The AMPCO 7920 German-type sledge hammer will run you $900 on Amazon. Believe it or not, this 23.79 pound — when you pay almost $40 a pound you want to be accurate – German-type sledge serves a practical purpose. Its non-sparking, non-magnetic, corrosion-resistant, beryllium free head meets OSHA and NFPA requirements for use in hazardous, flammable, or combustible environment. So you can break s#!$ just about anywhere.
If that isn’t enough to make you run out and buy one right now, AMPCO’s offers a lifetime warranty. (They don’t specify whether that lifetime is the tools or yours, though. We hear toxic waste can sting.)
Don’t forget to read the reviews on Amazon as you rush to purchase this sledge — they’re quite amusing.
Trenches are man-eating cave-in monsters waiting for the right moment to spring their collapsing trap, so the last thing you want to do is anger one by walking in with a vibrating soil compactor. That’s why smart construction workers drive the compactor in by remote control.
Like Stephen said in a recent Dealmonger post, firefighters are the kings of breaking s#!$. Here’s another tool from their get-through-the-wall-fast-or-die arsenal: the T-N-T tool. It’s a true five-in-one multi-tool — an axe, a sledge hammer, a pry bar, a ram, and a D-handled pull hook.
Ever wonder how firefighters bust through interior walls so quickly to save kids hiding in the closet? Watch and learn: at Maker Faire Austin last weekend we held a competition to see who could get through three interior walls first armed with nothing but Stanley’s on-shelves-in-January FuBar III.
Our competitors: Megan Miller (of PopSci Future Girl fame) and her PopSci cohort Nick Mann.
The rules: tear through the three identical interior walls as quickly as possible with nothing but the FuBar III. Remove all studs. To stop the clock and claim victory, smash and shatter a pumpkin frozen in liquid nitrogen by Theo Gray, PopSci’s resident Mr. Wizard and author of their monthly Gray Matter column.
Anyone who’s seen The Terminator knows that robots are out to get us. Need further proof that Skynet is nigh? The Swedish company Brokk offers a line of compact demo-bots for all sorts of dangerous demolition jobs. They’re popular in the nuclear power industry where radioactive contamination is an, um, issue. These particular models are remotely operated via a wired or wireless control box – to limit the operator’s exposure to dangerous environments and to prevent fatigue from vibration — but it’s just a short step to sending them out to do your demo work all by themselves.
Ingersoll-Rand’s workhorse rock drill is mean. It can drill a 2″ wide hole up to 18” deep into solid rock — perfect for when the s#!$ you need to break is made of stone. And just think how cool you’ll look weilding it!
“Better get the Jaws of Life,” is not a phrase that you want to hear after you wreck your car. But thankfully for you, your local emergency crews have the foresight to own Hurst’s Jaws of Life — which has snatched people from the jaws of death for over three decades. Now Hurst is introducing an improved combination spreader/cutter version: the X-Tractor C.
The ultimate way to break s$#! is to blow it up, and the folks over at Gerber offer a multi-tool designed especially for the trained demolition techicians whose job we all covet. The Gerber Multi-Plier 600 Demolition Explosive Technician Tool is the only multi-tool certified for explosive ordinance disposal units and follows U.S. miltary specifications.
The tool includes a non-reflective black coating, a blasting cap crimper, and a universal saw coupler with remGritT saw. You also get a standard cross point screwdriver, large, meduim, and small flat- blade screwdrivers, a file, a bottle opener, a lanyard, and a nice ballistic nylon sheath.
And right now you can pick one up from Snapberry for just $79.05 with $8 shipping.
Regardless of what other demo tools you own, you definitely need a big-ass metal bar. The Guster Demo-Bar Series II looks like a good candidate: it takes the place of a demo hammer, pry bar, scraper, and nail puller, allowing you to quickly swap from task to task — causing controlled havoc and mayhem — without stopping to grab another tool.
Many companies sell hydraulic pulverizing attachments, but Northerntrack offers what’s far and away the coolest one. Looking like a blue, mechanical Tyrannosaurus Rex, the F18 is the baddest-ass attachment Northerntrack sells — all the better for breaking s#!$.
Firefighters know about speedy demolition — because their lives (and sometimes yours) depend on it. And one of their faves for getting through a structure fast is the Truckmans Axe. Over at firestore.com you can get your own Truckmans axe for just $55 — and just $75 if you get want a fire-retardant belt scabbard, too.
Stanley was kind enough to join us at Maker Faire last weekend to kick off Break S#!$ Week in style — by building an 8′ x 8′ shed, then tearing it down in four minutes flat with Stanley’s not-yet-on-the-market FuBar III.
Look for a hands-on later this week, but in the meantime we can tell you this about the FuBar III: it’s bigger, meaner, and far badder-ass than the original Fubar, and it’s the tool you want in your hand if you’re trying to open a door SWAT-style, knock a wall down to get out of a burning building, or just demolish a building to make way for new stuff. The original Fubar rocks. The FuBar III rocks harder.
And don’t miss the above video in which me and Sean from Toolmonger and Jimmy Addison from Stanley break s#!$ in style.
Why toil removing ugly ’70s tile on the kitchen floor with a normal floor scraper when you can tear that s#!$ out quicker with a power tool? Powered by an air compressor, this chisel scaler delivers 3,500 blows per minute to speed up the removal of flooring, roofing, concrete, hardened deposits, and yes even ice. The Big Stick is the most powerful chisel scaler EDCO offers.
Nothing makes breaking s#!$ easier than a jack hammer, and while these have always been a weekend rental tool for me, I found one recently that even I might be able to afford: the “industrial-grade” electric demolition jack Hammer over at Jack’s Tool Shed. It’s available for just $220. The hammer ships in a steel carrying case and features an industrial-grade 1-3/4 HP 1240W 120V electric motor producing 1,400 BPM (no load) and an SDS bit chuck. The kit also includes two large hardened chrome-vanadium steel chisels and a 360-degree swiveling auxiliary side handle.
Ingersoll Rand is well known for their line of pro-level pneumatic tools. But they’ve made a name for themselves with impact drivers of all types. So when these guys come out with a line of cordless tools that includes high-powered wrenches and ratchets as well as drills and grinders – we noticed.
Want a toe-kick saw like the Crain No. 795 featured yesterday, but don’t want to shell out serious dough? For the hobbyist who may only use it once or twice over the course of a kitchen and/or bath remodel, the Harbor Freight model might work great — especially since (as reader Evan pointed out) it’s marked down to $40 right now.
Paratech’s Biel tool incorporates a lot of the features found on their larger forced entry tools – which are popular among firefighters – but it’s small enough to carry in your turnout gear. It’s a multi-tool by definition, but it’s designed for forcing open doors, windows, hasps, and locks. It can also be used for chopping through drywall, pulling down lathe and wires, and pretty much any kind of general destruction.
