Chicago Pneumatic CP717 - Air Hammer, Welding Equipment Tool, Construction, Heavy Duty, 0.498 Inch (12.7mm), Round Shank, Stroke 2.68 in / 68 mm, Bore Diameter 0.75 in / 19 mm - 1800 Blow Per Minute

I drive old used vehicles, and the ones from the rust prone areas of the country can be all kinds of fun to disasssemble.I don't use this often b/c it's so big and powerful, but occasionally I need it, and there is no substitute. I bought this after seeing Eric the Car Guy use Big Nasty (the competing AP hammer) on a subaru rear lateral link bolt that was corroded in place, and it's been more than worth it.Whoever compared this to a firearm was right.... I use some big 200 ton rams at work, but this is an insane amount of power to hold in your hand. I try to always have a hand on the barrel to control it when using the hammer bit, otherwise it can walk all over and destroy anything in its path.Treat this thing with respect - I'm confident it could break every bone in my hand in a fraction of a second if it got away from me in a confined area.

Holy busted ball joints batman, this thing is an absolute beast. If you're tired of your old pansy Snap On or IR air hammer, then you found the right place in Amazon tool topia. Sure you could save the money, and continue to be frustrated while seized parts laugh at your over priced, under powered air tapper. Or you could step up to the plate with the CP717 and blow those rusted nuggets to the Jiffy Lube down the street.I've used an IR air hammer for many years. Also tried the supposed best Snap On hammer for a few weeks to see how well it performed. While both are good air hammers, nothing Ive owned, used, or borrowed has come close to Bigger Nastier here. It will pretty much beat anything into submission. It saves so much time with every day tasks. Makes suspension work so much easier. Plus if you're working on an old rusty turd, you pretty much can't afford to not buy this tool. If you already own an air hammer, you will want to keep that one when you buy this one. Because this one is too over powered for certain tasks. It can and will, literally destroy things. The CP717 is like Thor and his hammer. Sometimes you don't need Thor though, you may just need Rocky (like before all the training, at the beginning of the movie). So keep your old gun in your arsenal.The hammer does have a really nice trigger control, so you don't have to give everything "full beans" if you don't want to. But it can get out of hand fast if you dont have a steady hand. You will need ear protection, and eye protection. The air hammer itself isn't that loud, but it hits so hard, the noise can be unbearable after more than a few seconds. Wear safety glasses too because the shrapnel created by Thor here will do some serious damage. Made that mistake the first time I used it. I got lucky, but sure scared the poop out of me. So be smart and wear safety gear. While we may have the power of Thor, we certainly take more damage than him.If you're trying to decide between this hammer and the Astro 4980, I'd go with the CP. The Astro is just a copy of the CP. I'm not saying it's not a good tool. Eric O swears by it. But Astro tools are typically lower quality. Not bad quality, just less than CP. That is obviously my opinion. But when I buy a tool like this online, I have to think about the process of getting it warrantied, or repaired. Seeing as how I can't just walk into a store, or wait for my tool truck guy to come to me and fix my CP or Astro...I'd rather have something with a better reputation of lasting.One last thing I will add. Don't buy the cheap air hammer chisels and bits on Amazon. They are very brittle and will shatter and blind one of your coworkers, or take a piece of your flesh and send it to the moon. Buy the .498 CP bits only. They are made specifically for the unholy power of the 717. I have used this hammer quite a bit, and the CP bits hold up pretty well. By that I mean they don't shatter. They do wear down like any other chisel, and will need to be put on the grinder occasionally. But at least they are "safe".I love this air hammer. I wish I had bought it years ago. You will love it too. I didn't bother getting the quick release chuck for it. I don't think it's necessary. Once you're used to the spring retainer, it's no big deal. If you do get the quick chuck for it, make sure to put lock tite on the retaining screws.

I've owned this CP717 for about 10 years. Before that I never owned an air hammer. Because through the years I had borrowed several different .401" ones, and they are just noise makers. However, after replacing a couple Subaru wheel hubs, I finally Googled the best way for removal, because swinging a hammer/mall was a horrible option (and my only one). The CP717 came up as best in the business. And at $500 it had better be. I made the plunge and ordered one. The next Subaru wheel hub didn't stand a chance. Kicked myself for not having one of these 30 years ago. So, if you're looking for the best product, buy this. It is incredible.

This thing is absolutely amazing. One thing I won't hold against it, but people need to know is the broader "hammer" looking bit has been redisgned and ships loose. It does NOT fit in the case in the original spot. However, it does fit in there loosely. I figured it was worth noting, though I didn't take a star away because it's a small thing. It's simply slightly bigger than what is in the picture. A slight disappointment I had is since it's blow molded, and made to fit the tool like a glove, it wouldn't work with a quick release installed. However, I solved that by heating the blow molded case with a heat gun in the area where it didn't fit, then closed the case firmly. This melted the new profile of the quick connect in the case. Problem solved. Now evertything fits perfect. This tool will either break something loose or BREAK whatever it is you're trying to move. It really is incredible. it's a TON of cash, relative to others. It's biggest selling feature, which is often not mentioned, is the trigger. It's so easily manipulated you could probably nail a picture frame hook on a wall with it. You can modulate it that smoothly. It's not like a trigger switch like the vast majority of air hammers. Then when you give it full trigger it will almost move mountains. The first thing I "tried" it on was a 1/4" piece of flat steel. I literally dented it. I made 1/4" flat steel concave in a matter of seconds. The first real job I used it for was divorcing steel wheel spacers from aluminum wheels, that had been torqued to 500 ft/lbs for 4 years. The 4lb sledge did nothing. The airhammer removed them with 1/4 trigger.