Hi All,
I'm going to outfit my garage with some pneumatic tools to take advantage of my 20gal air compressor. I'm looking for some recommendations:

Impact - there is a wide variety of torque's available. I am only going to use it for corvette related projects... what do I need? I was thinking 1/2"

Air Ratchet - same questions as for the impact

Air Drill - I'm on the fence about buying one of these, anyone use them regularly?

Air die grinder (cutting wheel) - recommendations?

Bench Vise - 6"? favorite manufacturers?

Thanks guys. Happy holidays!

-Dan

 

I went with a 1/2 inch impact setup. I suspect 3/8 would do but my reasoning was that if clearance is that big of an issue, I should use a breaker bar anyways. I ended up getting a very nice Sears impact gun but I'm very fond of Snap On. If you get a used, modern one, you can always get parts. That isn't always the case with Sears.

I have an air ratchet but rarely use it. I wouldn't bother getting another one though I did get it when I had a Toyota Avalon and two of the back spark lugs were so hard to get at that I'd have a manual ratchet advance one click at a time. The air ratchet mad this job much faster.

I have a cheap, Chicago Pneumatic cut off wheel that I got at Wally World for like $20. Works great and I use it all the time. You might find that you will have to wait for your compressor to catch up a lot though. These tools use a ton of air.

I have a Snap On air drill. I don't use it a lot but love it when I do. TONS of torque. I've snaped a few bits along the way but I don't think that I've ever stalled it.

Merry Christmas!

 

Your compressor is a little small. Check to see what the CFM rating is on your compressor and match air tools to about 25% less so your compressor is not running all the time. I have had my cheap cut off and die grinder for probably 15 years and they still work great.

 

1/2 inch impact... if you buy a quality high torque unit and feed it witj a correctly sized hose you'll seldom need to rattle a fastener long enough for a smallish compressor to be an issue.

I never use my air ratchet.

I have not taken my Snap-On air drill out of its case since I quit doing body work... about 25 years ago except to oil and exercise it once a year.

Get a right angle die grinder... much more handy than a straight.

Buy a USA made bench vise... they are quite expensive so get ready for a bit of sticker shock. I have a 4 and 6 inch... get the 6 first.

 

Find a nice old one on craigslist,they show up once in awhile.

 

I have an earlier verrsion of this gun and I love it: http://www.sears.com:80/shc/s/p_1015...1&blockType=G1

I think ingersol makes the best guns and if I remember correctly they make a bunch for other manufacturers. If you are going to have one you want a 1/2". You don't really need a 3/8".

Air ratchet is good to have, I think my 3/8" is an ingersol and it is okay. Nothing really special.

Cut off wheel- I think it is okay to cheap out on this one. All it has to do is spin.

Air drill- If you are only drilling occasionally I don't think it is needed. I have three that I used all the time when I was a mechanic. But barely touch as a hobbiest.

 

The only thing I would add is that you should not under any circumstances CHEAP OUT on sockets.... PAY THE MONEY they will last you forever

I have not use my air drill in years and when I did it was in my wood shop my cut off wheel gets a ton of use BUY not normally needed for any auto work except exhaust work and todays exhaust systems tend to be a lot longer lasting then they used to be...

Bob G

 

Add an air chisel to that list. I use mine a lot

 

That's not a very big compressor, but definitely worth putting to use all the same. FWIW, I have 1/2" impact, 3/8" ratchet, die grinder, cutoff tool, air chisel, and assorted nozzles. Also, have 40 gal. blaster, but really need a larger compressor to operate it for anything except small jobs. I have one of those "pancake" compressors for field work, primarily for my nail guns.

Look for good deals on quality tools, but don't waste your money on cheap ones. Install a dryer, decent regulator, routinely drain out condensation from your tank, and don't forget to oil your tools occasionally. Last, but not least, do spend a few bucks on appropriate eye and ear safety equipment.

 

Like others have stated, that is not a large capacity for air tools. Whatever air tools you buy, you will be consuming more air than your compressor can make and store in a reasonable time. For instance, you may not even be able to remove all the lugs on one stubborn wheel with that. I had a 25 gal craftsmen a long time ago, and this is how I know.

I'm a professional mechanic, at home I have a 60, and a 100 gallon tank hooked together. This is excessive, and I only have that because the 100 gallon tank came with the garage. But to use air tools you want at least 60 gallon storage. Tools like die grinders and cut off wheels suck air down super fast, and even taking off a wheel with an impact and a 20 gallon compressor, it will kick on with the second lug nut, and be weak by the 4th or so, pause, wait for pressure, and restart your work.

 

I like a 3/8" drive impact. My favorite air ratchet is a 1/4" drive model, I also use a air drill often, small palm drill is mostly used followed by my 3/8" chuck midsize drill. Only use the 1/2" chuck motor on seriously thick material. I use the 90 deg high speed grinder the most.
Husky from home depot makes good home garage tools that will last a long time. My stuff is all Mac, snap-on, Rockwell, cleco etc. And some of these tools I've used regularly for over 20 yrs. A few drops of air tool oil before each use keeps them going.

 

I have a 3/8" and 1/2" impact, uses for both as the 1/2" has a lot more oomph to it. Spend a little more on the impacts than the other tools as that is where the quality tools pays off more.

Air ratchet use once in a great while when running long bolts in and out, a basic 3/8" IR would be fine.

Most cutoff tools will work fine, the secret is getting good cutoff wheels. Most the cheap tool stores carry China made wheels. If you can go to a good contractor supply store and get PFERD wheels, you will see a big difference. Your 20 gal is pretty small for a cutoff tool and an air drill but as long as your not doing a lot it will work fine.

Right Angle Air drills are nice because they typically have low clearance so you can get in areas you can't with most cordless drills. For everyday drilling, the noise will get to you, your much better off with a good cordless drill.

 

I had a 20 gallon and it worked but was noisy as hell. I found a good 80 gallon, 7.5 HP tank on craigslist and kick myself in the butt for fighting with the smaller tank for so long plus it wouldn't really run all the tools.

I'll probably get flamed but I have bought a lot of mine at harbor freight because they are so cheap when they are on sale. They have done everything that I have needed to do and so far have held up for a couple of years. If you don't use them much they may be all you need or if you are unsure that you will use a tool, buy one from them and see how much you can use it.

Buying all at once is expensive so I figured I'd start with a cheap set and then upgrade a piece at a time as they wore out. They just haven't worn out yet.

 

I purchase a cordless Mikita 1/2 impact wrench about 5 years ago. For me this thing was the best addition to my tool set. I have a 2 stage, 220 compressor that I only use for sanding and painting now. I highly recommend one.
http://www.amazon.com/Makita-BTW251-...903908&sr=8-26

 

Since you didn't explain HOW you intend to use these air tools, it's hard to make a specific recommendation. But in general, the Harbor Freight type air tools are very inefficient; they will gulp air like no tomorrow. More efficient tools like Ingersoll Rand and Snap-On are expensive. Chicago Pneumatic used to make good tools, but I'm not sure about their recent manufacture.



Here are 4 of my impacts, from left to right, 1/4", 3/8", 1/2" and 3/4". The latter most likely won't run on your small compressor as it requires a 1/2" air line for lots of volume. But you'd probably not have use for such a behemoth anyway. At the other end of the spectrum, the 1/4" impact makes quick work of interior screws but has so little oomph that it's useless for any fastener larger than 1/4". The 3/8" size is a good all around impact but I wouldn't trust it on lugnuts. And the 1/2" size is too clunky and heavy for repetitive work outside of lugnuts. So, one size does NOT fit all applications.

And so it goes for the other air tools on your list. One recommendation I will make is to get a flexible 3/8" air hose. In my experience the cheap ones are stiff and not very user friendly.

I like this style of bench vise...5 or 6" size. Both the jaws and base swivel giving great utility. It also has jaws for pipe or other round objects.