By 1997, a few manufacturers were producing a smaller “drop”
hammer for dock and home builders. A drop hammer was the only
hammer available for driving piles on these types of jobs, but drop
hammers were tedious and inefficient. One of the reasons behind
their inefficiencies was due to the blows per minute that drop
hammers could accomplish. In order to drive piles efficiently, the
soil should be disturbed consistently so it’s kept loose (hot). It takes
a minimum of 40 blows per minute to do that effectively. This also
keeps the pile moving, which drop hammers simply can’t do.
“The pile driving industry was missing a niche,” said Mike
Elliott, one of the original designers of the hammer. So Elliott, along
with Robert Tyre and Rick Farmer, set out to build an economical,
lightweight air hammer to hit harder, use less air and accomplish
45 to 60 blows per minute.
By mid-1998, the first prototype hammer was built. It worked
reasonably well, but manufacturing was labor intensive. They
quickly realized changes were necessary to the hammer based on
the knowledge gained from the prototype, as well as feedback from
dock builders, to which the market the hammer was focused.
In 2001, using the experience learned from the prototype, Elliott
and Farmer redesigned the hammer, which now included a detachable
bell assembly based off of the original McDermitt base on a
Vulcan #2 air hammer. Some of the redesign features also came
from hydraulic hammer technology.
The Pile Master air hammer incorporates a built-in receiver
tank and a large spool valve to use air more effectively. In the
exhaust mode, when the ram is falling, the tank is re-supplied with
air. This provides immediate and ample air for the up-stroke, providing
more blows per minute with a small air compressor. Timing
Foundation Testing, Analysis and
Consulting Services for Driven Piles
Corporate Office: 216-831-6131
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• Dynamic Pile Monitoring
• Dynamic Load Testing with APPLE System
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For more information on driven pile testing and analysis, visit www.grlengineers.com
66 | ISSUE 1 2021 www.piledrivers.org
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