Showing posts with label tankless air compressor. Show all posts
Showing posts with label tankless air compressor. Show all posts

Thursday, October 9, 2014

Campbell Hausfeld PA300400AV Retractable Reel with Hose

Campbell Hausfeld PA300400AV Retractable Reel with Hose
  • Necessity for any shop's air tool system
  • Retractable design allows for automatic rewind
  • Mounting plate for convenient placement
  • Adjustable guide arm and hose guide for ease of use
  • 1-year limited warranty

I purchased this with very little confidence, in fact I shopped based off price. I didn't want to spend a lot since its for my home garage (man cave) and I can say so far it works as intended. I mounted it directly into the concrete next to my compressor (150 psi) and I pull it to desired length and give it a quick tug to lock the hose I. Place. It takes a couple tugs sometimes but that's typical. I've used 100-200 + systems and the only difference I can tell you is that the more expensive the nicer they look.

Also it doesn't come with any fittings of course so you have to purchase them but other than that great bang for the buck!

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Excellent product for the price you pay. A touch on the awkward side to mount, but I managed by myself. I took the mounting plate off, left the bolts in that attach to the reel, and then ran some lag bolts through the plate into the wall. Then I reattached the reel and tightened everything up. I've been using it a couple weeks and love it. I was previously using a 25 foot hose with no reel, so having the extra length and self retract capability are wonderful.

Monday, September 15, 2014

Bosch STN150-18 18 Gauge Narrow Crown Stapler

Bosch STN150-18 18 Gauge Narrow Crown Stapler
  • Tool-less Adjustable Air Exhaust
  • Tool-less Selectable Trigger - Easily Switch between bump and sequential fire
  • Tool-less adjustable depth of drive - Adjust depth of drive on tool
  • Narrow Nose for Excellent Line of Sight and Slim Body for Better line of sight and better control
  • In-line self cleaning air filter - Keeps debris from the valve and o-ring improving life of tool

I nabbed one of these after my positive experiences with Bosch's new brad nailer, and am pleased to say it works every bit as well as its brother in every regard. It's light as a feather, packs tons of power, and generally just feels much more hardy than the equivalent Hitachi gun. Jam clears are tool free (though I haven't experienced a jam yet, so I can't say how easy it is to use in practice), the exhaust port is freely rotatable, and the set depth can be fine tuned right there on the nose.

While I'm greatly satisfied with my purchase, I still have to dock Bosch a star for failing to include the coupler fitting I'd venture a good 99% of users will need to actually slap it on the end of their air hoses, and I'm just not crazy about the way the triggers on these models are held in place by a tiny rubber washer of questionable longevity. Only time will tell how well they hold up, but something tells me I'll be special ordering a handful of the things long before the internal seals die on me. The dark blue cover that sits under the magazine and keeps the follower's springs from jumping out is also made of a somewhat flimsy bit of plastic, but the way it's put together, I don't think it's likely to get broken unless subjected to the kind of abuse that rarely takes place in a finish carpenter or upholsterer's shop. Still, it really should have been metal, or at least ABS plastic.

Buy Bosch STN150-18 18 Gauge Narrow Crown Stapler Now

This tool has great ergonomics, sinks staples consistently, only lacks a trigger lock as far as features go, and is just nice to use. And while other top load staplers (like the Hitachi) have the release and catch for tool-free jam clearing sticking out on the front of the gun, Bosch put the release and the catch just behind the nose of the gun, relatively out of the way. Really smart. But, the catch seems much wider than needed and limits how close you can get the gun when the body of it is parallel to a wall or other obstruction (much less of an issue than the bump on the front of the gun though).

The body and nose of the gun are about as long as they are on other staplers, but much narrower, so far so good. But the bump on the plastic cover just below the depth setting dial keeps you from getting closer than 1/2" or so from obstructions when the body of the stapler is perpendicular to the wall. Like when face stapling flooring against a wall. A little too close for comfort when you want fasteners to be covered by base or other trim that will be installed later. With my older Bostitch stapler I'm able to get much closer, @1/4" or so away from the wall.

Finally the plastic magazine cover that holds the staples in place is thin plastic. Unlikely to survive even one fall from @3'.

In short, this is a great gun in a lot of ways, and it's almost there but I personally feel that these design choices really keep this tool from living up to its potential.

Read Best Reviews of Bosch STN150-18 18 Gauge Narrow Crown Stapler Here

...Bosch came out with airtools... I have been thru PorterCable, Bostich, Stanley, Senco but none of them measures up to the Bosch Stapler! I use it in my cabinet shop and a stapler can finally keep up with my production! It is especially great that you easily can see how many staples are left in the stapler... I will get the other tools as well when my existing ones give up. I love Bosch...

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This staple gun fails miserably! The deepest I can get the staples to sink is only "nearly flush" with the workpiece! This is with the gun settings at deepest sink and "Turbo Action" employed.

Of all the Bosch tools I have bought and used without the slightest problem this one is a real disapointment.

The newly engineered firing mechanism sounded wonderful. I will wait a couple more years before I think about buying another pnuematic nailer from Bosch (so they can get the bugs worked out). This stapler is being returned.

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Just recieved this stapler to replace my 27yo Senco 'k' which died, I'm retired so didn't want to justify $400 for a hobby tool. So what's wrong with it?

1 Feed magazine cover is VERY thin and flimsy plastic but the way they install the feed spring it will not feed without this cover.

2 The above cheap plastic cover is only held on with one pin which is using what amounts to an o-ring on the end of it for retention

3 The driver was loose in the drive slot upon delivery, with a little wear it will need cleared with every staple

4 Tested it on 3/4" hard maple using 1-1/2" staples only able to drive 13/16" of staple; rest is proud. 8 staples and a jam requireing opening the nose and using a tool to pry a piece of staple out of the groove where it and the driver were both trying to occupy (rest of staple had been sheared off) the same space.

This tool is nicer but functions no better than a Chinese made one I got 15 years ago from Harbor Freight for $30. It claimed to be a 1-1/2" stapler also but couldn't drive any better but it still works which I don't think this one will in 5 years.

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Milton (MILS-682) Air Tank Conversion Kit

Milton Air Tank Conversion Kit
  • Filler valve
  • Gage
  • 4' air hose assembly
  • Manifold
  • Chuck

I don't have a compressor at home, and I live 10 miles from town. So when I need air in a tire, or help out a friend with a flat to get into town to get it fix, I have it. :) Finding a tank to convert for air is easy! I'm going to get one for the car and for my Daughters car. It needs a valve to isolate tank from the hose and air chuck. It will lose air over a weeks time. Just keep it filled.

Buy Milton (MILS-682) Air Tank Conversion Kit Now

I have extra air in my older unused 20# tank to fill my tractor or flatbead tires in the field. No need to worry, just fill from my compressior cary to low air tire.

Monday, November 18, 2013

Bosch SN350-RH Rafter Hook

Bosch SN350-RH Rafter Hook
  • Easily hang tool from rafters for increased productivity.
  • Retractable Hook to move out of the way while not in use.
  • Compatible with Bosch SN350-20F and SN350-34C framing nailers
  • Includes: Rafter Hook and Allen Key

Any framing gun without a hook is worthless. It's too bad the Bosch 21 degree framer that I use this hook for didn't come with a hook but that's not the point. The hook is huge and works well although I've broken the pin that keeps the hook portion attached to bracket. Usability/Utility 10/10. Durability 6.5/10. The original hook that I purchased last about 18 months of medium to light use. It was easily fixed with a small Maze nail acting as a replacement pin. Regardless, I expect more.

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I own the Bosh SN350-20F, and even though I had to order this rafter hook extra it was well worth it.

Read Best Reviews of Bosch SN350-RH Rafter Hook Here

The item works as advertised and is really handy when working off the ground. The Bosch nailer should have made this a standard option on the tool. The hook works, but you have to push in on the spring loaded hook to move in between the open and closed setting and it is awkward. Bosch engineering should have worked on developing a smoother operating hook, other manufacturers have certainly have it mastered.

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Rafter hook works great. I only gave it 4 stars because it can only be mounted on one side of the gun.

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

Ingersoll Rand 121K6 Super Duty Air Hammer with 6-Piece Chisel Kit

Ingersoll Rand 121K6 Super Duty Air Hammer with 6-Piece Chisel Kit
  • Professional touch trigger for total control
  • Long-life tool with a tough one piece alloy barrel
  • Easy to maintain, with an "easy out" throttle valve assembly
  • Kit includes: a blow molded plastic case with a removable lid and 6 chisels
  • Air hammer comes in a blowmolded case with 6 chisels

I had to re-tile some bathroom floors, but ran into a problem. The ceramic tile was apparently put down with an adhesive that was meant to last 100 years. In the first bathroom I used a chisel and hammer to remove the tile by hand which took me a week to get the tile up. There had to be a better way so I bought this air hammer and gave it a try.

I was amazed how fast the tile came up with this tool. It works like a little mini hand-held jackhammer. I was able to remove the tile in just a few hours instead of a week doing it by hand. I am sure this handy little tool has many other uses that I may discover later, but for now I am very happy using it for tile removal.

There is one thing you must be aware of. This tool uses an air compressor. I only had a 1 gallon compressor which is not even close to adequate. I had to buy an 8 gallon and it worked great.

Buy Ingersoll Rand 121K6 Super Duty Air Hammer with 6-Piece Chisel Kit Now

I wanted to chip some granite so I bought a 20 dollar Kobalt Air Hammer. Two shifts of four hours running it non stop pretty much trashed it. No umph left. OK, maybe I should have read the directions and added some lubricant. I did that before the second stint and the oomph was back but not for long. I might rebuild it when I get the spare time.

Meanwhile paid 86 bucks for the Ingersoll Rand and am quite happy. The job I am doing is nonstop brutal hammering of rock. The Kobalt I am sure can handle the light work but this Ingersoll Rand feels like it is going to last. More heft and more power. 4 good turns at the rock and it's still quite peppy. I am oiling this one from the start so this review might not be completely fair to the Kobalt.

Chisels from both fit the new hammer. Now if someone could point me to a chisel that fits this hammer which will not wear out I would be happy. I have to grind a new edge every hour or so and they are getting short.

Read Best Reviews of Ingersoll Rand 121K6 Super Duty Air Hammer with 6-Piece Chisel Kit Here

First let me say I went on the cheap for my first air hammer and learned my lesson. This unit does all the usual things needed for around the home. Remove tile, chip out grout, punch a hole through concrete or concrete blocks, etc etc. It's not over nor under powered for those uses and it's reasonable weight makes using it easy. It doesn't overly vibrate and isn't overly loud during use. It works perfectly with my Makita MAC2400 Big Bore 2.5 HP Air Compressor with no real wait time for compressor recharge time beyond the normal pauses for clearing debris or moving about.

It seems about "just right" for typical home owner use.

UPDATE: After a year of use this hammer is still going strong. used it on an outdoor flagstone patio re-grout. (One of those jobs that looked straightforward but turned into a nightmare) It's spent many many hours removing grout, breaking up decaying concrete base and never once even stuttered. It did break a retaining spring but that's to be expected. One of those few tools that is solidly made and worth the money.

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Nothing special about this. The spring that holds the chisel in broke on first use. Had to wait to use it until I could get a quick connect one on line. Not sure why the company would not include this for the price they are charging. Works adequately, not under powered but not overpowered either. Bought because reviews on this model were good. I guess I would say I do not agree wholeheartly with those folks.

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I paid the high price for this product specifically to avoid buying a Chinese quality one. I have always used Ingersoll Rand tools in the shop and have had good experiences. When I received the tool, I immediately realized that it was made in China. Within an hour of using it, the bit retainer snapped. It was clearly made from Chinese grade recycled metal. a.k.a. they made it out of metal they got from melting down a used clothes drier with the lint still in it. I took it to a certified IR service center and they didn't have an IR replacement bit retainer, but they were able to give me a speed loader off of a similar brand display model that fit. By the end of the day the chisel I was using jambed in the speed loader. The metal was of such obvious low quality that it had deformed from the force of the tool itself. I used a dremel to trim down edge and got it working again. By the end of the second day the tool starting losing force despite being oiled regularly. I took it apart, cleaned it and got it back up to full speed. By the end of the job on the third day the tool was barely functioning and it didn't matter how much I cleaned it. Upon further inspection I realized that too much air was slipping past the hammer due to wear. Again, probably from cheap metal. I spent more time fixing this tool than actually using it; I should have just gone to Harbor Freight and bought one for $15.

Monday, September 16, 2013

Grex Genesis.XA Single Action Top Gravity Airbrush, 0.3mm Nozzle, 7ml Cup

Grex Genesis.XA Single Action Top Gravity Airbrush, 0.3mm Nozzle, 7ml Cup
  • Easy to use single action push button with precise paint volume control knob
  • Interchangeable top mount reservoirs with integrated paint cup for minute amounts of paint
  • Internally mixed, cutting edge design for precise control of fine detailed work
  • Replaceable solvent proof teflon seals, precision machined stainless steel nozzle and needle
  • Convenient to clean design with short passageway from cup to nozzle for responsive feel

I build plastic models as a hobby and I purchased a Grex Genesis XA single action airbrush with money I received for Christmas. I bought this model because I wanted a tool that would allow me to airbrush large sections with a single color. I use acrylic paints primarily albeit I do use lacquer based paints on occasion.

The airbrush has a unique design and some nice features--the knob to adjust airflow is an example. But it was also disappointing. The gravity feed design enables paint to leak down into the nozzle which in turn causes spatter on the model. It can be fixed by tightening down the airflow, but that somewhat defeats the process I purchased the brush for--large area coverage. Additionally, I had several problems with paint clogs. The clogs may have been due to user error--not properly mixing the paint, for example--but the clogs happened frequently than with any of my other airbrushes, causing me to break down the airbrush and clean the individual components.

Overall, bottom feed single action brushes from domestic manufactures would have been a better fit.

Buy Grex Genesis.XA Single Action Top Gravity Airbrush, 0.3mm Nozzle, 7ml Cup Now

I just finished watching a very informative video on figure painting where the instructor used a Grex single action brush for the priming process. I'm a Paasche guy from way back and I have several of their brushes, both single and double action. I have heard good things about the Grex airbrushes and the video demo was encouraging but the only review on this site causes me pause. I know of a hobby shop in my area that carries this product and they have hosted demonstrations for Grex in the past. I was ready to drop the bucks on this airbrush tonight but after reading the review on this model I am going to wait until I can actually see one in use and hopefully spray a little with it myself. I'm getting into figure painting in a big way and The Grex Genesis.XA seems to be just right for the task. I know that the Grex company puts on demonstrations from time to time so perhaps I'll get lucky and find something in the near future. I usually jump in feet first on a deal like this but I have spent too much money lately on items I did little or no research on and have paid a price for not being thorough.

My bet is that I'll own one of these little gems soon.

Friday, June 28, 2013

AAA 65-Piece Winter Severe Weather Travel Kit

AAA 65-Piece Winter Severe Weather Travel Kit
  • Compact 65-piece road assistance kit for winter conditions by AAA and LifeLine First Aid
  • Includes folding shovel with sheath
  • Includes 3-piece fleece set
  • Includes strobe light
  • Includes a 46-piece first-aid kit

I ordered two of these kits in anticipation for another cold Minnesota winter. I received it within 2 days since I have Amazon Prime. I am pleased with the kit overall, but am disappointed as well.

The kit seems sufficient with plenty to get by if I were to be stranded somewhere in the middle of no where. There's stuff to keep me warm, safe, and to signal others as well. Everything seems to be of mediocre quality, which is good enough for me.

However, it is different from what is described.

1) No Matches! The set of matches in both sets were replaced with another cheap candle due to shipping restrictions. What good are my 4 candles without matches?

2) The flashlight is NOT a hand-charged dual LED flashlight. Instead it is an ordinary cheap flashlight with two AA batteries.

The waterproof matches and the hand-charged flashlight were definitely selling points, and I'm not so sure I would have bought this particular set if it I knew these pitfalls ahead of time. Nonetheless, I'll keep them to save myself the hassle since I'm still better with the kits than without them.

I am planning on adding a few items before I chuck it into my trunk. Some hard candy, extra socks, some baggies to keep my feet dry in case I need to trudge through some snow, a container to melt snow in, chapstick, a medium sized and durable container of cat litter, and finally my trusty jumper cables.

Buy AAA 65-Piece Winter Severe Weather Travel Kit Now

If you are a driver who travels in rough winter weather (or if you know and like such a driver), this is a perfect starter kit to put in the trunk before the first leaves fall. The AAA Winter Travel kit has put together a bunch of survival items that could make the difference between freezing to death or waiting for help in relative comfort. The kit is not 100% complete, no kit could be, but if you add the items that pertain to your personal situation, you will feel a lot better when driving those backwoods roads.

The most useful item, by far, is the enclosed "Emergency Car Care Guide," which has instructions and suggestions to get your car headed back to safety instead of being stranded at the side of a cold and stormy road. If the car cannot be started again easily, the Guide also contains suggestions on how to keep warm and safe while waiting for rescue. To help, there are emergency candles, a shovel to remove snow from around the car's tailpipe (keeps away that carbon monoxide), a flashlight and an emergency blanket. The blanket is made of thin, reflective plastic and would be better supplemented with a heavy woolen blanket, or even layers of newspaper in an emergency.

Another thing that the kit does not contain is food and water necessary to stay warm, comfortable and not hungry while waiting. I suggest always having a case package of water bottles (you need a lot more water than food, and three candles won't melt much snow) and some high calorie snack bars, which last a long time and will provide needed body heat in a winter emergency. Both items can be easily replaced and rotated as time passes, so that the items won't be old and stale when a real emergency occurs.

As a thoughtful starting point for your kit, this is great, but don't kid yourself 46 pieces of the 63 piece kit are the "first aid supplies" (mostly bandages) and "quality vinyl cover." You need more than this in a winter emergency. An hour's online research will give you a complete list, to which you need only add something to kill time. A novel from Amazon, perhaps? :-)

Read Best Reviews of AAA 65-Piece Winter Severe Weather Travel Kit Here

As other reviewers have said, the description and pictures are misleading! Unfortunately for me, these reviews didn't go up until after I put in my order! I am very upset. This is the first time I've ever bought something from Amazon and been so misled. And for those that may not have read the other reviews, there is no hand chargeable flashlight or waterproof matches. Matches were replaced by ONE candle due to alleged shipping restrictions. How am I supposed light any of the candles WITHOUT matches?! Also, it is now a 65-piece kit. I don't know how it compares to the 63-piece kit, but I doubt the 2 extra pieces are anything more significant than bandages. One final thing is that there is a August 2010 expiration date listed on the front of the bag. I haven't checked to see which item expires, but it probably refers to a minor first aid item.

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Useful item, misleading description. I actually used this last weekend when I unexpectedly had to put chains on my tires and was without a hat and mittens, so I am glad I had it. However, the item description lists "1 hand-charged dual LED flashlight" which is not the case. I got a normal, incandescent flashlight with two batteries. No LED, no hand-charge. Also, the item description lists "strobe light" which also appears to be absent, unless you repeatedly turn the flashlight on and off by yourself. Finally, no matches as the description says. Apparently shipping regulations restrict the shipping of matches.

These items really need to be fixed in the description.

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I got one of the other AAA kit's and figured that the severe weather one would be a good addition considering I live in Chicago and every so often we have severe weather. I read the reviews and people raved about the little shovel...ummm why? Either I didn't get the same one they did or I got a defective one because I couldn't use it. Three people couldn't use it. I actually threw it out it was that much of a waste (the shovel not the kit).

Any of the other AAA car kits are just as good and have everything if not more that this one does.