dr_clyde
Well-known member
I mean, that argument pretty much is only relevant to the Amish. They use air to get around restrictions in their religious beliefs, not because it’s the best way of doing business.
Tools Where Air Power is Still Relevant
- Thread starter dnschmidt
- Start date
rlitman
Well-known member
I have two pneumatic chain hoists, and they totally kick the pants of electric hoists. Pneumatic is inherently variable speed.
VolvoRyan
Well-known member
How are they compressing air? Just curious. We live in Amish country. While I applaud them for being able to live that lifestyle, they have a lot of workarounds.
-Ryan
Odd-job
Well-known member
dr_clyde
Well-known member
Engine drive compressors AFAIK. I’m not Amish lol.
From what I understand they are more interested in not being connected to the grid/system and they’re ok with certain advancements if it allows them to live their way more than not.
BlakeTheCarGuy
ALLIANCE MEMBER
Die grinders. Hands down air wins in that category.
Cycle time. coil nailers are used to shoot lots of nails fast. Cordless nailers are slow. For most usage, that doesn't matter, because the time to place the nailgun is longer than the cycle time. That's not true with nailing down sheet goods on the roof or wall, and it's not true of shingles either. If the tool makes you wait, it's not good enough.
neophyte
Well-known member
There are Foredom flex shaft grinders sold for dentistry, although mostly for use with farm animals.
Foredom also makes a line of micromotor tools, which look larger than dental drolls, but probably still useable.
Are they wet or dry? I can't imagine having to go back to having a dry drill in my mouth.
RedneckWelder
Well-known member
Air shines in the muck. I can wash my air impacts off in the parts washer without issue so long as I don’t drown the exhaust and intake.
The high torque impacts still aren’t as good as a modern 1/2” air impact power wise and tend to be much heavier. Don’t get me wrong the battery impact is great for working away from air or just zipping a couple bolts but for real repetitive work air is where it’s at.
3/4” and 1” impacts are still best with air. We had a new guy come in with a Milwaukee 3/4 impact which is a slightly hopped up version of their 1/2” high torque. First time he tried to do a dozer undercarriage with it he didn’t get past more than a few bolts before he needed to borrow an air gun. The Milwaukee tripped overheat protection constantly.
Die grinders are best in air. The battery ones are nice for a quick cleaning of something but they eat batteries for sustained use.
It all depends on the work being done. For most automotive cordless impacts can do just about everything an air impact can. If they can remove a Honda crank bolt, and they have demonstrated that they can, that's just about the hardest job in automotive repair. The only advantage of an air impact in automotive today is the truly compact tools like the Astro Nano Version 2 and the SPAir impacting ratchets which are very small. In any modern automotive application space is at a premium.
RedneckWelder you mentioned muck and bulldozers. Few automotive shops work on dozers or have dirt floors so that precondition doesn't apply. HOWEVER, if heavy equipment is what you do for a living there is little doubt that air is where it's at for exactly the reasons you've mentioned. HORSES FOR COURSES IS AN OLD STATEMENT BUT ENTIRELY TRUE.
RedneckWelder you mentioned muck and bulldozers. Few automotive shops work on dozers or have dirt floors so that precondition doesn't apply. HOWEVER, if heavy equipment is what you do for a living there is little doubt that air is where it's at for exactly the reasons you've mentioned. HORSES FOR COURSES IS AN OLD STATEMENT BUT ENTIRELY TRUE.
While in most cases they "can" get the job done. My question is when there is air available to you is it really the best tool for the job in a production based environment?
My answer at this point is still no.
The cost overhead in the long run is still going to be higher for cordless tools when you account for longevity and batteries in most cases. Air is still needed for a lot of things in the automotive industry so you will still need a rather capable compressor unless you want another throwaway tool...
While I won't argue that cordless tools are great for most interior work and some mechanical work it will be awhile before they unseat air tools in a professional setting where air is provided.
Back to the original question of "can". Just a quick example. Can I rotate tires with my 3/8 air impact? Yes. Sould I? No. Why would I abuse my 3/8 gun and waste time when there is a easier way to get the job done?
There is nothing worse in a shop than listening to someone repeatedly hammering on something to get it apart. Whether it be with a hammer, impact or god forbid an air hammer. So when someone pulls out the cordless impact and hammers away on the "Honda crank bolt" it comes back to "can or should". My air gun will make quick work of it.
For home garages cordless is a game changer and in a lot of ways it has been for the professional but, it is not a replacement for air rather just another tool in the box.
strutaeng
Well-known member
Yeah, battery cordless is nice. But I think for heavy duty or continuous duty use, pneumatic is better.
Spray painting, needle scaler and die grinder are the ones I use often that are exclusive pneumatic.
Spray painting, needle scaler and die grinder are the ones I use often that are exclusive pneumatic.
The place I visited used a Deutz air cooled diesel with a belt driven compressor filling some old I think 500ish gallon propane tanks. He had a timer set for 30 minutes, it would start, run for 30 minutes to fill the tanks and then shut off. Then he could work for a while before having to restart the motor.
Motor was electric start, go figure lol.
My dentist here a couple weeks ago used a battery tool for the cleaning. Now, as for drilling for fillings, I dunno, I'll find out in a couple weeks.
dr_clyde
Well-known member
I think this is the classic thinking of black and white. It’s as though people think if you have cordless you can’t have air or corded.
You can have both.
I tend to buy a corded tool first then if I use it often enough to warrant a cordless I buy it.
But I don’t think I own a cordless tool that I don’t have a corded version of.
You can have both.
I tend to buy a corded tool first then if I use it often enough to warrant a cordless I buy it.
But I don’t think I own a cordless tool that I don’t have a corded version of.
neophyte
Well-known member
I presume the micromotor units would have to be used dry.
The flex shaft units could be used wet, but I gave no clue how they’re typically used for animal dentistry.
theoldwizard1
Well-known member
The big win for pneumatic tools is that they can usually be easily and cheaply rebuilt.
When a battery impact get weak, throw it away.
When a battery impact get weak, throw it away.
Dakotadadv8
Well-known member
- Joined
- May 30, 2021
- Messages
- 1,491
Nailers
50k buys a ton of hauled in water...
We have a 3000 gallon tank at work, lasts 5-6 months with toilet, sink and occasional floor and truck washing.
Costs about $300 to fill and that's BFE AK price, so probably 1/2 that in the lesser 48.
I bought a HF air ratchet many years ago. One day I grabbed it and it wouldn't spin, locked up. I took it a part and found one bearing rusted up. I guess I didn't oil it often enough. I fiddled with the bearing and got it to spin and blew it out good. Put a couple drops of oil on the bearing and reassembled it. That was probably 10 years ago and the rusty bearing is still rolling along!
