Craftsman 12V Hammerhead Auto-Hammer
By Sean O'Hara
Craftsman’s Nextec 12V Hammerhead Auto-Hammer has been a long time coming. Other companies have rolled out some hokey auto-hammer designs over the years, but this one comes in a form factor that might actually work.
Think of it like a handheld jackhammer and you start to get the point. A piston inside a sleeve travels a small distance at great speed to drive the nail home. So instead of one or two giant swings for a standard 3-1/2” nail, the auto-hammer sinks it with around 34 small strikes per second.
We’re curious to see how many nails per charge this gets. But we can see one advantage right off the bat: For tight spaces, where the standard set and swing method is next to impossible, you can cram the Hammerhead in there with the nail magnetically attached to the piston.
Though experienced pros might not feel comfortable hanging up the trusty 24oz framing hammer, the Hammerhead does at least sound interesting. Pricing is set at about $100, which is about what you’d expect for a 12V Li-Ion setup like this.
Nextec 12V Hammerhead Auto-Hammer [Craftsman]
Craftsman Pricing [Sears]
November 13th, 2008 at 11:44 am
I wonder if anyone else will come out with this type of set up? Someone like DeWalt or Milwaukee, or Bosh might inspire the pros a little more. I’d still like to have one to “hammer” around the house with, but don’t want to switch all my Bosch stuff to Craftsman. I like the one battery/charger lifestyle for my tools!
November 13th, 2008 at 11:48 am
We’ve use pneumatic palm nailers and have several Bostich PN100K model units. They come in handy for setting nails in awkward places and those that are sometimes left standing proud from a framing nailer. We used to use them for setting nails in joist hangers – but now use Bostich Sureshot nailers to take care of this task. We just bought a couple of Senco mini- palm nailers and are trying them out:
http://www.amazon.com/Senco-PC1195-Mini-Palm-Nailer/dp/B001FAGSPK
If this craftsman tool has enough impact guts to set nails as claimed – it certainly will find an application – where a air hose would be a nuisance.
November 13th, 2008 at 12:44 pm
is there a video of this in action anywhere?
November 13th, 2008 at 12:57 pm
Hey! This thing looks cool. You guys should think about getting them to sponsor the website.
November 13th, 2008 at 1:04 pm
@bob, there is a video on the same page.
Click on “Advice & Uses” and then on “The Nextec AutoHammerhead - Starring Role” for a video.
November 13th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
@BigEdJr — ROFL
November 13th, 2008 at 3:58 pm
Yes, this looks great. The pneumatic ones have been used for a long time…..
I think this would be great…for tight spots
November 13th, 2008 at 5:49 pm
Anyone remember the Simpsons episode where Homer invents an automatic hammer?
November 13th, 2008 at 6:45 pm
I see a video of someone using this tool a few weeks ago and it wernt much use with larger nails. It took ages to knock them in. I like the way that they make it look like it knocks them in so fast lol. I will just carry on using my palm nailer and nail guns air and paslode’s.
November 13th, 2008 at 7:23 pm
A lot of what you can do with this, access-wise, you can do with Sparky’s good old-fashioned peashooter. Not nearly everything, but a peashooter sure solves a lot of nailing problems.
November 13th, 2008 at 7:55 pm
-craigt: I think you mean “Thomas Edison” invented the automatic hammer.
November 13th, 2008 at 7:56 pm
I do remember that Simpsons’ episode. That autohammer was great, as well as the Lazy Boy crapper.
November 13th, 2008 at 10:03 pm
@BigEdJr Funniest blog comment I’ve read in quite some time.
November 13th, 2008 at 11:05 pm
[...] newVideoPlayer(”/homer_electric_hammer111308.flv”, 475, 376,””); That man is a prophet, I tell you. A prophet! [Craftsman via Toolmonger] [...]
November 14th, 2008 at 1:02 pm
[...] homme est un géni. Oui, un géni. [Craftsman via Toolmonger] [...]
November 14th, 2008 at 5:03 pm
How about the “make-up shotgun” in that episode. “Whoops I set it to ‘Whore’”
After that we need the 6 legged chair in the shop.
November 15th, 2008 at 7:11 pm
[...] Take a look and watch the video [via toolmonger] [...]
November 16th, 2008 at 8:11 am
Surprised I haven’t seen any advertising for this yet. They’re going to make a mint selling these things as Christmas gifts.
November 24th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
Did someone say ” it wernt much use with larger nails?”
December 11th, 2008 at 1:10 pm
2 thumbs up. However, if it had a built-in LED guide light like the Arrow CT50, then I’d really be sold.
December 18th, 2008 at 8:22 am
The video shows it as having a built in LED
December 21st, 2008 at 10:35 am
Will it make a good defensive weapon?
May 19th, 2009 at 8:57 pm
I purchased this tool and I must say that I had high hopes. Sadly I was completely let down, it didn’t have the force to drive a 16d sinker. I returned it within a few days of dissapointment.
June 1st, 2009 at 10:21 am
I bought one of these and took it back after trying it for 10 minutes. I finally got it to drive a 1″ finishing nail, but nothing larger. It was a pure guess if it would even drive those with bending them over - you can’t see the nail through half it’s travel. Nice try Craftsman, but I expect better from you.
June 2nd, 2009 at 5:54 pm
I am always looking for new gadgets for my husband. He has a pneumatic nail gun. Would this little Auto Hammer be a good little toy or a waste of money?
June 3rd, 2009 at 7:15 am
Waste of money. Even my coworker who is a Craftsman nut agrees. If you have a compressor and need to nail in a tight spot then a palm nailer is far better.