I am looking at supplying my home shop with air tools in the next few weeks. What brands will be the best for my buck. Im not looking to furnish an industrial every day use shop with Snap On and 500 bucks a pop but I want something that will last and be relaible. I was looking at Craftsman, Campbell Hausfeld, IR, etc. What do you all think.

Also, should I buy NEW or can I get used air tools and be ok. Im leary of used air tools cuz you never know what the other guy did with them. i.e. not use filters and get water in them....etc...

Thanks
Tony

 

ir , craftsman or cp are all good air tools id buy new because as you said you dont know how the other guy took care of his air tools.

i use air tools on a daily basis at work and it is best imho to buy new

 

Best advice is to stick to name brand tools. I have had very good luck with IR air tools. Thier impact guns have plenty of power. Craftsman air tools aren't too bad either. I try to stay away from used airtools.

Remember to lube each tool before use. That is probably the biggest thing that people forget about.

 

I've got IR myself, and am happy so far. I've only had them for a short time though.

 

My air tool drawer is almost all cheapo Harbor Freight stuff. It all works quite well. The only thing I would definately get a quality one of is your impact gun. I have the IR 2131A and it is wonderfull. As for my air ratchets, die grinders, body saw, air hammer, cut off tool, the cheap ones seem to work good for me. I'm sure they would not hold up to industrial use but for the average do-it-yourselfer they are great.

 

at home if need one i have northern tools they have some very good name brand ones at very good prices."i think they may have a ad here somewhere" the ir's seem to have the most power and they make the big h/d one for mac tools so its the same gun, at work i do not use snap=on but do have mac as they have a 2 for 1 sale almost every year 1/2 inch and 3/8 inch. northern also has some good elcheepo's with their name on them that i use at work no problems with them either. guess it's up to what you can afford. the others have said it above. get a good 1/2 inch for the heavy stuff you will be glad you did.

 

you can get some awesome deals on new air tools on ebay. I bought a new IR 2135TI impact (most powerful 1/2 impact made) off ebay for $196 when its $260 from northern and $300 off the snap-on truck. I realy like my IR air tools.

 

I like the Ingersoll-Rand air tools. We use them at work and they are the only ones that hold up in the price range that the company is willing to pay. At home I have mostly CP and Harbor Freight stuff for the ones I only use rarely, an HTP cutoff tool that has been great and an IR impact gun that I really like. I use the cutoff tool more than anything else and have had it for over 10 years.

 

is nikota a good brand? i am looking at some of those. also, my impact wrench, supposedly can produce up to 230 ft/lbs of torque, but i will torque them on, supposedly all the way, and i can take the lug nuts off with almost no effort with a standard lug wrench, does anybody know what would cause that?

 

i bought IR 3/8 pistol impact high end from Sears , An A rated store , that means tool area is very large . I also bought mine w/ extended warranty 3 years if it breaks they exchange it. Not fix it. Use a tail hose it has a 2' hose it makes the tool easyer to use. That i bought from Macco tool truck high end hose but its real nice to use. My tools maybe soon my become K-Sears , Sears-Mart, or Shown off on T.V. By not Bob V. , but Martha S. What a shame the people that worked & lost there retirment & now thay have money to buy Sears . What a corupt Govt. we have p on the poor man or women who work, pay taxes, & lose it all in the end . Don

 

We had a guy with a CP demo truck come by and show off their stuff. He showed us the CP7750 (turbo) Vs. an IR equal, and it smoked the IR. A few other things like die grinders and such, I love their stuff. Snap-on aint nothing special, I found too many things from them lately, made in china, taiwan etc. If I'm gonna pay that much it better be made here. The HF stuff aint bad for home use, but I would go to a store and fondle it first.

 

For the D-I-Y'er I would recommend the Harbor Freight air tools. I have a 1/2" impact wrench, air hammer/chisel, 3/8" air ratchet, small sand blaster and paint gun that I've been using for years with no problems. KEEP WELL OILED! I also have several of their electric tools including a horizontal/vertical metal cutting bandsaw, bench grinder, 1/2" electric drill motor, 14" abrasive cutoff saw and a 16 speed drill press. My only complaint is with the drill press head bearings tolerances--a little too much play to accurately drill small holes (there may be an adjustment for this). For the amount of work I do, I could never have justified expensive, high quality name brands. Piffery1

 

We use Ingersoll Rand daily in our industrial shop, excellent quality. We are starting to turn to AirCat, though... Same power, same prices, 1/4 noise. Especially the air ratchets.

 

I have to agree with all of the other HF cheapy users. All I own is that stuff and haven't had a problem with any of it in 10 years. I have the 3/8 and 1/2" impact, 3/8 ratchet, drill, air saw, hammer cutoff tool and HVLP gravity gun. All work good so far. The drill is a little sloppy but besides that they are ok for me.

 

I like my IR 1/2" impact.