaler (the larger one) to pulverize the mortar fragments that the roots had cracked. This worked great. A few moments work cleaned deep into the joint, progress I hadn't accomplished in an hour with chisels and wires. Highly recommended!

 

[jinman]

The swivels are only $4.99
- Harbor Freight Tools - Quality Tools at the Lowest Prices

Its not obvious from looking at the pic but they they swivel in all directions like a universal joint. The female end screws onto the chisel, then I screwed a quick connect barb onto the male end. (Hmmm, Not having the chisel in front of me I might have that the wrong way round but i'm sure you get the picture)

If I watch Harbor Freight sales, I might find that swivel even cheaper. Here is my "best buy ever" from their sales. These are 9-LED flashlights that work great and come in a 2-pack. At this price, you can afford to have a bright flashlight in every toolbox and every room of the house. The kicker is these flashlights come with three alkaline AAA batteries included. The price of batteries is normally more than the individual price of one of these flashlights. The last time I bought them, they limited the purchase to five (10 flashlights), so I may have to pick up 5 and have my wife get 5 more. Every Christmas package this year will have one of these in it no matter what else is in there.

Mini LED Flashlights at Harbor Freight

 

[2manyrocks]

That's pretty close to the flea market price of those mini flashlights. Amazing how much light they put out. I wish they would build them for AA instead of AAA batteries.

Back to the OP, I suppose you could add an extension shaft and make a air chisel tool to remove roof shingles.

 

[Charlesaf3]

Great idea, thanks for posting it. I was going to use my SDS next time, didn't occur to me to use my air chisel (came in a multi pack, and I've had precisely no occasion to use it)

On that note, I've been surprisingly pleased with HFs cheap SDS hammer. I only need it occasionally, so I bought it instead of the bosch (gold standard) to see. So far its alive a year later, and working fine. Even lent it to a GC who used it hard. I'm surprised.

 

[SPYDERLK]

I recently was building a retainer wall and driving long spikes. I have one of those cheap air chisels and decided to modify the pointed chisel to help me with the job. I ground off the tip and made a 3/8" square tip that fits into a 3/8" socket. I used an old 1/2" socket and placed it over the head of the spike. One squeeze of the trigger and it drives the spike like a hot knife into butter. It's the best use of that air chisel I have found. It sure made driving spikes easy. I can see where that swivel would also be handy. I'll have to look for one of those at Harbor Freight.

Great idea! Im going to use it.

These impact hammers have all sorts of uses. There is a needle scaler attachment for them and they do a fine job at cleaning and peening welds to relieve residual stress. I find these impact hammer guns to be more durable than the hammer mechanism on the cheap scaler tools.
larry