Air compressor for WW

[ramcharger]

Just curious, what is your needs for an air compressor when wood working?

Currently I have a 30 gallon oilless. Works great for air tools, but I am not doing much of that anymore. Downside, it is LOUD. My garage is small, and there is no option to put it outside.

As a result, it doesn't get used much. Currently, I use it to blow sawdust out of places. Occasionally a pin nailer, but not much else. I don't really see that need changing in the future.

Question is, what cfm do I really need? Is a 4-5 cfm unit fine for blowing dust?

Will I regret giving up my current 9 or so cfm? No, no desire to have two large compressors.

What size tank makes sense? Lower cfm would mean a 30 gallon tank would last longer? Dunno.

Of course, I would appreciate recommendations on a quiet compressor, which is my main gripe.

 

[The Cobbler]

your air needs are minimal, I would recommend a Senco PC 1010 compressor. they are very light, quiet and robust. great for woodworking & trim. I think this model has been discontinued & replaced with PC1010N

 

[rsanter]

Just keep what you have
build a baffled box around it to quite it down.
there have been several posts here that show how to cut the noise from a compressor

 

[legenddc]

How much dust are you blowing off at a time? I have a little 1 gallon California Air Tools compressor that works just fine for nail guns in a shop but I wish it was larger when I do have to blow a lot of things off. It's so quiet though, I barely know it's on when wearing headphones.

I've thought about getting the Milwaukee M12 blower or something similar to clean things off. I do vacuum parts off first to try and limit the dust flying around my small shop.

 

[ramcharger]

It varies how much dust I need to move. Cleaning up after the miter saw and router. I like to occasionally clean out the inside of the table saw.

Spaces I can't easily get a broom or vacuum into. Not uncommon to deplete the tank during in this process.

 

[mike93lx]

One of the new ultra quiet ones. I have a CAT that runs air nailer really well. It'll run out if using an air gun pretty quickly, but it's manageable.

Being quiet allows me to bring it to the work, like installing trim inside the house

 

[jar944]

I rarely use my compressor to blow things off. A leaf blower just works better.

 

[mike93lx]

I rarely use my compressor to blow things off. A leaf blower just works better.

I use a leaf blower as well for the tools, but if I want to clean a piece of material or need to get in a tight space, the blow gun works better for me

 

[nadogail]

I once asked a Cabinet Maker, who was doing a job at my house, What is the best small compressor for Brad Nailers?

His reply "They are all ****, just buy the Cheapest One"

 

[niget2002]

I use mine for spraying varnish instead of using a brush or roller, so my needs may be different than yours.

You could look for a oiled pump to replace your oil-less pump. I don't know why, but for some reason my big oiled air compressor is quieter than my smaller oil-less one. I think because it's a lower 'thump thump thump' pitch than the higher 'clatter clatter clatter'.

A baffle box would work well to help deaden the sound too.

I have an older air compressor that I had rigged up an air filter on the intake. That helped to quiet it down some.

 

[BTL-A4]

I got rid of a bigger, much louder air compressor and got this one:



It's very quiet and will run a nail gun for light use and blow off sawdust and blow out machine tools. I bought mine on sale for less. I haven't needed more air since I got it. I use cordless/corded tools for woodworking.

 

[dscheidt]

I have a little CAT style compressor (they’re sold by lots of places these days, but are largely interchangeable). It’s good enough to run nailers on. It will run a framing nailer, but won’t keep up if you work fast. I also use it for bikes and a blow nozzle. It’s enough for most of what I use one for, but it’s not really enough air for extended use. I use a handheld battery blower for most clearing of sawdust or chips off. It does a good job, and is handier than an air hose.

 

[908Jim]

If you already have a larger compressor that meets your needs, it sounds like you really just need one for the nail gun and a quick blast with a blow gun. I'd give strong consideration to one of the ultra-quiet models like the fortress.

If my bostich pancake ever dies, I would probably replace it with this:
https://www.harborfreight.com/2-gal...-hand-carry-jobsite-air-compressor-64596.html

 

[Mike65]

I have a 6 gal pancake air compressor in my wood shop for when I need to use the nailers or the stapler.

https://www.lowes.com/pd/CRAFTSMAN-CFM-6-Gallon-Pancake-Air-Compressor/5015173689

 

[ramcharger]

My big concern is losing CFM. So I did the unthinkable. I looked at the rating on my current compressor.

Turns out I have the brodozer of compressors. 4 cfm at 90 psi. I could have sworn it was bigger.

I think I am going to pick up one of the fortress units and see how that works.

I do have a small pancake compressor, but the bigger one is plumbed to an air hose, so portability in the shop isn't an issue. For reference, my "shop" is a one car garage that is too small to fit a modern car.

 

[ramcharger]

I picked up the harbor freight fortress compressor a few weeks ago.

First impressions are pretty good. Quiet!! I couldn't stand to be in the garage when the craftsman was running.

Downsides, it does take longer to fill. Drain is in a stupid location, you have to tilt the compressor to get any condensation out. Valve fittings seem suspect, but we will see how that goes.

Performance seems similar to the craftsman, if I was full duty cycle all the time, this would not be a good compressor, but my uses are met for blowing dust, filters, etc.

Have I mentioned it is quiet?? I can talk to myself without shouting when it is running.

Sold off the old compressor for a quick 100 bucks, so I can't complain.

 

[RonnieC]

I just bought a wolf box handheld blower. Small but mighty. Easily blows off equipment and woodturning. I’m thinking about using it when I clean the gutters. Beats dragging the leaf blower up the ladder!

 

[willy3486]

I had a 40 gallon Campbell Hausfield I picked up years ago. The pump was a aluminum cheaply made piece of junk that was constantly giving me trouble but the tank was in great shape. I tossed the compressor and motor and put on a cast iron HF compressor and a better motor I had laying around. It ran a lot quieter. I also got some black pipe and ran it along the back in my shop. The compressor is in another room and the pipe goes through the wall to the area I woodwork in. So now its quiet and I have fittings along the wall. I have some hoses I can plug in along the wall and use it for woodworking, airing up tires outside,my plasma cutter and anything else I need. If I didn't have one I would get a smaller one and run a line along my wall and enclose it somehow to keep the noise down. Like many tools if you don't have one if you get it you may use it a lot more than you expect.