What Make of Air Tools?

[geoffsurf]

Hi everyone.

I have just done a number of searches but can't find much on the brand of air tools, so wanted to ask about different brands of air tools. It looks like I missed the run of Aldi air tools a while back.

I am familiar with Sealey, SIP and Clarke air tools. What quality are these tools considered? Are there any other brands that are much better? Are there any other brands that are cheaper to buy?

After much searching, I have just found and bought a second hand compressor with a couple of air tools and so I am looking for a few to get on with my project with.

The most important one I need is a little air belt sander the 20mm wide ones. They seem to be about £100 from Sealey, SIP and Clarke. There is one brand new on ebay for about £50, a brand called HBM, which looks like it has a chunkier guard and won't get into as tight spaces.

Any thoughts?

 

[clueless77]

try powertoolsalesuk.com. they do ingersoll rand and chicago pneumatic. i'm considering the chicago windy gun one thats really powerful but about £180.00, but my wife says we need a fridge freezer as we don't have one. some women just have different priorities

 

[pedrobedro]

Ask on freecycle for a fridge freezer, you can always paint an old one to look new Let's see, food, tools, food, tools which do we need most, What's for tea dear ? I'll just look in the fridge, oh, silly me I forgot we haven't got one

Aldi will be running the offer again some time, they usually run it at least twice a year. I bought a B&D powerfile for getting into corners and shaping and you don't have to run the 3hp compressor just a little electric motor saving a lot of electrickery.

 

[tigler]

Try, www.universal.co.uk
They have a good selection of air belt sanders, and many other air tools.

 

[geoffsurf]

Thanks guys. Someone has been telling me that Chicago Pneumatic is very good, and from the website the Universal air tools also look very good.

I guess if the Clarke air belt sander costs around £100 then it is worth spending a little more on the Chicago Pneumatic or Universal one?

Does anyone know if the HBM one is any good?
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/HBM-20MM-AIR-...Air_Tools_and_Compressors&hash=item5193e93b87

I was hoping to find one second hand, but it doesn't look like a popular second hand item, and I don't think I can wait another month to find one...like I did with the compressor...

 

[outofthefire]

Chicago pneumatic are my first choice at work, but desoutter and ingersol rand are just as good there's also mac, snap on and bluepoint (made by snap on). Beware of people on ebay telling you snap on and bluepoint tools have lifetime guarantees, air and power tools dont). I'd stick to a recognised brand because its easier to track down spares for them.

However a small compressor will struggle to power a lot of tools, power files and grinders suck loads of air. Mine at homes got 3hp pump but its got a small receiver and it has to run almost continuously to power my file or die grinder and my slow running drill's got no power at all.

 

[davenport]

we have a few vrious bits and bobs at work...

mostly bluepoint (my diddy die grinder and 1/2" reversable drill are fantastic) the drill goes nice and slow so reduces the risk of burning out drill bits (handy as we do a lot of stainles fab)

my old 3/8th desoutter air drill is awesome.. unlike a lot of the cheaper air drills i`ve tried you can actually control the speed very accuratly on the trigger (rather than a case of ON-or-FLATOUT)

the pprentice bought the big snap on die grinder and its a beast.. LOTS of torque so you can really give flap wheels some pressure without it stalling..


just as worthwhile as good airtools is a good moisture trap and inline oiler i think mine may well be a seally item??? just make sure you dont try any paint spraying with the airline thats been used with the oiler!!!

 

[overload]

Sealey, SIP and Clarke air tools, I consider to be good enough for casual hobby diy jobs.
They are not for heavy-duty use like you see in garages. They sooner or later break!

Snap-on, bluepoint, Chicago pneumatic, Mac, and Ingersol rand air tools are, in my experience, what you want for heavy use.
In hind sight ideal for a hobbyist as they would last for years with proper maintenance.

 

[brookie456]

I'd go for Ingersol Rand, as the latest Chicago Pneumatic are nowhere near the ones of only a few years ago - if you're paying the £££, you want the best - the longest-lived air tools at our place

 

[Robotstar5]

We use Gatx air files at work, if they can survive the abuse our operators give them they would be OK for hobby use.

 

[squazy84]

Sealey, SIP and Clarke air tools, I consider to be good enough for casual hobby diy jobs.
They are not for heavy-duty use like you see in garages. They sooner or later break!

Snap-on, bluepoint, Chicago pneumatic, Mac, and Ingersol rand air tools are, in my experience, what you want for heavy use.
In hind sight ideal for a hobbyist as they would last for years with proper maintenance.

x2 by cheap by twice, just like the sealy shears i bought for our garage, their ok- ish i cannot understand why they couldnt just go that little bit further and do the job properly, wish i had just spent a few quid more! its always the same, see somthing cheap, most often best to leave it where it is, all our air tools from now on are mac/snap on /bluepoint ingerson rand and chicago pneumattic though the last cp orbital air sander i seen was crappy enough

 

[langy]

Snap-On/Bluepoint/Chicago Pneumatic/Ingersol Rand is what i use but i'm using them day and day out, for hobby use these will be expensive and the Bergen range will do the job and won't cost the earth.

 

[Dune]

I have a Bergen spray gun which has worked very well for many years now. I went to the expense of buying a CP 3" polisher but am very happy with it. Then I have to admit to have bought and use Aldi tools. Ive had no problems with them at all. Now I don't use them for a business just for my own projects. The ratchet has had lots of abuse along with the drill Ive had no problems. I bought a router (wood not computer) about 5 years ago and the colet nut has finally stripped. I phoned the help line, no problem sir we will sent you one out directly. Thats service.

 

[geoffsurf]

Thanks for all your suggestions, it is good to get a feel of what people are using and what they recommend. I am just working on my one car project at the moment so nothing major, but then again I like to buy things that work well. The thing with the more common tool brand air tools is that is all you see in the shops and local tool traders, if you don't know of the better brands as suggested by most.

I was hoping to find a nice second hand good quality brand because I won't be using it that often. I'm finding it a bit difficult to commit to a brand new air belt sander at around £120-£150 because I just bought a large 160ltr 3hp compressor with a few air tools for £160!

Also its strange that Clarke air tools etc, are quite pricey when compared to the better brands mentioned on here. I have been having a look at the suggested brands but some of the brands don't seem to make the thin belt sander. Snapon, Bluepoint, Ingersoll Rand, all don't seem to show any thin belt sanders and some of the others mentioned don't have a good enough website to show you if they have them.

With the belt sander, do people have any opinions on 10mm vs 20mm. I was thinking 20mm because I want to sand thick weld beads as well as rust. I had a look at someones 10mm one briefly the other day and it looked a bit too small. Do most on here buy the 10mm or 20mm?

 

[tigler]

I would have suggested Snap-On but assumed it would be out of your price range, they are generally too expensive for non pro's. Ingersoll Rand are excellent but again not cheap. You need to be careful these days though, many premium brand names are selling badged up Chinese stuff.
That Universal Tools site I showed is good quality at a good price and they do have a 10MM belt sander.
Personally, I use Snap-On and have used their Blue-Point stuff. Actually I have a 1/2" drive impact gun which has seen some seriously heavy use and it still works as well as ever. It's not quite as sexy as my Snap-On one, but it does the job.
Buying quality brand used air tools is a good idea, but be careful they haven't been worked to death.
One other tip, lubricate air tools properly, preferably with an automatic lubricator.

 

[geoffsurf]

I've been on websites intensely over the last couple of days trying to look at all the belt sanders and trying to find some second hand. I have also been searching through my tool catalogues.

Do you know if Snap-on or Bluepoint or Ingersoll Rand do the thin belt sanders, I have the Snap-on catalogue and I've searched their website but can't find any?

Somebody mentoined what you say about the rebadged chinese stuff just the other day to me. I suppose the quality varies with the particular tool also.

It would be so helpful if I could find some used good quality tools now, but just like the compressor, I waited months for something right to come along. Not many people seem to use the air belt sanders either.

The price also varies hugely on new belt sanders depending on which place you buy them from. I had a look at the Universal tools you mentioned and they look good, no prices, just typed it into google and the belt sander seems to sell for around £170!

I actually have some questions about setting up my compressor and maintenance, I think its best if I start a new thread with some pictures.

 

[NTwoO]

I find Rodac air tools to have a reasonable price and still provide good long lasting quality. Since I use my air tools for hobby purposes, I always do a few drops of oil in the tool after use. Spin it around and leave the oil in the tool.

 

[outofthefire]

I've bought nearly all my air tools off ebay. If you buy one of the pro brands already mentioned you can get spares if they need reconditioning. To be honest there's not a lot to go wrong inside them its usually the vanes or an o ring that need replacing.

 

[drjim]

I had a cheapy impact gun from ebay, came as part of a set.

Air chisel - binned as it didn't work even after dismantled/fettled.
Air ratchet - binned. Worked for two bolts then seized solid (yes I lubed it).
Die grinder - works
Impact gun - lasted about two years of intermittent use.

So for 20 quid I got my moneys worth, plus still have the sockets the set came with.

I ordered an ingersoll rand 236 from powertoolsalesuk.com after reading this thread on Saturday night. I should get my moneysworth out of that too.

 

[geoffsurf]

What I find confusing is when you see an air tool like a reciprocating air saw. Silverline, Sealey, Am-tech, Bergen, Ingersoll Rand, Bluepoint, etc all seem to look exactly the same and you wonder if there really is any difference between them. The outer shell looks exactly the same, but perhaps the internal workings are different? The price of course varies from £20-£180.