Opinions on oiling air tools

[Sugarfryz]

I've always oiled my air tools religiously, usually just a drop or two when I first use them for the day. The old timer at the shop says he never oils his air tools because it makes all the crud in the air lines get caked on the inside of the tool. He does still use some rather oil tools and I am impressed they still work. Another guy says he only oils his when it starts acting weird. Also yet another guy never oils his, just sprays penetrating oil in it when he feels it's low on power. I suspect that's killed our shop 1 inch gun.

What do you guys do, always oil or never?

 

[RV8guy]

Most of my air tools get a little oil every couple of times I use them. My DA sander, almost never. I don't want it putting oil all over things that I plan on painting.

 

[Mr_B]

Yeh few drops couple times a week, maybe once again if really working it hard on something.
Good air should be clean and filtered, if got lot of crud in system it will kill the tools with or without oil, most guys don't oil tools as just too lazy or got a no maintenance stance.

 

[Formula]

I'll oil my air tools maybe once a year if I remember. I have air tools 25 years old that I use everyday and still going strong, that were hardly ever oiled.

 

[mrjaw14]

I have always been guilty of over-oiling. Mostly I was using too big a bottle of oil that was hard to control. I have a small bottle that I can easily dispense single drops and each tool I use gets one drop usually. I find that if you pull the trigger and attach the air hose the oil actually gets sucked up into the tool and gets dispersed nicely.

 

[mcmtech]

Mine get a few drops before using a few times a week

 

[JCQuick]

yep I oil mine very litely

 

[lakeroadster]

On occasion a little WD-40.

Local humidity, compressor line arrangement and air line materials are big factors in air tool longevity too.

 

[Fender1325]

I add 2-3 drops before most uses. It says right on the tool oil daily. Who am I to argue with the engineer

 

[Snakebyt]

couple times a week for my impacts, little less for tools that see less use

 

[mbshop]

I oiled every day. If really going at it I would oil again at some point. First I used atf for many years. Then I found air tool oil and used that. Never a tool problem. On impacts, don't forget to grease those also.

 

[Bretny]

I have a oiler on my main air line. Everything that gets hooked to it gets oil.

I have a separate line thats non oiled for my plasma cutter and HVLP painting.

 

[bcradio]

I oil mine every use or every few uses

 

[vssjim]

I put Marvel Air Tool oil in them regularly and then put enough in to flush once in a while. Oil it enough it comes out clean.

 

[Empty Pockets]

Mine get oiled very lightly, about once a week, when I'm using them regularly

 

[wafrederick]

Certain air tools you never oil.Air hammers are one of them,the oil does damage to the seals.A Matco dealer I dealt with told me this.Includes any of the nail guns that are oil less,oil does damage to the seals as well.

 

[camd64]

I put a couple drops of Marvel in every time I use them. I have an old 1/4" air ratchet and a IR 2131 impact from the late 90's still going strong with the years I worked at a dealership. I only have had one air tool ever really fail and that was from a defective bearing. maybe oiling helps or maybe it doesn't.....for me the few dollars spent on oil is good peace of mind.

 

[Marlin]

Most air tools are designed to be oiled with exception of body shop tools and some air hammers and probably a few other exceptions. That being said I have always life tested air tools without oiling them because I know that is how most people use them and as an engineer you want to know how the tool will perform in the typical field conditions.

 

[rlitman]

Most of my air tools get a little oil every couple of times I use them. My DA sander, almost never. I don't want it putting oil all over things that I plan on painting.

My Dynabrade came with instructions that spell out exactly how much oil it needs. I have an inline oiler on it, because it is one of the few air tools I use that sees continuous use. I'm sure that you're shortening the lifetime of your DA by not oiling it, but if it saves you cleanup time and headaches, a new sander every decade instead of BIFL may still make financial sense.

But my DA also has a self-generating vacuum that's coaxial with the exhaust, so any oil that blows out the exhaust will be sent down the vacuum hose, and not onto my work, so I don't worry about the oil.

 

[mbshop]

Usually one would follow manufacturers recomendations. Then go from there.

 

[turbowoodworker]

I don't paint cars. But many of my air tools say "oil daily" right on the side...so that's what I do.

 

[country83]

Certain air tools you never oil.Air hammers are one of them,the oil does damage to the seals.A Matco dealer I dealt with told me this.Includes any of the nail guns that are oil less,oil does damage to the seals as well.

Can't say I've ever heard this. Sure, the air hammers I've worked on have some pretty tight tolerances and if you over-oil them they'll bind up. Normally a little isopropyl alcohol clears it up and then I'll just shoot a little oil in the inlet to coat everything and prevent rust.

Sent from my XT1635-01 using Tapatalk

 

[Steve_P]

I've seized an air hammer piston from not addding enough oil. Broke it free, oiled regularly after that, no issues 10+ yrs later. Never heard to not oil an air hammer. What would keep the piston from seizing ? Mine did.

 

[skruft]

I add a little oil each day that I use a tool.

 

[mrjaw14]

All my air hammers came with oil

 

[Snakebyt]

Any ways to grease an impact without a fancy special grease gun?

 

[Sugarfryz]

Any ways to grease an impact without a fancy special grease gun?

Take it apart and put some grease on the hammers. They’re actually pretty simple

 

[Wesley B]

I add oil to my impact once maybe twice a month when I remember. Maybe I don't understand(never really tried to) the internals well enough, but I would think oil would exhaust itself from the system within minutes of use anyway....so what good is oiling it once a day doing?

 

[hangfirew8]

I add oil to my impact once maybe twice a month when I remember. Maybe I don't understand(never really tried to) the internals well enough, but I would think oil would exhaust itself from the system within minutes of use anyway....so what good is oiling it once a day doing?

It's replacing the oil that was exhausted out of the system the day before.

 

[hasco]

I always give the air tools a couple drops of Marvel Air Tool Oil, Even the Grease Gun !

 

[Mikeske]

I oil my air tools when I think of it and it might be like once a month. I know it says to oil daily but I am a old time mechainc and I do it if I think about it or the tool feels weak. Most of air tools are IR and at least 35 years old that I bought new in 1982

 

[Dave455]

I generally add a couple of drops, then run the tool briefly, before I put it away!

If a tool has been stored unused for a while I'll usually do the same again before use as well.

Some tools are more sensitive than others so I'm probably more pedantic about oiling things like my small die grinder that really need it!

Some air tools, I'm thinking of things that have high speed air turbines, of course shouldn't be oiled at all, but are usually marked as such!

Anything that does need oiling gets 'generic' SAE 10 Air Tool Oil. I use the same stuff for motor bearings, or anything on a hand tool that needs oil. All my machine tools get SAE 30 in their oil cups and slideways, so I generally have a gallon of each around and fill oil cans from that. It's the cheapest way!

 

[blake101]

I work in a machine shop. The beginning of every shift I put a few drops of oil and all my air tools.