HF 70lb hammer and tamper

[chas0218]

Have you considered just renting a tamper for 1/2 day? 1000 sq.ft. shouldn't take more than a couple hours and for $100/day I think it would be much more cost effective.

 

[Industrial Toys]

Some of us just don't like renting. And if you live inthe boonies, getting the stuff and returning it, is expensive in itself.

The trouble with compaction equipment is that there are various styles for different applications.

 

[Gary Fowler]

For sand and gravel, a plate compactor is the tool to use. Impact compactors like jumping jacks just dont work well on loose materials, they just tend to move the loose material around with very little compaction resulting.

Your homemade tool likely would do a better job than a jumping jack since it doesn't move up an down but rather just constant weight with some tapping force.

 

[Industrial Toys]

I did rent a Diesel compactor once. Not sure if it qualifies as a plate compactor. Walks along on it's own. Impressive machine. But not great for really small areas. My concrete pads didn't crack in ten years, so I guess it did a good job.

 

[tduby]

Have you considered just renting a tamper for 1/2 day? 1000 sq.ft. shouldn't take more than a couple hours and for $100/day I think it would be much more cost effective.

$40 for a whole day here and I don’t have something I used twice in my life taking up room. I love tools but having a big heavy hardly used tool taking up space being in the way sounds bad

 

[smiley]

I need to do a good deal of tamping. I don't rent tools, I buy them or I make them. I have a HF 70lb jack hammer which has treated me exceptionally well over the years. I've been looking for second hand tampers and they're $800~ locally, which is a bit more than I want to spend. Then i came across a tamping bit that would fit my hammer, but I was afraid that the additional weight of the bit might be hard on the motor and shorten it's life. Has anyone considered something like this?

This is the bit:
https://www.homedepot.com/p/TR-Indu...0-Series-Demolition-Hammers-TR-TSTP/306721755

Over the past 65+ years I've had the opportunity(???) to use just about every type of compaction equipment made. from a 10x18"piece of an ash tree with 2 handles nailed on it, to the biggest Cat articulated tandem vibratory rollers built. I think that if from time to time you have a fair amount of tamping to do, after about an hour on your Home Depot hammer tamper, you'll be wishing you spent the extra $300 and got the Home Depot Yardmax plate tamper; https://www.homedepot.com/p/YARDMAX-1850-lb-Compaction-Force-Plate-Compactor-YC0850/302634932.
They're even cheaper on ebay. You might even locate a Whacker type plate tamper with a bad motor and replace it with most any kind of motor.
Here's a ground pounder with no spark for $200 M-B-W R27 Ground Pounder Tamper Rammer Plate Compactor Walk Behind | eBay They are a good machine, better than a plate in tight trenches around manholes, footers etc. They're more work to run, but a lot easier than your jack hammer, plus you're a lot less likely to stomp your foot.
You said you build some of your own tools as do I and plate tampers are really a pretty simple machine, just a steel plate with an eccentric rotor, driven by a belt from a spring isolated motor mounted on another plate above it.
Good luck on your projects.
Smiley

 

[Industrial Toys]

One of the dumber (albeit KOOL) things I tried to buy a while back and thankfully my offer wasn't accepted.

 

[smiley]

Your post reminds me of one outfit I worked for that their newest piece equipment was 1960's Mac trucks. They had not only one of the tow behind vibratory rollers in your photo, but a sheepsfoot roller as below and a 1928 Cat self propelled sheepsfoot that we used at he Ithaca airport in 1983. When that showed up on the job, the engineers had a bird. They said we couldn't use it but then the company owner found the specs that it was still considered acceptable and we used it for initial compaction on the entire job.
Smiley