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And those small motors do fail: we’ve all had electric drills die on the job, usually when we are miles from the nearest hardware store or when there are only two more screws to drive in the last hinge before we can deliver the entertainment center.
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The single, large electric motor that drives a compressor is a lot more rugged, durable and longer-lasting than the dozens of small motors it can replace in drills, sanders, routers and so on. In the woodshop (as opposed to being out on an install), they don’t make as much sense: less complicated standard guns running off a compressor will be less likely to fail and cheaper to run.Įlectric motors are cooled by ambient air and they have to work harder in extreme conditions, especially heat. But for most framing and finishing jobs, they are a very viable and inexpensive option when one considers that there’s no need to buy a compressor or a generator. We framed a house in Wyoming with them a couple of years ago, where the lot was a little above 6,000 feet altitude and they became quite temperamental, especially when the weather turned cold. They use a gas cylinder and a battery-based ignition system and, while they look a lot like a standard pneumatic nail gun, they’re very different animals. There are some cordless nailers out there, but they aren’t pneumatic tools. When smaller compressors need to recharge or cool down, they can hold up the job because there’s no compressed air to run the tools.
AIRTOOL FOR WOOD DESIGN INSTALL
The potential downside here is that the on-site compressor needs to be quite large, so a truck-based or even a trailer unit might be worth a look, depending on the size of your install crew. Pneumatic HVLP spray systems deliver an even, predictable flow of finish without noise or heat or dust issues.įor installers, the prospect of replacing grinders, chisels and impact hammers with air-powered versions is an attractive one because the air-based versions are often more robust. Where air tools shine, of course, is in the finishing process. This is a very real consideration in situations from bathrooms to boat repair. The delivery system is safer, too: an installer using a pneumatic tool while he inadvertently stands in water won’t become a conduit to ground as he might if an electric power cord shorts. Trigger releases (such as the pressure locks on pneumatic nailers that stop the guns firing unless the release is engaged) do seem to be more universal in the pneumatic world.
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In general, air tools appear to be safer than electric ones (although today’s power tools are incredibly safe). However, air hoses can cost the tools that advantage if they’re not properly managed and routed. Pneumatic tools tend to take up less space on the bench, because they don’t have power cords attached to them or banks of battery chargers plugged into the wall. Air tools are often touted as having more torque and higher revolutions per minute, too. For example, our air-powered routers were lighter than their electric cousins, but the electric pin nailer weighed less than the pneumatic one. That statement seems to be true of some, but not all, tools. When I called around, several pneumatic tool manufacturers mentioned that air tools offer a much better power-to-weight ratio than electric tools, so we retired to the shop and did a little weighing. And staples, because they spread the pressure, have a lot of holding power, especially in fractious materials like MDF. Nails are not great intra-fiber friction fasteners in themselves, but they will generally hold a joint together until the glue cures. Air couplings allow for very quick switches from one tool to the next and having a couple of wrenches set up ahead of time with the right sized sockets for assembling, say, knock-down furniture or table leg hardware, can make a job go very fast.Īny shop that is building casework already knows how valuable air nailers and staplers are in assembly. Beyond sanders, compressed air is the power source of choice for mechanics’ tools that woodworkers occasionally use, such as impact and ratchet wrenches.