Viking Air tools

[kartracer55]

Anybody know who is making vikign brand air tools? I have seen them arund ina few dif. catalogs, and they are MADE IN USA!

http://www.contractorstools.com/viking.html

here is a link to one of thier retailers. As you can see, thier pricing is very good, especially considering they are made in USA, and their grinder kits arnt filled with cheapo stuff, they include carbide burrs, which arnt cheap. They seem to be a great item.

Has anybody ever used them, or heard about them? Anybody know what company is making them and if they are quality or not?

Thanks
Jim

 

[bmwpower]

Not sure if they're the same or not, but they look just like the models I see in Advanced Auto.

 

[kartracer55]

Nah those are cheapo imports labled ampro

Jim

 

[Major Ramifications]

I am pretty sure that the AirCat brand is also made in USA, and the prices are pretty nice, too.
http://www.aircat.com/home.html

 

[kartracer55]

Hmm id consider an air cat tool.
My neighboors are pissed over this compressor impact gun thing. you can here the gun from like 4 houses down, so a quiet tool would be nice

Jim

 

[Nevadastars]

I am a bodyman by trade. I have had my Viking air board for over 25 years. It performs flawlessly to this day. It is the standard in the industry that nearly everyone uses. I also have one of thier miniVikes I bought around 5 years ago. I havent seen too much of their other products being used, but if they are built like their air boards, it is quality stuff. They have been around at least the 34 years I have been in the trade.

 

[ATCOA Viking]

http://www.ATCOA.com They are back.

The original Vikings were/are made by ATCOA. Air Tool Corp of America. They created and sold the ATCOA Viking Long Shoe Straight Line Dual Piston Air Sander in the Early 1960's. There is NO other real Viking Long Shoe Straight Line Dual Piston Air Sander.

They became the industry standard. Never had one returned in over 30 years of production. When the patent ran out they were copied and a lot of knock-off were made over-seas. That is still true today. They copied the castings, even the paint trying to cash in on the name and reputation. They were that good.

In my opinion they are trash but ATCOA is back with the original ATCOA Viking. http://www.ATCOA.com The original Vikings are back being built under the supervision of the original Viking Designer and company founder, Karl Selander. They are so reliable and durable that ATCOA is offering an optional Lifetime Warranty or just take the standard 3-year warranty.

Visit the web site, give Karl Selander a call. You can talk direct to the original designer.
Just don't blame him for the knock-offs. He still holds the design copyright that is being violated with every knock-off sold. If you want the real thing buy his tool. You will have the original, that changed the path of an industry. The secret wasn't the casting or the color it was the metallurgy, precision tolerances, and other internal design elements. The knock-offs didn't understand the engineering and started cutting costs.

Don Lokke - Nephew of Karl Selander.