Air tools

[xortam]

My neighbor was telling me about the games he used to play with an air staple gun when he was younger. These guys would work construction and take a break by having gun duels with the staplers, trying to stay just out of range. One time he lowered his gun towards himself and accidentally pulled the trigger and nailed it!!! Yes it. Had to pull the staple out himself.

[gt40]

wasn't it Johnny Knoxville who did this on purpose as part of his stage show - or was it steve'O ?
regardless, I think all the new staple guns have a safety mechanism that prevents you from firing them unless it is placed against a solid object.

[Dr Mordrid]

I have a big Craftsman air compressor and a whole slew of air tools ranging from LOTS of air wrenches, tire fillers/dirt blowers to brad/staplers and several types of nail guns ranging from brad & finishing to roofing nails.

Add in air drills, sanders (circular and orbital), a sandblaster, metal cutter & nibbler etc. etc. and, well....you get the idea

I wouldn't be without it.

YES; modern nailers & staplers have a safety mechanism that prevents accidentally nailing yourself unless you're up for casting in Dumb & Dumber III

Dr. Mordrid

[Fat Tone]

Anyone ever see Arachnophobia?

Now that nail gun didn't have a safety catch, which I'm sure that flying spider was a little pissed about!

[Dr Mordrid]

They pulled the same stunt in one of the "Lethal Weapon" movies and in the Bruce Willis flik "Color of Night", but that mode of operation is bogus unless the guns safety features have been removed.

There is a Federal safety standard requiring a secondary "safety catch trigger" (actually a small plunger) on the business end of a pneumatic nailer/stapler that has to be depressed by contact with the workpiece to unlock the main trigger mechanism.

If those construction workers actually disabled them then they're 100% morons.

Yes, you could also hold it back manually and launch nails or staples into the air, but at the risk of shooting your own fingers;



The "foot" of the safety plunger on my guns are much smaller than shown in this diagram, which would make launching a nail into the air even more dangerous.

Dr. Mordrid

[xortam]

Originally posted by Dr Mordrid
... There is a Federal safety standard requiring a secondary "safety catch trigger" (actually a small plunger) on the business end of a pneumatic nailer/stapler that has to be depressed by contact with the workpiece to unlock the main trigger mechanism.

If those construction workers actually disabled them then they're 100% morons. ...

First of all my neighbor is a Canuck so they probably fall under different safety standards. Secondly, this stunt took place a long time ago, before injury lawsuit settlements became so lucrative and before such safety features.

[xortam]

Guess what I got for xmas.

[Paddy]

your two font teeth?

[cjolley]

Originally posted by Paddy
your two font teeth?

http://www.fontpool.com/fonts/pizzadude/krooked_teeth.html

Chuck

[xortam]

I received a Craftsman 3 gal. 1.5 hp Air Compressor. It delivers 2.4 SCFM at 90 psi and a max of 125 psi. It's small at 19"x9"x19" which is nice for the tight confines around the workbench. I'm trying to determine which air tools I can use with this compressor but the Sears website isn't too helpful in this regard. It seems like I'd have to jump up to at least a 6 hp compressor to drive some of the interesting tools there (blaster, etc.) The power washer wants at least a 3 hp compressor driving 2.2 SCFM at 50 psi. I think I'll probably stick with this compressor because of its size but I'm still trying to figure out if getting a bit larger is worthwhile for the extra capability. Sure would be nice to see a compatibility matrix of the tools and compressors.

[gt40]

use the air delivery as a guideline.
the powerwasher only requires 2.2 scfm @ 50, so your compressor is fine. (2.4@90)
any intermittant tool is fine (like a air wrench or impact gun or nailer) as they do not require continous air delivery like a sander or grinder.

[Dr Mordrid]

The only problem with rigs that have lower capacity tanks/motors is that they have to run more often as you use them, which can put quite a beating on the motor/compressor, use a fair bit of electricity and makes for no small amount of noise (esp. from the neighbors point of view).

The small ones are nice for portability, but you'd also need a portable generator to be truely portable with them unless they're gasoline powered (the vast majority aren't).

Personally I use a portable 15 gallon/150 PSI tank that can shoot a bunch of nails or fill at least a couple of large tires on one charge, which are my main uses for a portable rig.

This tank plus a finish nailer is a great setup for moving around the house mounting baseboards, trim etc. It can also go in the back of the van for emergency tire fills or removing lug nuts (we have cased kit that includes a 1/2" air wrench, a 3/8" air ratchet and sockets for car duties).

This unit is very similar to my Sears compressor, but mine can run either horizontally or vertically. This makes storage in the garage much easier as long as vertical use includes bracing it with a safety strap.

Dr. Mordrid

[xortam]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I'm still thinking about what you said Doc. This unit will actually fit inside my workbench cabinet but I probably wouldn't store it there. I'm anxious to open the box and check it out but I still haven't decided on which way to go and how I'd use it. I wonder if I could run this little guy off of an inverter from the car? I need to find out what the draw is for this unit. I still think I would like a compressor I could paint with as well as grind and sand. I might stick with this for now and get something big later. I'll check out the portable tanks. Thanks.

[Dr Mordrid]

Motors are a lot harder on inverter rigs than electronic gear, which is what most inverters are made for. Just remember that this type of motor draws a LOT more than their running amps when the motor first starts up....maybe 2-3 times the running amps.

Time to check the motors amps and do some calculations.

Also; most cars only have a 50-65 amp alternator. This can drive a 300 watt inverter for small devices like a TV, stereo or mini-fridge. Absent a larger alternator 100 - 120 amps or so, like you find in an SUV or camper, things could get problematic very quickly.

Some vehicles (one of my older Dodge B-250's for example) are geared towards this kind of thing, having 120 volt alternators with both 120v (for accessories) and 12v (for the cars electronics) outputs.

I wouldn't trust a small alternator/inverter rig to reliably put out the power needed to start a compressor motor. You could easily blow both the inverter and the car's alternator.

Dr. Mordrid

[MultimediaMan]

Get some sort of a water trap for your new air compressor.

If you can, set the compressor fairly high, and have the water trap set below the bottom of the air reservoir: this makes keeping the system clear of water much simpler.

Depending on where you live, water in the tank can be a major problem, particularly during the summer months.