hi all, i just bought an air impact wrench and a set of sockets today, what a cracking set of stuff! £50 from machine mart (cheaper on ebay i know, but i needed it asap!).

however, i have a few questions! its not great at undoing stuff that is really rusted up, is this par for the course, a lack of air (it does loose pressure fast) or a low quality wrench? its a standard clark thing.

im thinking of upgrading the compressor too, i know there are recent threads on compressors but am i better upgrading pressure, free air or volume?! or all...

also, air wrenches (not the impact ones) are they essentially just worm drives? the fella in the shop described them as nut spinners. is there any real use in having both an impact wrench and a regular spinner?!

any imput much appreciated, ive lost most of my other tools due to lack of use, but feel like stocking up again!

Got a good compressor (resonable industrial, sertainaly not hobby) with 1/2" bore hose (as big as it gets) running a 1/2" drive air gun.

In short tight rusty stuff is a no no. you will need to krack the nuts/bolts at the very least, will usually work well enough then.

Main use of air gun is to get nuts of long threads.

[Edited on 1/3/05 by clbarclay]

I only recently started using an air ratchet (30 pounds with a few sockets from B&Q) and it is really good time saver for some jobs, It delivers about 25 foot pounds maxtorque which is fine for small bolts but 10mm require an additional hand tighten.
I had a 1.5 hp compressor with a small receiver but it wasn't really up to powering air tools for anything but short bursts so I bought a second one for 49 pounds from B&Q and now couple the outputs up when spray or using air tools -- even then it isn't real to continuously running die grinders or air cut off tools which take a lot of air.


When buying a compressor the critical figure is the free air delivery (FAD) ideally this should match or exceed the tools air consumption. FAD essentiall depends on three things the swept volume, the crank rpm and the efficiency of the compressor.

For tools that aren't in continuous use but work in short bursts -- such as impact wrenches, air ratchets the FAD isn't so critical as long as a decent sized air receiver, but for die grinders, air saws, air cut off tools a good FAD is essential.
Spray guns need both a good FAD and a decent sized receiver.

[Edited on 1/3/05 by britishtrident]

I have a Clarke set and it has never failed me! Running on a 2hp, 50l compressor it had no trouble undoing the amazingly tight nuts on Sierra rear hubs. Just had to sit there for a few minutes each as it shocked them into submission. On the bottom (by the air inlet) is a dial, make sure it's on 4 for undoing stuff and no more than 2 for tightening things like wheel nuts. Those settings are based on using the recomended 90psi.

As for the compressor the CFM is the biggy for air tools, capacity next. I have shop air in my domestic garage, 350l, 5 hp and snap ins everywhere. Not cheap but the best investment ever after the TIG welder! I'd say go for something at least 100l and 3hp if you intend to use it heavily.

As for an air spinner, THE tool for fitting things in a hurry but no use at all for parting corroded itmes.

I have just put away my impact wrench, can't wait to turn of the TIG and get out the spinner.

interesting that, roger, i only noticed settings up to 3 - might be why it struggled!

i like the idea of getting a bigger hose, when i stop using the wrench i can hear the hiss of flowing air for a few seconds from the compresor - probably caused by the narrow 1/4 inch pipe.

cheers for the tips guys. the really stiff nuts (the ones on the rear subframe for example, and the tow bar) i used one of the non ratchet hand things, with a long piece of 19mm tube over it - worked wonders, but not any good for a tight space.

Don't forget to lubricate any air tool with the correct oil and drain any moisture from compressor , can make a big difference.

1/4" pipe

Had a long leght of 1/4" coily, ruined air flow completely. Aquired the 1/2" and havent looked back, can get rid of 200ltr air tank in next to no time. Impact wrench on 1/2" is v. good, I just happen to have some very rusty nuts that extended T bars.

Just about every Machine Mart impact wrench in the catalogue has a little note next to it - 10mm hose minimum.

I bought one recently - haven't got round to trying it yet! I did find the hose a bit unmanageable though...

David

A tip that i learned as a boy that still amazes me how successfull it can be is to tighten the nut/bolt first.

graham

ps especially good with rusty bleed nipples
not with a buzz gun though i hasen to ad

U need at least a 50 litre tank. I tried to run one with a 25 litre comp just turns too slow.. Turned the pressure up on it which helped a bit . Just empties the tank too quick and the comp wont keep up.. Ideal for spraying though

i found out that tightening them works by accident! id whacked the wrench to get it on, and put in into forward.

gonna get a 1/2 inch hose tomorrow then! and maybe a bigger pump too. i think its only about 25 litres and 7cfm.

not sure of compressor output (not very good I suspect, pumps old/worn) but with a 200ltr tank you can soon lose it through a 1/2" pipe and air tool.

Then again when you start changing plough parts you have a lot of rusty nuts to remove.
I find best is to crack the nuts firts with a T bar, then whip em off with the impact rench and use the wrench to put them back on. Very quick and easy that way as long as the air supply lasts.


The hose isnt to unmanagable as long as you have a reasonable length (5m from a wall point is plenty) and don't try to coil it up to tight.

[Edited on 1/3/05 by clbarclay]

Hmm Good tip about the pipe size...

I found my curly cord never worked that good. Now I know why it was cheap on a car boot sale!.

Not using a long run of air hose also helps.

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Originally posted by britishtrident
Not using a long run of air hose also helps.

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quote:

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Originally posted by clbarclay
not sure of compressor output (not very good I suspect, pumps old/worn) but with a 200ltr tank you can soon lose it through a 1/2" pipe and air tool.

Then again when you start changing plough parts you have a lot of rusty nuts to remove.
I find best is to crack the nuts firts with a T bar, then whip em off with the impact rench and use the wrench to put them back on. Very quick and easy that way as long as the air supply lasts.


The hose isnt to unmanagable as long as you have a reasonable length (5m from a wall point is plenty) and don't try to coil it up to tight.

[Edited on 1/3/05 by clbarclay]

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I like the idea of an FW.
Do you think the local drag strip will let me race one at a run-what-u-brung meeting?

How will the 0-60 time compare with a locost?

[Edited on 3/3/05 by clbarclay]

0-60 might be tricky

could probably pull the dragster off the wrong way whilst it was going off the line though!

It was amusig when we needed to grub some trees out (actually this was a big massey artic thing, MF 4880 I think) it just towed them out of the ground with about 1/2 a field still attached!!

Lube! Lube! Lube

I've been using my air nibbler relentlessly for the last month, and I can't stress how much of a difference a well oiled line makes.

I'm now finding I can use my 1.5hp 50l compressor continueously and still cut (albeit fairly slowly) where as before I would do 50cm, and have to stop until it got some more pressure.

Whilst it wont make all the difference for your impact wrench, it will certainly stop them wearing out as quickly.

I've also got an impact wrench and its my new best friend.

Cheers

David

The oil not only lubricates the tool but also helps seal the piston etc. inside the tool so less air leaks past them.

Less air leaking = better performance

If you ever do a compression test on a IC engine you will know that you do the test with the piston/cylinder dry, and again with a small amount of oil in the cylinder to make sure the piston rings are not leaking.

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Originally posted by NS Dev
0-60 might be tricky

could probably pull the dragster off the wrong way whilst it was going off the line though!

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Originally posted by irvined

I'm now finding I can use my 1.5hp 50l compressor continueously

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im still waiting to buy a thicker short hose, need some more money!

the thing that is playing on my mind is the fittings. Does 3/8" or 1/2" hose have bigger fittings on the ends? cos my compressor and wrench both have 1/4" bsp ends. Propbably doesnt matter too much, but doesnt the end connector act like a bottle neck?

im gonna get two 10m lengths of 3/8", then i only need use the length i need.

is 1/2 inch easily available or worth having in my situation? there seems to be none on ebay, and even machine mart barely mentions it.

cheers, Joel.

The fittings I use are normal (1/4) fittings with adapters to take the bigger pipe.
Like electrical resistors resistance is a produst of area and lenght.

smaller fittings do reduce the over all resistance of the pipe, but don't act as a upper limit to the pipe, it won't be like running pipe with a 1/4 bore along the entire lenght.

In short 3/8 inch connectors would be better, but 1/4 connectors are not much worse than 3/8.



[Edited on 4/3/05 by clbarclay]

As for 1/2 avalibility, I got my pipe from a friend of a relative who was clearing out his lock up garages.

Machine mart sells it at £1.29 a metre, not sure how this compares to local building/tool suppliers.



Just checked the hose i'm using and actuall I think its 10mm not 1/2 inch. Still better than 8 or even worse 6mm hose.

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Originally posted by MikeR

quote:

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Originally posted by irvined

I'm now finding I can use my 1.5hp 50l compressor continueously

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Is this the one i got you? if so its only a 25l tank .....


Ahh yes it is, oh and get yourself an uncoiled decent hose - makes life a lot less work when its not wrapping itself around everything.

D

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Peteff - 4/3/05 at 03:21 PM

I use a rubber hose now as I found the plastic one I had was a pain in the proverbial as it wouldn't lie down and was always snagging on something. I don't find the bore to be a problem, 3/8" or 1/2" works fine with the tools I use but I find in weather like the recent cold I lose more to icing than anything.

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David Jenkins - 4/3/05 at 03:22 PM

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Originally posted by Peteff
I lose more to icing than anything.

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Stop eating cakes while you're working! That'll fix that problem...



David

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