Air tools...

[mr.z]

Worth the money?

If a year ago anyone had asked if i do anything to y bike i'd have said never, now its getting to be a weeky thing for something to need attention, weather it need cleaning or just some minor maintainance (or dissmantleing putting in a vice and being arranged allover the garden shed before being put back together )...

Ive been looking at some air tools that could be handy, polisher, wrench, file, cutting tools... sand blaster!

What psi rateing would be needed to power your general auto workshopy air tools?

Last thing, who would you get to test one for you, say i got a seccond hand one or even built one, i wouldn't want it explodeing obviously.... a gas fitter??

Appart from the cost (i know they ain't cheep) are they worth it? i might be able to get a compressor, which is a significant bulk of the cost, depends on the power it'd need tho....
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[tatters]

air tools are crap, we only use them at work on our machines when all the coreless Dewalt drills have been pinched, they have no torque and no speed control. and they are expensive to buy along with a compressor which would take a lot of space up. not worth it just get good old electric power tools.
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[Big Pete]

It depends what you want to do, an air powered die grinder is a wonderful too if you need to shape materials, air cut off tools are good too. Impact wrenches are usefull sometimes but you need sockets to match. Spray gear has obvious uses, electric spray guns are useless IMHO. All of the above tools need a significant quantity of air, usually 7- 9 cfm (cubic feet/minute) at 90 -110 psi. That means about a 2hp motor and a decent size reciever. New cost for these is £200 ish, second hand maybe £60-100. Also a compressor is dead handy if you fit tyres.
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Trust me, I`m an engineer
GarageOfPower.co.uk

[mr.z]

HMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

https://www.dr350.kenet.co.uk/compressor1.php

https://www.dr350.kenet.co.uk/images/compressor1.jpg

I know its wrong but.... i dont know if it would quite power some of the stuff, maybe two compressors linked?

Ive got a set of 3/8" (better) and okish 1/2" ones.. only wrenches i seem to be seeing were impact wrenches...

Even just for the cleaning/blasting it might be worth it.. unless i can get a bargin second hand one or make one i dont think i'd bother, I could have another bike for £250
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[ZRX61]

[Retro-Man]

[Kickstart]

Hi

I have a small 7cfm compressor and some air tools. Use them reasonably often, but the compressor is marginal for powering them and the air hoses I have are a bit restrictive (or more precisely the quick release couplings I think). Great for pumping up tyres, useful for an air power hack saw and sometimes useful for an air impact wrench.

If you do want air tools then invest a decent amount in a compressor with plenty of capacity in reserve. New from Machine Mart that will be £300+ for the compressor.

All the best

Keith
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Traxpics, track day and racing photographs - Bimota Forum - Bike performance / thrust graphs for choosing gearing

[G]

www.abac.co.uk are quite good on price... I got this one:
https://www.diy-compressors.com/shop/direct-drive-compressors.htm#pp231 (same site)
Though they sent me the next one down in the end for the same price because they messed up and 'forgot' to send it.

Mine seems cool for my 350ftlb air wrench (if I could find what happened to it .)

[Big Pete]

dont build a compressor like the one in the pic unless you know what you are doing, thats a fridge compressor and runs immersed in oil. That means your air supply is heavily ladened with compressor oil which wont be good for your tools. Also they are low volume high pressure rigs, they will happilly generate 350 +psi unregulated, and there isnt a regulator built in. They can just about cope with air brushes or blowing up tyres, but they really arent worth the effort. try your local industrial crap place, they often have compressor rigs off automatic equipment that works fine and is cheap. Alternatively try ebay. for air tools you really want 9cfm and a decent storage tank. Big hoses help too.
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Trust me, I`m an engineer
GarageOfPower.co.uk

[mr.z]

Thanks for the help all, very much appreciated

I'm new to allot of this, hence the knowing nothing about air tools...

As far as power i dont think there is anything i'd need torqueing more than 80lbft anywhere on the bike...

i'd probaby end up spending close to what a propper compressor would have cost or end up explodeing, so i'll probably just wait till i can get it all properly.

I'm sure there will be one or two seccond hand ones floating arround...

I do like the idea of a sand blaster though for cleaning parts and restoration stuff...
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>RidingSkills<->Tech Tips<->MyBikes<

[ZRX61]

Sand is too abrasive, get a glass bead instead... & if yer gonna run a blaster you're gonna need 60-80 gallon tank & at least a 6hp motor.
This is my home compressor & beadblasting gives it a good workout, have to stop every few minutes & let the compressor *catch up*
https://img.photobucket.com/albums/v317/ZRX61/ZRXGarage/DSC00031.jpg

[Ade067]

I've got a small compressor with a little 4 stroke Honda motor on it,the compressor was thrown out in a skip and I rescued it(I drive a skip truck!) The engine had got too hot or something and was seized up so I took it to a mate who works for a garden machinery place and he fixed it for a tenner,a cheap handy little compressor then!

Its great for blowing up tyres and running some smaller air tools,it struggles a bit to run my 1/2'' drive air gun but will run my little 3/8'' drive air ratchet all day without running out of puff,I'm always farting about with cars and its made my life much easier

[palmer]

plus when u get bored, u can use the compressor to make a stupidly powerful potato launcher... (yes it works... VERY well)

just get some drainpipe, ductape and a potato

[Retro-Man]

[palmer]

i made something simaller to that, only u sprayed lighter fluid thru the valve, then lit it, launched the potasto quite far