Hammer drill with hard hammer support structure

A drill housing supports an output spindle comprising a material that is relatively soft. The non-rotating hammer member can be mounted around the output spindle, adjacent its forward end, and adjacent the relatively soft material of the drill housing. The non-rotating hammer member can include support slots located along its edge. Support rods that are made of a relatively hard material can extend through the support slots to support the non-rotating hammer member. A plurality of recesses can be provided in the relatively soft material of the drill housing to support the non-rotating hammer member. A hammer mode shift mechanism can be configured to move the non-rotating hammer member along the support rods between a first position corresponding to a non-hammer mode and a second position corresponding to a hammer mode. The relatively hard support rods support the non-rotating hammer member to thereby resist damage to the relatively soft material of the housing member.