Needle Scaler

[jveretto]

I have come in posession of a HF small air needle scaler. What do I do with it? I know about HF quality or lack therof! What can I do with it? Thanks in advance!

 

[fourjeepin]

I was thinking about getting one for my wife. She got some old cast iron pans at Christmas from my mom. Problem is the porcelain has started coming off and per the food safety expert and professional dietitian, they shouldn't be used unless ALL of the remaining porcelain is removed. Beyond that, I have never used one or felt like I needed one.

 

[2mJps]

It will remove rust,paint and weldslag on metal.

 

[rsanter]

They are great for rust and paint removal on thicker material

Bob

 

[JTH]

Used one to remove all the dried out under coat on the bottom of a VW i restoed.

 

[CWP1616L]

They are for removing very heavy rust. The kind of rust that comes off in big chunks. The kind of rust you will find on steel vessels exposed to salt water and salt air. On those ships, you will often times see large bubbles underneath the paint. Those large bubbles are heavy rust formations.

The other use for it is to removed slag from welds done with the SMAW or FCAW process. But you gotta watch it, those needles will put little dents into your weld and some welding inspectors don't like it.

 

[trackwelder]

I use one daily for cleaning welds...nothing does a better job than a needle scaler.

 

[Bull]

Used one to remove all the dried out under coat on the bottom of a VW i restoed.

I was wondering if they would be a good tool for this. I need to clean the undercoating in the rear wheel wells of my '95 Roadmaster in order to assess and repair some rust back there. Maybe I need a scaler.

 

[jtrace]

They also work good for cleaning cement off the paddles in a motar mixer so you can get to the bolts to change the rubber inserts used mine all the time when I worked as a mechanic at a rental store

John

 

[Packard V8]

Where is the best place to buy replacement needles?

jack vines

 

[wafrederick]

Removing the scaly rust on nuts and bolts used in exhaust systems.Also good for removal of rusty build in the back of brake rotors in the hat area.

 

[John Timmins]

All merchant ships have them for rust removal. Replacement needles are in the Grainger catalog I believe or McMaster Carr. There were all the parts to recondition them.

In the engine room on some engines we'd needle scale the tops of pistons when they were pulled (900 mm diameter) to have a clean crown. Then a template would rest on the piston and feeler guages were used to measure wear from flame or fuel impingement. If out of spec, the crown was removed and a reconditioned one was installed. Some guys would needle scale the ring grooves but normally they were pretty clean.

 

[gsport]

yep, a good tool ... one of the good tools from harbor freight

 

[RivennHewn]

HF has some tools of questionable quality.

The mini scaler isn't one of them.

 

[Ron Swanson]

I use one all the time at work. They are great for cleaning up rusty,paint covered,dirty equipment buckets before welding. They knock slag out of places a grinder cant reach after cutting with a torch or plasma cutter too.

 

[str8axle55]

I`ve blown up 2 of the larger H/F units at my work. Not being abused and oiled regularly, they just all of a sudden stop working. I have the small one now, seems to work ok, time will tell. I work at a Toyota dealer, and use them all the time when replacing rusty frames on the trucks.

 

[cheechi]

I've removed some of the worst old cement/rust on one of my wheelbarrows to test it out. I picked up the mini that HF has and the 'air hammer' style that Northern has with the intention of finding out if i could do it well enough to get a sander in there. I cleaned about a 4"x4" area to smooth in about 2 mins. I know the concrete on it is about 20 years old.

 

[trackwelder]

I usually go through two or three IR scalers a year. Someone bought two harbor freight scalers once and they where destroyed in a week. The CP scalers where the best but the purchasing department decided to switch to IR made in taiwan.

 

[91bronc300]

I`ve blown up 2 of the larger H/F units at my work. Not being abused and oiled regularly, they just all of a sudden stop working. I have the small one now, seems to work ok, time will tell. I work at a Toyota dealer, and use them all the time when replacing rusty frames on the trucks.

Toyota trucks come into the dealer to get the frames replaced? All the time?

 

[cheechi]

Some have had recalls, yes.

 

[Mohawk Dave]

I want a needle scaler now. I just found this Sunex for 40 bucks. I like the pistol grip. http://www.globalindustrial.com/p/p...mpaignId=T9F&gclid=CIPxmYaK57QCFaN_QgodbUYA8A

Is the Sunex a good tool? Can't find any reviews on it. I don't know if I should buy the HF or this one?

Also, HF has the "19 Piece Needle Scaler Replacement Set" for $10. Can I fit that to my air hammer, or is it a whole different animal? http://www.harborfreight.com/19-piece-needle-scaler-replacement-set-1109.html

EDIT: This Wel-Bilt has good reviews on Northern Tool. 25 bucks. Anyone have one? http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_12817_12817

EDIT: this is home use. so I will not spend 100s of dollars on one....thanks.

EDIT: BTW, I read reviews on Global Industrial...looks like THEY ****! Don't want one of you guys gettin screwed.https://www.google.com/products/sel...m&sa=X&ei=KprzUPHVJIKEiwKd64HQCA&ved=0CAwQwhI

 

[Provincial]

I have both of the HF needle scalers. I bought the large one (#1108) first, and it is useful on even tough jobs. I removed heavy (3/8" thick) scale in the interior of a cast iron rendering kettle with this tool and it performed very well. I used it for cleaning up weld slag for years, but bought the smaller model (#96997) because it is much handier, and the added power of the large one is not needed for slag removal. The small model gets into much tighter areas and is much easier to handle.

Play with your air pressure to adjust the impact of the needles. Slag from stick welding takes very little impact to break up, and the lower pressure makes it less likely to peen visible dimples in the weld bead. Heavy scale needs as much power as possible, since the rust is flexible and absorbs much of the blow.

I think both the HF scalers are good for home use, and occasional commercial use. I would not recommend them for heavy commercial use. HF sells replacement needles for both models, but the needles hold up very well if you don't use 150 lbs. of air pressure! They hold up OK even at that pressure.

 

[cheechi]

I have that wel-bilt from Northern. It does a good job. It's fairly new to me so no comments on longevity.