no clue on painting tools or welding

[jjdeal79]

hi everyone. I don't have air tools, but I would like some. I would like to be able to paint my trucks too. I don't expect pro quality but I don't mind elbow grease.
so what type of power, compression, do I need to get out of a compressor. I can do up to a 50 amp circuit, but would prefer to operate on 20.
I would also like to get a welder. arc? I have even less knowledge of this. I do have plenty of scrap metal to practice before doing it for real.
I would prefer good quality for low/used/ money. any suggestions, or specs needed to achieve my goals?

[sargentrs]

When looking at air compressors, it's all about the cubic feet per minute (cfm). I have 2. A 110v, 120 psi, 21 gallon, $140 Harbor Freight special and an antique 60 gal, belt drive (5hp?), 220v Swan that a friend gave me for free. The Swan had a bad rusted out tank and I found a guy on Craigslist that had 60 gal Husky that he'd thrown a rod in the compressor. I picked up the Husky tank for $100 and mated the Swan compressor to it. That thing will pump some air! I use the HF compressor for general duty like airing up tires and also for painting. When using impact wrenches, cutoff tools, etc, I use the Swan. If you're going to be using a high speed sander you really need to have a high cfm rating (12-15 cfm @ 90 psi). Most air tools are rated at 90 psi so higher than 120 psi is not really necessary for your average Joe. My 21 gallon HF is ok with an air impact but you only get about 30 seconds worth of use before the compressor kicks in to recharge and less than that with the cutoff tool. You can get away with a cheap compressor, like this HF http://www.harborfreight.com/2-horsepow ... 68127.html but you're better off spending the extra $100+ for this Husky http://www.homedepot.com/p/Husky-60-Gal ... ifications for example.

For air tools, must have's are a 1/2" impact, cutoff tool, and air hammer/chisel set. I've had my Campbell Hausfeld set for years and it's never failed me. I bought a $20 HF air impact, used it one summer, then put it up in my basement for a year. When I went to use it again, it wouldn't work at all, just sat there and hissed. After that, I don't cheap out on my air tools. I also have an air ratchet but I rarely use it. One of those things that sounds like a good idea until you actually use it and find out it's too long to get in most places you need a ratchet. For sanding/grinding I mostly use electric tools.

If you're going to be painting, buy a cheap gun, like this HF http://www.harborfreight.com/20-oz-8-cf ... 67181.html for spraying rust proofing stuff like POR-15 and chassis paint because that stuff will ruin a gun quickly. Get the disposable paint gun cups to spray that. Spend the $$ on a quality gun set for priming and top coating like this DeVilbiss set I bought http://www.summitracing.com/parts/dvr-802343/overview/ The difference in quality/use is amazing over the HF gun.

Welders/welding equipment is one of those things it's hard to go cheap on. If you're just going to be tacking and light welding you can get away with a 110v but the duty cycle (how long you can use it straight welding) is pretty light so they're not much good for anything else. If you plan on running some heavy beads or building stuff, spring for the 220v/135 amp+ variety and definitely get MIG with shielding gas. Flux core wire has it's uses (for really heavy welding) but is not practical for body sheet metal. I'm thinking about this one since I'm only going to be doing light welding http://www.homedepot.com/p/Lincoln-Elec ... dgA_zvVArU Again, pay for quality with this kind of equipment.

In short, spend on quality/high usage items and go cheap on little used/high abuse items. Don't buy more than you need, you can always buy/borrow/rent the little used items later.

Sorry for the long post, guys, but I hate to see somebody make the same mistakes I did.

[Heirloom]

I'll add another place to look at air tools is Eastwood. They have kits with impact, cutoff, chisel, saw, reversible drill and more. The starter kit is $150 (on sale right now, reg. $200), the larger kit on sale right now for $200 (reg. $300) is a smoking deal IMHO. What ever you do stay away from the harbor freight air tool isle. They are all anemic, the one cut off wheel I bought can't even cut sheet metal.

http://www.eastwood.com/shop-equipment/ ... -kits.html

A welder, as Randy said, is a tough one. Look on Craigslist for the right deal. Three years ago I bought a Miller SyncroWave 180 TIG set up with a 200cf bottle, two torches and more for $900 from a Craigslist ad. I would recommend jumping right into TIG. MIG is very easy and quite useful, especially for steel welding that needs extra filler (MIG wire). But the versatility of a TIG is priceless. Being able to fuse sheetmetal butt welds with no filler rod is killer! The initial cost may be a shock, but once you are familiar with it, the shock goes away and you are left with being able to weld anything....with lots of practice. Charging $20 here and there for little weld jobs for friends/neigbors will pay for the consumables.

[jjdeal79]

thanks for the help! I have limited places to but stuff up here in Alaska, but this gives me a direction to head towards.

[Heirloom]

thanks for the help! I have limited places to but stuff up here in Alaska, but this gives me a direction to head towards.

Sounds like it's time to pour a slab and build a shed!

[jjdeal79]

oh man, typos! I meant that there are limited places to buy tools. I'll have to watch the craiglists to see if there are better options. also, the price of shipping things up here is awful!
thanks!

[Heirloom]

LOL, my brain turned 'but' into 'put'....didn't consider 'buy'. Yeah, that makes more sense up their. Where about are you in AK? I have an Uncle that lives in Kenai.

[jjdeal79]

I live in anchorage, south of the airport.

[charlie bumpside]

hey jj i am a mechanic by trade and a good word of advice that i have always been told is to buy the best tools you can possibly afford and its what i live by everytime i go shoppin