TapperMan
Well-known member
A while back I decided I wanted a bigger compressor so I could do some blasting. I'm in no rush and was looking for an interesting new project, so I decided I would piece one together.
The first piece I got was an air tank for $100 from an online surplus auction through the state university system. In the pictures, it looked like a 60 gallon horizontal tank, but when I picked it up, it turned out to be 80 gallons. It also had a vacuum pump mounted on it. Here it is cleaned up with the vacuum pump removed...
Even though it was made in '74, there is no rust inside at all, probably due to its use as a vacuum chamber.
Last fall, I picked up a Quincy 325 compressor head off Craigslist for about $150.
It needed a rebuild, so I started tearing it apart. I had to make some tools to remove the unloader towers and valve components. By the time it got too cold to work in my detached garage, it was completely apart. One of the valve disks was broken, and chunks of it had dinged the top of the low pressure piston, but the cylinder walls weren't damaged at all. I labeled everything and bagged it up until spring.
I want to bead-blast the pump before reassembling, but my current compressor is way too small for the task. I checked into renting a compressor, but for the cost, I could just pick up a cheap import pump off e-bay and temporarily use it along with the 5HP motor I plan on getting.
I was about to order a $100 3HP pump, when these showed up on CL...
... a pair of Curtis ES-20 pumps for a total of $75 from a metal scrapper. They look to be in pretty good shape, and turning the flywheels gives a good blast of air out the discharge ports. One is missing an unloader pin, but between the two, I hope to get one working.
I still need to pick up a motor, pilot valve, safety valve, pulleys, pressure switch, motor starter, and some other miscellaneous plumbing bits. When I'm all done, I'm thinking of getting one of the Harbor Freight 212cc engines and making a portable gas-powered compressor with the Curtis.
The first piece I got was an air tank for $100 from an online surplus auction through the state university system. In the pictures, it looked like a 60 gallon horizontal tank, but when I picked it up, it turned out to be 80 gallons. It also had a vacuum pump mounted on it. Here it is cleaned up with the vacuum pump removed...
Even though it was made in '74, there is no rust inside at all, probably due to its use as a vacuum chamber.
Last fall, I picked up a Quincy 325 compressor head off Craigslist for about $150.
It needed a rebuild, so I started tearing it apart. I had to make some tools to remove the unloader towers and valve components. By the time it got too cold to work in my detached garage, it was completely apart. One of the valve disks was broken, and chunks of it had dinged the top of the low pressure piston, but the cylinder walls weren't damaged at all. I labeled everything and bagged it up until spring.
I want to bead-blast the pump before reassembling, but my current compressor is way too small for the task. I checked into renting a compressor, but for the cost, I could just pick up a cheap import pump off e-bay and temporarily use it along with the 5HP motor I plan on getting.
I was about to order a $100 3HP pump, when these showed up on CL...
... a pair of Curtis ES-20 pumps for a total of $75 from a metal scrapper. They look to be in pretty good shape, and turning the flywheels gives a good blast of air out the discharge ports. One is missing an unloader pin, but between the two, I hope to get one working.
I still need to pick up a motor, pilot valve, safety valve, pulleys, pressure switch, motor starter, and some other miscellaneous plumbing bits. When I'm all done, I'm thinking of getting one of the Harbor Freight 212cc engines and making a portable gas-powered compressor with the Curtis.
You need to be that guy. 
