Choosing an air compressor

[LCHIEN]

I just picked up an oil free 6 gl 135 psi Porter Cable pancake at one of my local pawnshops for $60 and then got some bits and pieces including an 18 gauge brad gun at my local HF for 19.99 on sale. The air compressor seems fine. A bit worn but appears to be in good shape. Pressurizes quickly, and seems to hold pressure well. Realistically, I will only use it so often so it should last me a good while even if it may be a bit worn.

I fooled around indiscriminately brad nailing away in a board that had the misfortune of not looking much good for anything else. So far so good.

What should I look for as far as compressor failure or maintenance? Judging from the instruction manual there is nothing to do except for draining water from the tank at the end of use? No filters to clean or anything? I a almost disappointed! There is no equipment in the world that I can't take apart and reassemble slightly worse than it came!

Also, I can see how this can be addictive. What are your thoughts on the next nailer? It appears that a 16 gauge finish nailer would be an excellent all round next purchase, for general home improvement, molding, lists, whatever? I can always rent a framing nailer or roofing nailer and would have a hard time justifying that.

just drain it. Clean the (probably foam intake) filter every once in a while.

The seal for the piston is teflon so should last a while.

if you make small stuff, get a pin nailer like 23 ga. if you make bigger stuff, then get a 16 ga finish nailer. 18 ga.nailer is good for a lot of things, I hope you got a 2" one, though. If not return to HF and spend $5 more.

HF also has inexpensive staplers, both wide (1/2" crown) and narrow (1/4").
I like the wide for attaching thin stuff like cardboard, fabrics, upholstering and the like. The narrow is good for heavier sheet materials like pegboard, masonite, etc. Both hold better than brads (resisting material pull off) because of the area under the "head", but it shows more.

[fim]

I guess the pressure washer is a different animal altogether.

For the tools, are the combo packs any good? Or is there a big difference between brands and is best to pick and choose each one.

Does this seem like a reasonable tool path for weekend woodworker?
1) brad nailer (2")
2) finish nailer (2.5")
3) nailer
3) impact wrench
4) blowgun for cleaning sawdust
5) sprayer for light jobs (critter?)
6) HVLP conversion gun for big paint jobs?

[Peter59T]

18 gauge combination 1/4" stapler/2" brad

Thanks for the comments on my new toy. The brad nailer I picked at the HF sale is a 2" brad nailer and 1/4 stapler combination for 19.99 on sale. Reg. price $39.99 so I realize there is nothing top of the line about it, but it seems to work fine.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=40116

[LCHIEN]

Thanks for the comments on my new toy. The brad nailer I picked at the HF sale is a 2" brad nailer and 1/4 stapler combination for 19.99 on sale. Reg. price $39.99 so I realize there is nothing top of the line about it, but it seems to work fine.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...emnumber=40116

Not to criticize your purchase, but my only comment there is that the striker for the nail/staple is wide to accomodate driving the staple. What that means is you'll likely get a long dent instead of a hole that can be filled with putty. I would not have gotten that combo nailer. I personally think its better to have two guns, one for brads and one for staples, to avoid the oversize dent problem.

[Peter59T]

Harbor Freight brad nailer/stapler combo probably not that great

Playing with the cheap brad/stapler combo I just got I would tend to agree with your assessment. It does seem to leave a bit of a wider dent instead of a sharp hole. Ah well. For 20 bucks I can afford to play a little, but I will be careful where I use it.

I waiting for a Bostich 16 gauge finish nailer on Ebay for 50 so that will be interesting too for a pneumatic virgin.