compressor: luxury or necessity

[MikeT]

What do you think?  For a remote site (with temp power)  where I am building using John's Victoria's Cottage design that has a lot of DIY elements (and not a project that will likely be repeated), how important is it that I invest in a (used) compressor?  I was thinking of using it with a primarily with palm nailer, but other attachments/uses are possible, I suppose.

If I do go this route, what is the minimum size I should get?

I would love to hear reasons why not as well.

Thanks

[BassLakeBucki]

I currently own two air compressors, and larger one for my garage (20 gal 5hp), and a portable one to move around. Could I get by without them, sure I could. If mine in the garage died today, would I run out and get another, you bet I would.

I like to build and tinker; cars, tractors, snowmobiles, wood working etc., always got multiple projects going. I am surprised how much I use mine. It took a while to build up a my collection of air tools but it makes some very unpleasant jobs tolerable. I think my favorite tool is my little cutoff grinder. Bolts that are rusted up can be cut off in tight spaces in two seconds.

For building, I love my finish nailer, makes trim just fly along, and no hammer dings. I love my framer too, especially in tight spots. Although sometimes nothing is better than a hammer. IMO roofing nailers can go either way, once you get in the rhythm, a hammer can go pretty fast, and you don't have to reload and undo nail jambs. The one thing I don't use enough are my paint gun, maybe someday I will.

Lastly, one of pet peeves is to pay $.50 or $.75 for air to pump up a tire, some things just outta be free, I am sure the oil companies can afford it.

If you do buy one, buy the best one you can afford, it will serve you for a long time.

My .02 worth.

[PEG688]

For a one time builder , are there really such things  , on a remote site , I thinking generator power I'd say you could live wihout one . The hassle of hauling it around , having te generator run all the time , instead of just when your cutting , buying the tools  etc I'd do it without one .

I have built many homes / building w/o the aid of air , power you'll need unless you want to cut plywood / OSB witha hand saw  ::)Which is a real bad idea.

 If you get one,  get  one that puts out at least 4 cfm or more , the framing guns use lots of air.  

You could rent the compressor and tools / guns as well , might cost more than buying though Rent creeps up on ya .

[MikeT]

Thanks, for these responses.  Just to clarify, I have constant temporary power-- a power pole.  My thinking du jour goes something like this:  if I can troll Craigslist and get a good deal on a used compresspor, then I will use it for the beach house construction then bring it home to live in the garage here.  I  know I can live without it and do the project without it, but when I see/think of the things I have to do to build this, I think it might be a small investment that pays for itself.

Then again, that is what I said about all my tools....

[benevolance]

The rule I walways try to follow is that unless it is something once used in a lieftime...Skip renting and buy it... a couple rentals would pay for most tools or equipment.

I have rented a few things before...I try to avoid it whenever possible...

Buy a good air compressor as Peg stated and when you are done with it you will have no trouble getting well over half what you paid for it if you keep it clean and looking good....

Try to avoid the cheapest low end compressor/generator....You will find all air tools use lots of air...From sanders to impact guns..It takes a lot of air to do any amount of work.

Avoid buying the wal mart campbell hausfield air compressors also...Poorly made, noisy....Not able to handle regular work.

My father bought a gas compressor that is on a frame that looks like a wheel barrow...2 wheels 2 handles... easy to move around...Makes 6.5 cfm.... I used to use it at the family auto slavage...It was the Bomb!

Then again I am willing to bet that those old lincoln combo generators/compressors/welders that are on wheel that can be towed behind the pick up...I bet you could buy one used for under $1000....I bought one recently welded to  the back of a 1972 ford 1 ton dually...390 4 speed...the guy removed the wheels and mounted on the back of the truck

I paid $1200 for the whole thing...I bet you can do the same sort of thing...

I am going to use the truck at my new house a little and I have a side project for the spring working on someone elses land erecting a pole barn for them...And then I am going to sell the truck for a couple hundred more than I paid for it.

avoid borrowing or renting....makes life so much easier..I do have to put up with white noise from my wife when I bring another ugly primered truck into the yard....Other than that it is all good

[Daddymem]

Keep your eyes open on Amazon...we got our framing combo (Porter Cable) for ~$320 shipped. (This one.)  Our orignal plan was to try for one of the smaller PC combos with the finish nailers then add a framer.  We figured it would cost us over $400 by the time we added a framer so we prepared for that...then voila Amazon saved us with a better compressor with a framer.  It is way easier waiting for and finding a deal on the finish nailers (used or new).  We ended up with a pair of Huskys from Home Depot for under $100 and have been satisfied.  Now we have a compressor that will run other tools for my workshop too.

Keep checking Amazon's best sellers page and watch for a combo kit to show up. Here.

And a thought I had but never had the chance to use:  make the compressor portable by mounting it to an old lawnmower base.  We had the base and everything but with our small house and the 50' hose we rarely had to move the compressor.

[desdawg]

I agree with PEG. I hand nail most everything. When on my mountain site with no power and working alone it just seems easier to me. I can get busy and do something rather than spend my time stringing hoses, fueling up another motor and worrying about rather I have gun nails for a variety of guns. But then I am not doing production work. This is my relax and enjoyment time.
On the other hand I have a compressor in my shop at home and wouldn't want to be without it. I think it boils down to personal preference but I would say it is definitely not a necessity.

[benevolance]

desdawg,

I guess it comes down to time available... I watched a special on PBS years ago about the Jesuit dude that retired to Alaska and built a cabin in the wilderness with nothing more than a crosscut saw and a axe....Pretty awesome...But it took him a couple of years to do it...7 days a week daylight to dark and it was a small cabin....Nearly froze to death first winter stuff like that....

Some people would imply that you are lazy if you do not pound every nail in your home...I used to be that way....Lots of old claw hammers lying around the place...

But when you realise that with better tools and equipment you get 5 times the work done....It starts making you re-evaluate what is an efficient use of time and what makes sense and what does not.

Ask Glenn if he would give up his bulldozer for a team of Oxen and a wheel barrow? Extreme Example I know....But the point is worth making and the example holds true for any job....Better tools means more work done in less time.

Some people have all the time in the world and find slow going manual labour something pleasureable...My father recently built a garage 40x40 and poured all the concrete by hand... 2 foot high wall all the way around it..The floor is a foot thick and the footings are 2 feet deep..

I think getting the cement truck there to dump it off in one day would make more sense.... He thought it a huge waste of money to pay for poured concrete....

So no matter what you have to make a decision and then be able to live with it... He likes having poured all that cement by hand...I am not going to tell him he billed out his time at 3 cents per hour while he poured that cement.

[glenn kangiser]

They can get my Bobcat away from me when they pry my cold dead fingers off of the controls. :-/

[benevolance]

Glenn

I hear you man....It is like winning the freaking lotto here to find a used bobcat to buy reasonable.....

I need one...Would make my life exponentially easier

[Amanda_931]

I've been kind of looking for a used bobcat.

At a really funky used equipment dealership, they told me that it was OK if the price was high on a genuine Bobcat^tm.  Because two years later the resale price would still be about what you'd paid for it.

A John Deere construction skid-steer loader (the yellow John Deeres) was more powerful, newer, and the same price or a bit less.  But I once worked for a John Deere construction dealership.  Loathed the place, and by extension, their products.

So I'm still Bobcat-less.  

No compressor either.  Everything in the factory I worked in for years was run off of a humongous--it had its own, allegedly semi-soundproofed room, maybe 30 feet long--compressor.  The noise was "wear hearing protection at all times" loud.  But several hundred people could be using 1/2" impact wrenches at once, there could be four paint booths running, every 4th line had a leak in it., and it still put out more air than you'd ever need.  A 3/8 drive air ratchet would tighten bolts reliably to 42 foot-pounds.

I don't really want that.  Unless I'm trying to change tires on the truck.  

[glenn kangiser]

If you get a Bobcat, Amanda, please post pictures.  Question is, can you operate it wearing a vinyl skirt?

As far as compressor goes, I say necessity --- for me, I need multiple compressors.  I have a small one for the nail gun, a Ryobi 18v one for tires, a 40 cfm on my welder for air tools and am buying a 4 cyl. Jaeger 75 cfm for my pneumatic tamper -jack hammers -etc.  A friend delivered it last night for me to check out today $700 - if good as he claims it is a bargain.

[Amanda_931]

Don't know about the vinyl skirt.

But I have worked with a couple of Amish/Mennonite/home-grown Pentacostal?? women who refused to either cut their hair or wear pants.  They could do anything I could--sometimes better, sometimes not.

[glenn kangiser]

You're giving me a bad picture, Amanda, but this is the internet.  I probably misunderstood. :-/

[Amanda_931]

Actually I think the factory I worked in longest could have been sued by a handful of religious groups for discrimination.  

But the small place that produced loose-leaf binders had a couple of very religious women--who mostly ran the power silk-screen stuff.  I rarely worked directly with them, but they seemed to be well regarded by those that did.  The jobs were with plenty of automatic moving parts.  Not to mention an asshole who thought that no hearing protection was needed when people went home with their ears ringing, and that a small unventilated corner, was a good place to wash parts with lacquer thinner.

We didn't, there, have to climb catwalks.  (that was in an office job!)

[desdawg]

Bobcats are very handy critters. There are a multitude of attachments that can be rented or purchased (prepare to bleed) I gave about $16K for this one five years or so ago. The payment was only about $300 a month so it made more sense than renting when I needed one. One day a month working it for someone else would cover the payment. I have a set of pallet forks, a trencher and a post hole auger for mine. And I have rented a breaker hammer for it when I needed one. Those puppies are expensive and renting made sense. For the range of attachments you can look here:http://www.quick-attach.com/

[glenn kangiser]

I have the 963, jackhammer, small trencher, sweeper, tracks.

Too much fun.

[skiwest]

I've got a Gelh 7800 ( 3600 lbs lift capacity) with bucket, forks 5700lb, blade ( snow and dirt) and hoe.  The hoe is fixed so have to move machine to dump to side but can dig a 6ft trench.

I've been debating first question and so far haven't got anything. Though will  be getting rid of all the carpet to replave with hardwood at the house so will have to hget a brad nailer to put back all the trim.

[glenn kangiser]

The small compressors will get you by for a long time if you are not using them commercially - as PEG mentioned over 4 cfm @90 psi is best.

I tried a fairly heavy blade on my Bobcat, but with 105HP and 10000 lbs the blade was a toy - wouldn't have lasted 5 minutes, and this Bobcat doesn't know --"be gentle".  Mine is rated at 3000 lift -- 6000 tipping.  I liked the specs on the Gehl but was used to Bobcat.

[skiwest]

Got the Gelh as it was one of bigger at auction and wanted something big for clearing land.  Your Bobcat must be one of the bigger ones.  Most seem to be in the 1800- 2000 lb capacity.
heres some pictures of the Gehl at work

[skiwest]

a couple more digging out stumps, usually just used bucket but this one was tougher so used the hoe.

[glenn kangiser]

Yeah - mine is one of the biggest - out of production now but it is great.  With 105 hp Turbo Charged Perkins it weighs in at 11000 lbs with tracks.  I also wanted it to replace a bull dozer when necessary.  It stands about 6 inches taller than the 863 like desdawg's.  I was going for an 863 until I found this at the same price.  It's not as popular because it is so big but was exactly what I wanted.

It will carry 1 cu. yard in the bucket when heaped.



The Gehl 7800 spec's are very impressive.  Looks like it will outdo the 963 by a bit but both are well above most of the others.

[MountainDon]

I think in many ways a compressor could be considered a luxury on a remote powerless site. However if you are used to having one or two, or more. (I have large upright shop compressor, a Honda gas engined portable and the one under the hood of my Jeep (air lockers and tire pump) you will likely end up waning one there as well. Of course that's just me, but my arm appreciates it when I use the air nailer. There are also a bazillion uses for compressed air. It's just so handy!


However, when you do get one you'll always wonder how you did anything without one,

[desdawg]

Well, we made it from compressors to skid steers. Not bad. Every now and then I have to go back and look at what the thread was about.   But at least it isn't boring. Bottom line is you can't have too many tools, be they a luxury or a necessity. My Norwood sawmill was delivered yesterday, 15 cartons on a pallet. I will start a new thread when I get into the boxes and start assembly.

[glenn kangiser]

I think it is possible to make or buy a compressor attachment for a skid steer. :-/

Looking forward to seeing the sawmill thread.