Post up a tool that you have that you didnt know you needed until you got one...

#22
Haha saw the tank Doug and I like it ! I was referring to your forum name fomogo....I posted it in caps and when I looked at it...it was all small letters !:censure::shrug::eek:ut: Took me 3 times before it finally changed over to caps.:thumbsup:
 
#23
My brass hammer, my dad gave it to me oh about 40 years ago, and it's been a lifesaver more times then I can count.
Beat on stuck items and not worry about mushrooming the end of said item. It saved my hiney getting the rust welded axles out of my minibike.
 
#24
My small block engine stand...
We welded some old-school bed rail angle steel into angle brackets and bored them to match the engine block mounting brackets. Then we added some standard black pipe bushings to level the angles out for a work surface. We sourced the correct length 3/8" bolts, etc. and the result was a rolling mini bike stand. Add some padding to the brackets and two c-clamps to keep the machine in place. It rolls close to the tool chest when we are working and away in the corner when finished with a work session. Roll it out in the center of the bay for a grinding and welding session too.
It works well with an add-on wood deck to mount engines for cleaning, disassembly, and re-build. Good for test runs and painting as well.
Pictures to follow, maybe after I complete a tutorial...
SAT
 
#26
I bought a Craftsman belt sander. A 6 x 36 with a disc on the side stationary model. Use it to sharpen tools, sand wood, sand metal, remove fingernails. Small enough to take with you to job sites. Use it to curve ends of wood and metal. I don't use the disc much, but the belt part gets a work out. The curved top gets into a lot areas. A fine belt, 120-150 grit puts a quick edge on tools. For the record, I do hone with a stone, a good edge on wood chisels and the like, but I carry a couple chisels for "anything" that the edge is not critical on. Cutting wood on concrete, nails, aluminum, etc. For metal chisels it works great.
 
#27
I have a 1 horse power Jet belt sander that I bought used at an auction for $250.00. Its a 6 x 48 with a 12'' disc. I keep a 36 grit disc on it for fast metal removal and an 80 grit belt on it that I use for everything else. Before it I had a Craftsman 6 x 48 with a 9 inch disc. NEVER used that disc.... No idea why just never did. I bought the 36 grit disc for the 12'' platen at a BIG car show in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. $3.00 each. Still using the first disc 6 months later. I bought 3 just because I had a 10 to spend..... I am pleasantly surprised at how good they cut and how much I use the disc on this sander. Never did have as course of a disc for the Craftsman, maybe that's why I didn't use it...

Doug
 
#28
My 1939 Sheldon 10 X 26 metal lathe, now even more fun with a milling attachment. Gotta do some math and cut some practice keyways in aluminum round stock.
SAT
 
#29
You will enjoy having plenty of air at hand. It makes a huge difference in what you can do like you said above. One piece of advice I would give you is to move the dryer to a bracket that bolts to the tank or the wall and connect the 2 with a hose. Just normal running of the compressor will fatigue the threads at the compressor end of the nipple and crack or break off. Don't ask how I learned this....... I have a quarter turn ball valve mounted at the tank and then 3 feet of hydraulic hose running to the dryer and regulator. The ball valve gets turned on every time I use the compressor and turned off when I am done. This way there is always air in the tank and you never have to wait for it to pump up pressure. You can open the valve and put air in a tire or blow something off, close the valve and your done. No waiting... If the tank has one of those tiny ball valves that I see on some new compressors you would like a conventional ball valve with a handle much better.

Here is a hose similar to what I have on mine. 3/4" x 3' ft Compressed Air Jumper Hose Rapid Air Maxline 3/4" MNPT x FNPT F0215 | eBay

Look through their stuff as they have a lot of good stuff for air compressors and plumbing a shop. I especially like their compressor drains with the pull cable. You don't have to stand on your head to drain the moisture out of the tank...

Doug
The further from the tank you put the filter the better it will work. Gives the air time to cool off and the water to condense. I took a chance and bought a braided stainless flex line from Homely Depot for water heater hook up. Been 4-5 years now and works well. I went so far as to run about 20 feet of copper pipe on the wall with a tee and a ball valve to drain water, then the filter. Really helped with painting, no water in the air now. And I agree if I can remember I shut the valve off at the tank. Don't forget to drain the tank now and then, amazing how much water can form in there!
 
#31
The further from the tank you put the filter the better it will work. Gives the air time to cool off and the water to condense. I took a chance and bought a braided stainless flex line from Homely Depot for water heater hook up. Been 4-5 years now and works well. I went so far as to run about 20 feet of copper pipe on the wall with a tee and a ball valve to drain water, then the filter. Really helped with painting, no water in the air now. And I agree if I can remember I shut the valve off at the tank. Don't forget to drain the tank now and then, amazing how much water can form in there!
The dryer/filter mounted near my compressor is only the first line of defense. My system has 100'' of line before the first drop for a connector. Every drop rises 12'' above the mainline before it goes down. It goes all the way to the floor with a drain. The connector t's off the drop at 4 feet above the floor and raises 12'' to the regulator/dryer. And every connector has a regulator/dryer. I have an inline refrigeration unit (only run it when I need it) and a 100 gallon storage tank. I never have any water issues other than draining the tank about 3 times a year and the drops once a year.

And my suggestion for Freddy to move the regulator/dryer to a fixed place on the tank was because I new he wasn't going to permanently locate the tank and build an air system. Where he had it, there was no way that it would not end up breaking a fitting through the threads from the vibration.
 
#35
The dryer/filter mounted near my compressor is only the first line of defense. My system has 100'' of line before the first drop for a connector. Every drop rises 12'' above the mainline before it goes down. It goes all the way to the floor with a drain. The connector t's off the drop at 4 feet above the floor and raises 12'' to the regulator/dryer. And every connector has a regulator/dryer. I have an inline refrigeration unit (only run it when I need it) and a 100 gallon storage tank. I never have any water issues other than draining the tank about 3 times a year and the drops once a year.

And my suggestion for Freddy to move the regulator/dryer to a fixed place on the tank was because I new he wasn't going to permanently locate the tank and build an air system. Where he had it, there was no way that it would not end up breaking a fitting through the threads from the vibration.
Sounds like you got it a cool set up. Most compressors shake like the dickens So your advice was dam good. I have an 80 gal tank mounted on 4x4 skids so I got room to get to the drain and it dances around a bit. I need to throw a couple bolts in the concrete one day.
 
#36
Sounds like you got it a cool set up. Most compressors shake like the dickens So your advice was dam good. I have an 80 gal tank mounted on 4x4 skids so I got room to get to the drain and it dances around a bit. I need to throw a couple bolts in the concrete one day.
I have 2 blast cabinets and a Plasma cutter.... I hate wet air. I grew up working with my Father and he never new what a dryer or regulator or even draining the compressor tank meant before water blew out the hose.... The parts washer was a 1 gallon galvanized bucket full of gas sitting on the bench... I caught it on fire at least once.

As a teenager I didn't know any better. But I do remember using air tools and having moisture drooling out of them while you were using them. The air hose ran straight off the tank. Once I learned why we had moisture I had moved out on my own and fixed my system the best I knew how at the time. AND that included the same Wilkerson dryer/regulator that I still have as the first line of defense with PVC for plumbing. I had proper drops and regulators at the hose connections. I had a few PVC joint leaks and a couple of joints come apart but I had that thing strapped to the wall everywhere. I didn't know any better but I strapped it down like I thought it was going to get away. I think that is what got me through the 4 or 5 years I used it UNTIL I learned how dangerous it was. By then I had built my new shop and it got silver soldiered copper. Never had an issue with the copper.

My current shop has 1'' silver soldiered copper main line with 3/4'' drops. Plenty of air for anything you want to do.
 
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#38
I have 2 blast cabinets and a Plasma cutter.... I hate wet air. I grew up working with my Father and he never new what a dryer or regulator or even draining the compressor tank meant before water blew out the hose.... The parts washer was a 1 gallon galvanized bucket full of gas sitting on the bench... I caught it on fire at least once.

As a teenager I didn't know any better. But I do remember using air tools and having moisture drooling out of them while you were using them. The air hose ran straight off the tank. Once I learned why we had moisture I had moved out on my own and fixed my system the best I knew how at the time. AND that included the same Wilkerson dryer/regulator that I still have as the first line of defense with PVC for plumbing. I had proper drops and regulators at the hose connections. I had a few PVC joint leaks and a couple of joints come apart but I had that thing strapped to the wall everywhere. I didn't know any better but I strapped it down like I thought it was going to get away. I think that is what got me through the 4 or 5 years I used it UNTIL I learned how dangerous it was. By then I had built my new shop and it got silver soldiered copper. Never had an issue with the copper.

My current shop has 1'' silver soldiered copper main line with 3/4'' drops. Plenty of air for anything you want to do.
You said PVC for plumbing, I hope just for drains. Used to work in a tire shop that had PVC air lines, some had 175lbs air in them. In the winter they would occasionally break and send PVC spears flying, sometimes sticking in the walls. No one was hurt, but was a bit unnerving. I used copper, for strength and for it's cooling ability, hopefully condensing more water out of the air. Sometimes I wonder how I survived my childhood, PVC airlines, Carbon Tech for hand cleaner, mom and dad's secondhand smoke, maybe some Paraquat thrown in. Maybe that explains the twitch I got or the random weird thoughts?
 
#39
Get an electric blow off drain valve. They hook to the bottom of your air tank. I have mine wired so whenever the compressor kicks on, the blow off squirts for a few seconds. It keeps the water out of the tank :)

Danford1
https://www.amazon.com/Electronic-Automatic-Tank-Drain-Compressors/dp/B00273WV78
Yes, I have that on my list. I have a pull cable ball valve for the drain at the moment and am very happy with it. Way better than standing on your head to operate the drain. A little messy but its not bad as I pull it every time I turn the compressor on. Simple and cheap.

Here is a link to it.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/1-4-Air-Co...427834?hash=item3f54aaedfa:g:fgEAAOSwHUhaAeMx
 
#40
You said PVC for plumbing, I hope just for drains. Used to work in a tire shop that had PVC air lines, some had 175lbs air in them. In the winter they would occasionally break and send PVC spears flying, sometimes sticking in the walls. No one was hurt, but was a bit unnerving. I used copper, for strength and for it's cooling ability, hopefully condensing more water out of the air. Sometimes I wonder how I survived my childhood, PVC airlines, Carbon Tech for hand cleaner, mom and dad's secondhand smoke, maybe some Paraquat thrown in. Maybe that explains the twitch I got or the random weird thoughts?
At the time I had the PVC system, 30 years ago, there was no internet to learn just how bad it was. All I have now is silver soldiered 1'' copper main line with 3/4'' silver soldiered copper drops. The only thing in my shop that has PVC on it is my Tig welder. And they are full of welding rods.

Doug
 
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