Thanks to the Industrial Revolution, we have an unbelievable amount and variety of machines that assist us in our personal lives, ease the burden of our vocations, and serve as sources of recreation. Although perhaps not as soul-stirring as a Harley Davidson Knucklehead or a Porsche 911, one such invention is the jackhammer. To our ancestors who quarried stone, mined coal, or undertook demolition with a sledge hammer and a chisel, the jackhammer was a momentous invention. Like most things mechanical, it went through a period of development.
Early innovation
The first jackhammers, dating back to the early 1800s, used steam to raise the drill and gravity plus the force exerted by the operator to drop it. Further development incorporated steam to propel the drill downward. Although successful, this design was
