PROPER USE & CARE OF TOOL BITS
18 ► MAXFORCE BREAKER User Manual
Initsmostextreme forms,thecombinationofsurface
damageandseverebendingcanquicklybreakeventhe
bestworkingsteels.
Theillustrationsbelowshowexamplesofseverestress
breaks.
Figure15.SevereStressBreaks
PRYING
This is the most common causeof toolfailure. Even
whenthereisnosurfacedamage,thestressfrompry-
ingcaneasilybreakaworkingsteel.Thiskindoffailure
generallyresultsfromanytypeofsidepressuresuchas
anincorrectbreakingangleorfromusingthetooltore-
positionmaterial.Thetoolshouldnotbeusedasapivot
pointwhenrepositioningthecarrier.Thepowergener-
atedbythecarrierwillfarexceedthestrengthofthetool.
Figure16.PryingDamageExample
Similarfailurescanalsooccurwhenthesteelisused
with extreme down pressure, and the steelrepeated-
lyslipsofftheworkatanangle,orthematerial,itself
movesfromundertheworkingsteel.
Figure17.ExtremeDownPressureBreakage
Asthenextillustrationshows,fatiguefailurestakemany
forms,buttheyallexhibitsimilarfeatures.Generally,the
brokensurfaceisbrittleandhasa“lip”likethatinthe
bendingfailure,eventhough,insomecases,theliphas
beenbroken.
Figure 18. Fatigue Failures
CORROSION
Toolsshouldbegreasedandstoredoutoftheweather.
Corrosiontendstoacceleratethefatiguefracturesofthe
tool.
MUSHROOMING
Drivingthetoolintoahardmaterialforalongperiodof
timegeneratesanintenseheat,indicatedbyabluetone
justabovethepoint.Thiswillsoftenthesteelandcause
thepointtofoldoverormushroomtheendofthetool.
Avoidhammeringinonelocationfortoolong.Ifmaterial
doesnotbreakafterashortperiod(approximately15to
20seconds),repositionthetool.
Figure 19. Mushrooming
If the overheated steel is suddenly cooled by being
dipped in standing water, for example, the metal will
hardenandbecomebrittle.Thesearesomeexamples
offailurecausedbytemperchangesoccurringonthe
job.