Air tool recommendations

[tubthumper]

Evening all. Just picked up an old compressor, which only came with a paint gun and I'd like to now purchase a few more tools.
Is there any particular brands to look for or indeed avoid? I'm looking to get a tyre inflator/blow gun/socket gun/ sander/ grinder. Only for use in my garage at home,and probably low useage.
Thanks.💨

[Deleted]

There is a load of air tools at the cheap end of the market - some of them are next to useless - dependant upon the size of the compressor you would be better sticking to electric for things like grinders & sanders - the cheap tyre inflators have gauges that are widely inaccurate so do your research online first and see what reviews the brands have - I even stick to rechargeable drills / impact guns etc has these are more efficient & durable - I have a power file that's air powered and pretty good - air tools are like everything else you get what you pay for but most garages / workshops tend to use cordless / electric kit now days

[Dez]

Depends on the spec on the compressor you’ve bought. Most air tools draw around 15-20cfm. If the compressor can’t push that, you’re only gunna be able to use them in short bursts which shortens their usefulness. A lot is down to the specific jobs you’re doing too.

My compressor is a big 3phase unit, and will supply that amount of air, but the only tools where I really go for air over electric are die grinders.

I’ve also got an air drill which can be useful as the body is much smaller than an electric one so it’s good for tight spaces. Doesn’t have the torque of an electric one though.

If you’re doing welding and fab one of those punch flange tools for joggling edges and punching plug weld holes is great to have, I use that quite a bit.

I tend to use an air chisel/needle scaler quite a bit too. Good for flaky rust on heavier steel, but also great for removing tar board
Sound deadening. My air chisel comes with a nibbler chisel which is actually better than the proper nibbler.

Obviously a rattle gun if the compressor is big enough, but also an air ratchet can be dead handy for tight spaces, it’s basically like a normal ratchet but you don’t have to turn it, just put it on and it will spin nuts on and off easily then you can use it like a normal ratchet to crack em off or nip em up. I tend to use it on difficult manifold nuts with limited access.

Air angle grinders are generally pretty rubbish and worth avoiding.

A good D/A sander is well worth having, but only if you’re painting. Tbh most body shops use electric these days though.

As for brand, unless you’re a heavy user Clarke/sealey kind of stuff is going to be fine. I’m a pro user and even a fair bit of mine is those brands. Some stuff can be super cheap and it’s absolutely no different to the brand names I’ve got a few Lidl air tools that are great.
I’d tend to go good brand for the rattle gun, air ratchet, and maybe tyre inflator (or a cheapy with a better gauge). If you buy a PCL one it’ll last longer than you will.

[tubthumper]

Many thanks for the replies. I'll certainly require an accurate tyre guage and had assumed that the really cheap ones online are cheap for a reason. I'll take a look at the Sealey stuff and see who's got what.

[slater]

Yeh the cheap tyre inflators are curse word. The PCL type are much better and can be found 2nd hand easily enough. The higher end ones with the round gauge and clip on Schrader adaptor are useful for some jobs tho (like using a bead cheater on your own..)


I agree tho rattle guns, grinders, all that sort of thing are better off electric nowerdays. Even with 120cfm at my disposal I wouldn't bother. Air tools are a good way of getting some specialised kit at a lower price than what an electric version would cost tho. I use things like riv nut setters, riveters, jogglers, spot weld drill etc as they are half the price or less for the air version than the electric version would be (if you could even get one) and they only get comparitivly occasional use.

Some stuff like die grinders and dyna files are too bulky in electric too.

[tubthumper]

Here she is in all of her glory. Almost as old as me probably but exchanged for a couple of bottles of red wine so can't complain 😀

[Deleted]

That's only going to be a 75 - 100 litre tank and any air tool like a DA sander will exhaust it's volume very quickly - don't get me wrong its a handy piece of kit to have and has you say its cost you next to nothing - it will be good for a blow gun - spraygun when tackling single panels etc but would really struggle with a repaint of a full car - you would have to keep stopping and waiting for the pressure to build back up in the tank with any air hungry tools

[tubthumper]

I was never planning to spray a whole car with it,just wanted some advice on some decent/ useful tools.

[93fxdl]

Air tools I find most use for are
Tyre inflator
90 degree die grinder
Straight die grinder
Belt sander
The die grinders are used with a range of rolock type sanding and buffing disks
I have a wide range of air tools and these are the ones used most.
When setting up an air tool system beware of cheap airlines and connectors as some are restrictive, and you will never get the best from your compressor or tools
Ttfn Glenn