Air tools,what brand would you recomend?

fourbarrel

fourbarrel

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My fiance bought me an air compressor for my b-day and now I'm in the process of outfitting myself with some air tools.Now to start with this isn't a big compressor with a 60gal resevoir it's a Campbell Hausefeld upright with a 25 gal capacity and unfotunately I dont have the cfm specs in front of me but it's fairly respectable from what I can remember.What I'm looking for is some input on what you guys use for air tools like ratchets and impacts( either 3/8 or 1/2" ).I've worked on my sled in my cousins shop with just about any kind of tool one could want even though he's not a mechanic by trade and his brand in Snap On;I gotta tell they work sweet.I know they're expensive a hell but are there some other brands that work as good and are less pricey?I've been checking Ebay and there's a few that I am interested in but want a bit more info before I commit to bid.I'm looking for a 3/8 ratchet and a 1/2" impact to start with and will get a 3/8 impact eventually.

The thing that attracts me to the Snap On ratchet is their speed vs others,most I've been looking at are 225-250rpm.
 
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I think Snap-On has the best quality. As you said they are expensive. The Snap-On dealers also carry Blue Point air tools (just as nice). What size compressor tank do you have (tank size). If you have anything smaller than a 60gal tank, I wouldn't bother to much with air tools. Most of you air tools require 90psi or greater. If you have a small tank, it won't be able to hold enough air to run your tools for any length of time. To save your self some money also check Ingersoll Rand. They also make some nice air tools. Hope that helps. Brad
 
if u have money to spend for nothing by some snap on ... but the warranty sucks ..... they sale some good one at canadian tire if your not a every day mechanic ..check ingersoll rand they are the best for impact and make sure the have aleast 600 lbs torque... for ratchet if u buy the best one from snap-on its ok but if u think to buy a normal ratchet go with the cheapest one you can get they work for a year and then u throw them to the garbage lollllll this is if you work with them every days ... don't pay to mutch for ratchet cause u will pay only for the name of it ....they are all made the same and they are all same shit lolllllll...
 
im a mechanic, i use snap on they are spendy. my half inch are gun is a craftsman and my list goes on and on but craftsman tools for an at home thing are great they will work awsome and if they break you can go to sears to get new stuff.
 
When I got my compressor, I just bought one of those cheap tool packs with a rachet, gun, chisel, dremel and blow gun and figured I would just replace them with decent stuff when they quit or as I found a deal on the good stuff. As it is, I still have the cheap stuff. It's certainly the cheap way to go and you have most of the stuff you need right away, instead of waiting for the pennies to pile up.
 
I think Snap-On has the best quality.
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Snap-On air tools suck. PERIOD. For the homeowner/ backyard mechanic most offshore tools will do the trick. Make sure to use a fair amount of oil (trans fluid) or oil diluted with solvent. IR is about the best bang for the buck and CP has some good air tools as well.I know way too much about air tools.....................SRXtreme1
 
my rule of thumb ive learved is just anything with out the plastic bodys. need to have the metal bodys on them ive learned no matter how cheep will last alot longer. i bought husy and crafts man grinders for my old job and the rpms were low and the broke in no time. as crewchife said get one of the cheep sets from like harbor freight and just replace then as they bite the dust. ull learn that for the most part ull still have the cheep set after a while with normal use. ive had my cheep set for 5 years now and havent had to replace anything but the ratchet that i got seprately from the set for 10 bucks at a big lots.
 
Air ratchets suck. I have them in both 1/4" and 3/8" drive but only use them when I have to. They are slow knuckle busters (wear a glove) that eat up alot of air for the work they do but when you are in a tight spot they are handy. Pistol style air wrenches are the best for 90% of the work you will do. Stay away from butterfly type guns as they are harder to handle and designed mostly for assembly line type work.

As far a size goes get a 1/2" gun for sure. You will also really like a 3/8" as they will do an awful lot of work, are much easier to handle and will fit in tighter spaces. A 1/4" gun or ratched will also come in very handy sometimes but depending on what you do you will probably use the 3/8" most of the time and use th 1/2" for tough stuff. You won't need a 3/4" gun unless you work on big trucks or heavy equipment.

As far as brand goes I would stay with CP and Ingersol. I have been a diesel mechanic for years and have never seen a Snap-On air tool that I thought was worth the extra money. In fact most of the time my CP and Ingersol would outlast and outperform any Snap-On in the shop. The guys in our shop that bought Snap-On were very sorry they did as they always seemed to be broken and in for service. My everyday gun was a 1/2" CP and it was every bit as good as the Snap-On. I also have a 1/2" Ingersol that I use when things get really tough. It will outperform alot of 3/4" guns and works great for clutches and flywheels but is fast reving and not as easy to handle as the CP. It runs more like a mod drag motor and for speed a torque there is nothing that will keep up.

Good Luck, Phil (opsled)
 
Ingersoll Rand is my #1 choice. Snap-On has great quality hand tools, but in my opinion their pneumatics wear out just as fast and I have a hard time getting parts, not to mention they are ridiculously priced. I have had the IR Titanium series 1/2" and 3/8" for 3 years, using them 40+ hrs a week and havent worn them out. 1000 ft. lbs. of torque on the 1/2" is plenty for me. My $.02
 
i us the home depot brand (husky) they have a decent warranty right out of the box. as far as not using a air tool if you tank is too small. i say buy the biggest and baddest impact on the market at least 600 psi check for reverse some are less in reverse. because if you only have 25 seconds of air you better make it count. i just bought a air da from depot and love it it was 54 bucks. their air sockets are good also and i think they have a better warranty than most.
 
I would go with an ingersoll-rand Thunder Gun for a 1/2" gun. Very powerful and very reasonably priced. Only downfall is that they are a little loud. For a 3/8" impact I really like the Snap-On MG31. Most powerful 3/8" impact and very durable. As for a 3/8" air ratchet, the Blue Point (found on snap-on trucks) is the most powerful and is very fast, although you can find other ones much cheaper if you dont use an air ratchet that much. For sockets, if you aren't using them day in and day out, I would just go with a good set of ingersoll-rands or craftsmans. MUCH cheaper than any of the big names and can be replaced for free if you wear them out. By the way I am an engineer at Snap-On Tools.
 
as long as you keep it OILED,, That is OIL IT AFTER YOU'RE DONE using it!!! if you oil it before you use it,,, the oil will be BLOWN OUT after you use it a while,, so the BEST ADVICE I could give you is to OIL IT AFTER you have used it... Squirt a second or two of air tool oil and HOLD DOWN the trigger while you're squirting and lay it on its side with the air inlet resting on another air tool,,,, and you can buy the CHEAPEST air tools in the WORLD and they will last 20+ years!!!!! if you plan on getting a JOB as a mechanic, and using your air tools EVERYDAY,,,,, thats another story..... IR231has been a VIRTUALLY INDESTRUCTABLE 1/2 inch impact and the SNAP ON 3/8 air ratchets are probably the BEST on the market,,,, other than that,,, 3/8 impacts are usually a waste of money (unless you do AUTOMATIC TRANS everyday) and a 90 degree angle die grinder is a good investment and an arbor for the 2 and/or 3 inch 3M cookies is also something to look into.... WIRE WHEELS are dangerous when spun too fast and a MUFFLER pipe cutter (whiz wheel 3 inch) is a good thing to have around.... if you do bodywork, a DUAL ACTION (D A) sander is well worth the money BUT you will NEVER BE ABLE to run a sander with such a small compressor... I don't want to burst your bubble,,, but those c/h compressors are for do it yourselfers and NOT FOR the professional mechanic/bodyman.... I think the BEST ADVIUCE is to buy one of those (overseas) kits for 60.00 and you have a BUNCH of tools that will last you a LONG TIME if you KEEP OILING THEM AFTER you use them!!!! Gary Oles nosboy
 
I have a mix of Craftsman and Chicago Pneumatic here. When I need the real torque I can get my Bro's heavy duty IR stuff but for the price the "Off shore" stuff works well enough if taken care of. I picked up an air chisel from the local Harbor Freight and used it last week on my tile project for about 8 hours straight 2 days in a row. It needed a bit of oil but still works like a champ. My general use 20gal 3 1/2HP craftsman compressor was a present and would not have been my first choice. 9 years later it is still making 150PSI.

Good luck, have fun and wear safety glasses. (follow Norm's advice on "The New Yankee Workshop" :D )
 
I have nothing to add regarding tools.
However I would like to note that it sounds like your getting yourself a hell of a bride. It's a fine woman that buys you tools, unless she classifies appliances as tools, then that's a whole other discussion.
Congrats, when's the big day, are we invited???
 
Bischof said:
I have nothing to add regarding tools.
However I would like to note that it sounds like your getting yourself a hell of a bride. It's a fine woman that buys you tools, unless she classifies appliances as tools, then that's a whole other discussion.
Congrats, when's the big day, are we invited???
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I agree with Bischof a woman that buys her man tools is a rarity. Although with almost all of my family members being female (4 sisters, cousins, ect) and having been married for 24 years I am always suspicious of that kind of behavior. It's not normal!! They always seem to have alterior motives. It may be nothing and she just loves you or it may be the need for a larger rock or maby she has plans to outfit the bedroom with some pneumatic assessories. :jump: If so I think some pics would be appropriate. :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

Opsled
 
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