Abstract: A pile hammer for driving down hollow piles from an upper end thereof includes a hollow pile cap adapted to rest and support the hammer on a upper end of the pile being driven. The cap has an anvil surface for receiving blows from a ram which is slidably disposed on a hollow tubular base extending downwardly from the pile cap and having a lower end portion extending into the hollow pile being driven below the level of the pile cap. The ram is slidable on an upper portion of the hollow tubular base and has an annular lower end face adapted to strike the anvil surface of the pile cap when the ram is released to drop from an elevated position above the pile cap. A ram lift system is provided in an upper portion of the hollow tubular base for lifting the ram to an elevated position a selected predetermined height above the pile for release to drop downwardly and strike a driving blow against the anvil surface on the pile cap.

Abstract: A method is characterized by clamping a pile above and below a break-off line with simultaneous undercutting of the pile along the break-off line.An apparatus for carrying out the method has an upper power frame (1) and a lower power frame (3) positioned one above the other and connected to each other by means of hydraulic breaking cylinders (2). The power frames (1, 3) are made up of blocks (6, 11) defining a closed figure and pivotally connected to one another by means of hydraulic clamping cylinders (7, 13). The axes of the hydraulic cylinders (7, 13) run perpendicularly with respect to the longitudinal axis of the pile.