From:
Bill Brayman <meta@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Date:
Thu, 13 Sep 2001 21:00:17 -0700
Subject:
Air compressors
At 9:53 PM -0400 on 9/13/01, you wrote:
Quoted text begins.thanks for the info. can you recommend any brand names, sources for a
compressor and hammers?
End of quote.
You have to classify your power needs to get a good
product recommendation.
To have a general purpose air supply for hammers, rotary
tools, and misc shop use, you probably need a 5 or more
horsepower motor to get 10-15 cubic feet per minute
(CFM). (almost all brands supply enough pressure: 80-100
pounds).
For light duty or mostly small air hammers, practically
anything will work.
The price differential goes mostly to making a
compressor quiet, long lasting, and maintenance free.
(For example, some consumer level compressors use a
cheap lubricating design which supposedly wears out
soon).
Noise and vibration are severe, so depending on your
needs, this may be a crucial factor.
I have a Quincy brand altered for continuous duty. It
cost about 1200 bucks and will probably outlast me.
Apparently it is one of the quieter ones in that price
range. Contact Pothier in Canada for more info.
Ingersol rand is a common industrial compressor and a
safe choice.
Here in Seattle we have a tool store called tool town
which stocks a seemingly solid compressor of Chinese
origins at an attractive price. The trick here is that
this business has been selling them for a long time and
have determined that they provide satisfied customers.
There are high end machines that are not piston based
and thus are much quieter. Lucky you if you can afford
one!
One experienced sculptor told me he is satisfied with a
Coleman brand that he got at a consumer outlet (Costco,
I believe).
As far as air hammers for sculpting goes, most people I
know, here in the northwest US, use Trow and Holden.
They are at least one of the best for heavy duty use. I
have been told cuturi are fine and perhaps smoother than
Trow and Holden. Abroad there are no doubt other brands
more than worthy. There are other air hammers at
consumer outlet made for construction/demolition, but
those would be like giving a surgen an axe to operate
with.
Rotary tools are air hogs. One alternative is to use a
heavy duty electrical rotary tool like the Fordam
grinder (or light duty dremel) and then you can use a
small and inexpensive compressor just to run your
hammers and to blow dust away. I was very pleasantly
surprised at how efficient the dremel is since it runs
at 30K rpm. That high speed really works well. But it's
limited to small scale work. The Fordam is more
powerful.
I discovered that it is easy to do light duty
sandblasting with a $25 tool and a bucket of garnet sand
(no silicon) from your local abrasives dealer. But,
again, this is a big air hog.
So, if you are serious about pneumatic tools, spend a
thousand bucks and get industrial tools. Light duty or
starving student spend $300 for a small consumer brand.
Best Regards,
Bill
- References
- message 00108: Air compressors - WallSt52 (14 Sep 2001)
- Previous by Thread: message 00108: Air compressors - WallSt52 (14 Sep 2001)
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