I need a DIY Air Compressor

[txtuffluck]

I need a DIY Air Compressor, prefer 110, I can always add another 220 in the garage. I just want to run some air tools for POV maintenance, and maybe blasting gun parts with aluminum oxide to Cerakote. If I decide to Cerakote, I'd also need to run an small HVLP gun like this.http://www.iwata-medea.com/products/spray-guns/lph-80/

I'm tight on space too. Two car garage packed with an old mustang and foot lockers.

 

[ez-duzit]

You're going to need a high cfm 220-volt machine.

get rid of the foot lockers.

 

[yamaha0343]

With that gun at 1.8cfm/13psi, you don't need a high dollar 220v compressor. But they sure are pretty cool. I'll probably own one someday.

As for DIY grade garage compressors, I like my Husky quiet(er) 30 gal.

 

[Dr Stan]

You will need a pressure vessel built to ASME specs. This not something to MacGyver. I know of an individual (2nd hand but highly reliable source) who used a 55 gallon drum as the pressure vessel. He survived the explosion, spent a lot of time in the hospital and will never walk normally again.

I have built a compressor. 5hp 60+ gallon single stage 2 cylinder. I obtained a PV off an old single post in ground lift. It was half filled with oil its entire usage so it didn't have a spot of rust on the inside. I bought the pump & the motor from the Surplus Center. I think it was a Devilbiss and the SC had bought a freight car load of pumps that had been sitting for 2 years.

Sold it after I bought my Champion 10hp dual stage twin cylinder 120 gallon.

I'd look around for a used, but not used up, unit. Make sure you can inspect the inside of the tank prior to purchase.

On edit: I recommend a vertical over a horizontal. 1) takes up less space 2) It is easier to drain than a horizontal 3) they are usually easier to inspect the inside

I did a quick spin of the NOLA Craigs List site and saw some possibilities.

 

[stenella]

do you mean DIY as in 'im gonna build me an air compressor from scratch' or DIY as in, 'I do work around the house and need an OK unit to use a few times a month'?

if the latter, the 30gal oilless harbor freight one is a good choice, they DO wear out but will last a long time as long as you dont use it too much.

 

[txtuffluck]

do you mean DIY as in 'im gonna build me an air compressor from scratch' or DIY as in, 'I do work around the house and need an OK unit to use a few times a month'?

if the latter, the 30gal oilless harbor freight one is a good choice, they DO wear out but will last a long time as long as you dont use it too much.

I do mean it as "I do work on my vehicle and around the house a few times a month". Thanks for clearing that up!

I wasn't even aware, until looking through various threads, and a reply in this thread, that people built these on their own.

 

[bastage]

For 300 bucks and a willingness to wire in 220 just grab a used 60 gallon vertical from Craigslist. Shouldn't have an issue finding one you can snag for that in good shape.

 

[kctyphoon]

Once you get into blasting, you can forget about a small compressor as you need a lot of air flow.. for regular diy stuff, you don't need anything big. If you go with cordless tools, you don't need anything at all if the blasting and painting can take a backseat for now. Not sure if you're up to date on what's out there these days for cordless tools.

Word of advice - take into consideration exactly where you are online, asking for advice..

 

[PT Doc]

80g/5hp. We thought it. I said it!

 

[CNGsaves]

Also, you won't find any compressors or wiring that is 220v . .
. . .
. . . . . now everything is standardized on 240v in 'Merica !!

 

[ez-duzit]

With that gun at 1.8cfm/13psi, you don't need a high dollar 220v compressor...

Poor advice to size your compressor to the tool with the lowest demand.

 

[yamaha0343]

Poor advice to size your compressor to the tool with the lowest demand.

I missed the blasting part. Just saw the occasional air tools and cerakote gun.

 

[txtuffluck]

Thanks for the responses! I'll just save some more $, and get a 240 outlet put in when I can afford it. I've found quite a few compressors on CL, that would make it worth while.

 

[kctyphoon]

Thanks for the responses! I'll just save some more $, and get a 240 outlet put in when I can afford it. I've found quite a few compressors on CL, that would make it worth while.

What tools do you want to work on your vehicles at home? Impact wrench, ratchet, maybe a cordless work light?. You should check out the Milwaukee cordless stuff. These days, cordless stuff is replacing air tools - even for professionals.
If your dead set on wanting air tools, even a small harbor freight compressor will suffice for that. Tools like that don't need constant air (that's what you need for blasting), just short bursts. So a smaller portable compressor is more that enough to work on the car at home.

My friend has the 8 gallon husky version of this one, but this is a 10. It's nice and easy to move, and pretty quite considering cause it's a 2 stage. It's great to remove wheels, use a ratchet with, an air gun to clean etc.. you'd probably even be fine with your low pressure paint gun. For everything except blasting, something like this should be fine for a home diy guy. Also, if you're just wanting to blast small gun parts, you could always just bring them somewhere and have it done, and forego the giant compressor that seems like it's not needed for most of what you wanna do. For what it willl cost you, that's a lot of cordless tools you could buy instead. Just my 2 cents.

https://t.harborfreight.com/air-too...hp-125-psi-oil-lube-air-compressor-62441.html

Or this
https://t.harborfreight.com/air-too...-cast-iron-vertical-air-compressor-62803.html

 

[ez-duzit]

...even a small harbor freight compressor will suffice for that...a smaller portable compressor is more that enough to work on the car at home...

Better stick to what you know.

 

[kctyphoon]

Better stick to what you know.

He's not running a pit crew in his driveway.. I suggest you take your own advice. I've done brakes and whatnot with that 8gallon husky. It's fine. The worlds population doesn't need an 80 gallon compressor to do brake jobs and nail up molding. When it finally hits him that he's gonna need to spend over $1,000 to "blast small gun parts" he might reconsider what he wants. A "high cfm 240v" compressor with a 60 or 80 gallon tank is what you find in a small mechanics shop, not most DIY garages.

 

[KMdef9]

He's not running a pit crew in his driveway.. I suggest you take your own advice. I've done brakes and whatnot with that 8gallon husky. It's fine. The worlds population doesn't need an 80 gallon compressor to do brake jobs and nail up molding. When it finally hits him that he's gonna need to spend over $1,000 to "blast small gun parts" he might reconsider what he wants. A "high cfm 240v" compressor with a 60 or 80 gallon tank is what you find in a small mechanics shop, not most DIY garages.

I agree. If your doing heavy body work, and sand blasting large objects, yes, you'll need large vol compressor. If you're more of a change your brakes and only need blasting for 10-15 sec intervals for small gun pieces, you can get away with something smaller.

You could always add an expansion tank to a compressor too. Recovery time will suffer, but as DIY'er, you (usually) have time.

 

[ez-duzit]

...he's gonna need to spend over $1,000 to "blast small gun parts"...

Thanks for proving my point. Better to stick to what you actually know.

Seriously, the OP can find an adequate used compressor for not much more than an inadequate new one.

 

[Finky198]

It's something like Paint guns, lead to body work, which leads to needing more air. It's the give it a year or two and you will wish you went bigger. Conundrum theres no right answer.

Make sure you account for future projects not just in the now. Air can be a big or small investment but buying twice will cost more either way so choose wisely.

I have a small 5gal tri stack for tires and nail gun and a big 80gal in the shop.that covers 99% of my daily routine. I've burnt and seized a Campbell 30 and a CMan 33 due to constant use.

The 60gal is a good compromise and could repair a dent, small sanding, cuting, and grinding task. The Issue with the new ones is they bend you over on the price.

 

[ssdave]

I do small blasting and duracoating for gunsmithing. You need a good blast cabinet large enough to hold barrels. You don't need a high volume blaster though, as the amount you do is small. The blast cabinet lets you reuse the aluminum oxide that is required, as well as lets you use and save garnet or glass bead if you want. You can also use a small, cheap hopper feed blaster kit; the stuff you do is small enough it will work well and it takes less air. If you don't save the sand, you can get by with a $30 blaster and a $100 compressor and do the work in your driveway.

https://www.ebay.com/p/?iid=201897731149&lpid=82&&&ul_noapp=true&chn=ps

Cheap at harbor freight: https://www.harborfreight.com/air-tools/air-tool-accessories/21-oz-hopper-gravity-feed-spot-blaster-gun-95793.html

I used my 3/4 hp pancake oilless nail gun compressor for a long time without difficulty. So, you blast for a half minute, wait, redo. It takes 10 minutes or less to do a gun barrel. A big compressor would do it in a minute and a half, but how often do you need to do it?

The big thing is get a good cooler/dehumidifier/water separator. If you don't, the blaster clumps up, and you get fish eyes and imperfections in your ceracoat.

For your needs, you don't need the 60 or 80 gallon, 5 to 8 hp Garage Journal Overkill compressor. It would be nice, but you can make do with a lot less. I'd find a craigslist or yard sale one to start, and upgrade when you get a good deal. Do build a good cooler and water separator, you can continue to use it between your compressor and your blaster or paint gun even if you upgrade to a larger compressor.

 

[kctyphoon]

Thanks for proving my point. Better to stick to what you actually know.

Seriously, the OP can find an adequate used compressor for not much more than an inadequate new one.

I guess you didn't read the part where he said he's gonna need to save some more money so he can ALSO have a 240v line installed. it always helps if you have a place to plug the thing in.. not to mention, you'd probably want a small blasting cabinet to go along with all that too unless he wants sand shot all over his garage. I guess that's me sticking to what I know.

Also, Chances are the guy isn't gonna want one of your $300 rusted out SHOP SIZED Craigslist compressor finds sitting in his garage. For under $200 the guy can buy a brand new DIY sized compressor and it'll do 90% of what he wants to do tomorrow.

I wanted a sandblaster too years ago until I realized what's actually needed to run a decent one. And as previously stated, cordless tools being what they are, there is no actual NEED for a compressor anymore to do work on your own cars. With all my Milwaukee stuff, like impact wrenches, grinder, ratchet, drills, impact driver, screw drivers - all that stuff is cordless, and you can do the same work as if you had a huge expensive compressor, without tripping over air hoses. I haven't even touched my 30 gallon compressor and air impacts in years. The only thing I'll use the air for is to blow stuff out, and maybe do trim work - and I just use the small pancake model I have for that.

 

[ez-duzit]

...I used my 3/4 hp pancake oilless nail gun compressor for a long time without difficulty. So, you blast for a half minute, wait, redo. It takes 10 minutes or less to do a gun barrel. A big compressor would do it in a minute and a half...you can make do with a lot less...

Making do is what you do when you take bad advice. It is the bane of the hobbyist who can accept taking 10 minutes to do 1.5 minutes of actual work.

 

[ssdave]

Making do is what you do when you take bad advice. It is the bane of the hobbyist who can accept taking 10 minutes to do 1.5 minutes of actual work.

Do you do ceracoating or duracoating of guns as part of gunsmithing?

If so, how often do you do that task, and how much time do you spend prepping the barrel for it?

I do, and have done it professionally. A working gunsmith might do that task maybe a few times a month, and it takes 10 minutes with a small compressor. It isn't worth having a big compressor in the way to save a few minutes. I own a large compressor for garage work, but would still use a small one for gunsmithing. Most of the air needs in a gunsmith shop are for airbrushing or small HVLP spraying coatings, and using an air nozzle to blow out stuff. Absolutely no need for a large compressor.

Now, if you specialized in gun bluing and coating, a large compressor and dedicated sandblasting setup would be real handy. But, for the general gunsmith, it's a waste of space and money. It isn't making do, it's using the appropriate tool for the task at hand.

 

[ez-duzit]

...A working gunsmith might do that task maybe a few times a month, and it takes 10 minutes with a small compressor...

If the OP promises to limit his use to 10 minutes, a few times a month, he can get a small compressor.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

I've used my 30 gallon oilless (approx 6 CFM) for sand blasting a few times. The largest items was a set of lawn chairs and a table for the patio. It wasn't ideal. A couple minutes of work and several minutes to let the compressor recharge. It took me a few hours to do a job that could've been 30 minutes (or less) with a larger unit.
I think it'd work fine for small parts like on guns.

Sure you may upgrade in the future but a compressor of that size will still be nice to have because it is somewhat portable.