Good Quality Pneumatic Tools

Marcot,

Tools are the life blood of many businesses. Making the correct choice is a sound financial one and should be done right the first time around. The best proving ground for tools, both hand held and power, has been in the automotive industry. Automotive assembly plants and the automotive service industry have weaned out all the substandard tool manufacturers and have set a standard second to none. If I were looking for tools, guess where I would look?

My suggestion to you is to ask your local seasoned automotive garage mechanic his opinion, along with your local auto body garage. And if I was looking for heavy duty production tools I would contact the Society of Manufacturing Engineers, or other like organizations, and ask for a contact in the automotive assembly world.

My personal experience with Snap-on tools and Mac tools has always been positive. They are tools unlimited on wheels and can recommend the proper tools. These are the auto mechanics top choices. These guys will be more than happy to stop by and discuss your needs, and for free. Good luck on your quest.

In pneumatic tools good ones can be costly.

Here we have tried to stick with one brand that has lasted pretty well over the years. It's the old Black & Decker pneumatic tools. Some of which have lasted 30+ years. They have been repaired several times in those years. Mainly for worn out vanes. Black & Decker sold their Pneumatic division of to Master Power which these tools now carry that brand name. Master Power was bought by Cooper tools. Cooper owns other pneumatic tool companies. So some of Master Powers tools have been phase out. Still look at them they competitively priced. Well constructed few changes to the tool has been made in the 30 years. What has been done by the new ownerships have been improvements to Black & Decker original design. Check these tools out and see if they have the ones you need.

Blue Point which i believe is Snap-on brand name is made for them by Sioux tools. I do believe Snap-on owns them. Sioux makes pretty good pneumatic tools.

If moneys not a problem Atlas Copco make some of the finest.

Kenwood new sales guy received a call from a lady who said that she was 65 years and when she got married at the age of 18 years she was gifted a Kenwood grinder which is still working and she wanted to thank Kenwood. The manager too was listning.He told the sales guy, "quick, take her number and name and tell her that if she returns the 47 years old grinder, we will give you two in return". The sales guy did that and said, "sir, you really want to see what we did then that our equipment lasted 47 years". The manager replied, " you fool! I want to see what we did that it lasted 47 years!!!!"

I was in same situation and was purchasing so called brand name tools especially Drills, Angle drills, Air Pop rivet gun, 1/2 inch air drill, air chisel, air ratchets, etc, I purchased finally from Princess Auto and their product was 1/4 the price and lasted just as long as brand name like Snap on, Herbrand , Ingersol Rand etc. I even kept spares on hand since the price was so low. Interesting enough the parts on the cheap tools sometimes would repair the expensive ones for a time. On top of good pricing Princess Auto is a great place to deal with even if you get a bad one full exchange with no song and dance. I was very impressed all way round.

Unfortunately for lovers of fine tools, I have to agree that the cheap Power Fist tools seem to last as long as any other brand of pneumatic tools. I use mine every day, throw a fair amount of air tool oil into them twice a day, and they have lasted for, hmmmm, four to seven years without significant maintenance or repair. I bought a couple of chipping hammers which I used for two to four hours per day for eight months planishing sixteen gauge steel, then went to something quicker (and easier on the hand), but the hammers are still here, serviceable, ready to be put back into service. They exhibited no internal wear that I could see. I would be interested in just how they go wrong in your shop.

I think the power fist brand hammers are made by CambellHausfeld...a suspicion based on the fact that they are identical in every way, right down to the threads on the body of the hammer.

I can't speak of other than c-h angle drills, sanders and chipping hammers since these cheap ones seem to last forever. Power (ratchet) wrenches seem to never have enough torque in my shop (or they have too much), so although I have them, I don't usually use them. The vibratory sanders are all made by c and h, and they get used for four to six hours per week, and they are very thirsty for oil (if you call six drops of oil per hour thirsty), which makes then useless for wood, but perfect for steel. Again, even with such a high dust and grit environment, the sanders have lasted for years.

Maybe its not the tools at all. In fact, I wonder if it is something simple, like too high a line pressure. Or dirty storage practices (my initial problem). Or water in the air supply (my other initial problem). Or line pressure fluctuations due to runs that are too long or too narrow. (the sudden pressure drops caused by long air lines can play havoc with the delicate turbines) Or viscous compressor air is getting into the tool through the lines. One friend of mine had much the same complaint as you, turns out he was lubricating his air drills with WD40. Wrong! (WD40 is a water displacement compound, not a lubricant, in fact, it doesn't even say its a lubricant on the can!) It killed his air drills...the little turbines wore down within a month or two! Personally though, I suspect your tools are fine, but there is water in your compressor lines. A dessicant filled chamber mounted upstream of the air system will fix this.

Has this been of any help?

Yusef1,

Thank you for the insight.

I will look at the potential problems you mentioned.

In general, the failures are more in the operation parts eg teeth of the ratchet than in the turbines. We have used mostly ratchets and pop rivets machines up to now. Drills used too much air for the small compressor we had.

We recently installed a large compressor with distribution lines through the shop. Every drop has a purge stub with a valve that should handle the condensation.

I will refresh the oiling requirements to the workers.

Regards,

Marco

There are many reputed International brands available in many parts of the world.These are Chicago Pneumatics,Atlas Capco, Black & Decker,etc. You can find them on the Googles.

The most popular air wrench mfr in the US tight now is Ingersoll-Rand. The latest version tools among CP, I-R, & the tool truck brands are lighter, slightly more ergonomic and more powerful than in the past. Longevity is about the same and is only governed by parts availability.

The primary cause of tool failure is dirty, wet air. If you don't have a combination drier/oiler at the hose junction at the wall you will have endless vane and trigger failures. If the tool is under powered for the tasks it is used for then hammer wear will be excessive.

If you have a clean tool room the tool master can easily be trained to rebuild and maintain the units.

Bob

The wrench that didn't last very long was an Ingersoll-Rand. The small gear to repair the unit is almost half the cost of a new wrench. This is a typical throw away marketing decision on the part of the company. Brand name doesn't help here.

This is what I want to avoid in the future.

I believe that we, as a society, must return to quality products that can be easily repaired. It is better than any recycling program.

Not to be argumentative but the two I-R wrenches I have (1/2" drive, 600 lb-ft off, 450 lb-ft on, 150 psi line pressure, dry, oiled shop air) have lasted since 1996 with no need for repair due to use. One needed the trigger valve removed and cleaned after having been used with dirty air for only a week. I have an old CP that's been working flawlessly since 1976. I have two CP 3/8" angle drive wrenches that are still running well since 1976 and 1980. I have two Snap-On 3/8" angle drive wrenches that have been running since 1986.

I had one I-R wrench that exploded after being ported and polished, adapted for 5/8" hose and run on 250 psi nitrogen. But that was more likely from a case crack from throwing the wrench under a car.

Just sayin'.

Bob

Gentlemen, I thank everybody for their suggestions.

I have given a GA to everyone who shared their experience. You are all on the threshold of an official recognized GA (You need at least two to be recognized).

It up to you to give GA to the ones you think have given even more.

Regards,

Marco

Sioux air tools.

Emhart Pop pop riviters.

ARO nutsert tools.

I do the maintenance on tools and I always enjoy working on these if and when they come in. Each is easy to maintain and repair.

keep them lubricated........ not much else needs to be said. I have even had excellent results even with Harbor Freight stuff. real cheap and works fine with proper care. Watch for employees that have bad attitudes, they will make anything "poor quality"......