Air Rattle Gun and Ratchet

[donno]

Gents,

Just picked up a Scorpion (well, rebadged from some Chinese mob) 2.5HP, 40l, 120l/m compressor at Mitre10 on special ($137) and need your advice on the air tools.

As you can tell by my extravagant choice of compressor I don't want to spend large wads of cash as I can only really see myself using the it once every few months to crack the odd suspension bolt, pump up the tyres, change a cam etc (the main reason I actually bought it now was to pressurise the cylinders when changing the valve springs).

Unfortunately though it's too tempting to have the thing sitting in the garage without giving it a chop, so can anyone give me some suggestions for a mid range quality rattle gun with decent torque capacity which will crack anything on the car (suspension, head bolts etc.), and an air ratchet to speed up those jobs where you have 79 13mm bolts?

Transequip had an SP Tools 1/2" unit which did 425ft/lbs for $209 (part SP-1145A) however is it a bit of overkill? There seems to be a big drop off in torque after that point to the Supercheap range, around 200ft/lb.

Cheers,
John

[Bob Lablaw]

SP is a reasonable tool and the more reverse torque the better because you dont want to stuff around and cant undoe that last nut its a pain in the arse, ingersol is the best I think and snap on is mostly overpriced

[holmsy]

your problem is going to be the amount of air you can get out of that compressor.
i have the same thing but rebadged by bunnings.

give it a crack but even if it does put enough pressure out to undo anything. it wont last long anyway i wouldnt think.

[XR_Lightning]

that compressor wont run the rattle gun for very long, you mite be lucky to get 1 wheel nut off, and it will run the air rachet, but not for much longer, you may be able to undo a few exhaust manifold bolts and then the tank will have to refill

[OZBMX]

Yeah mate with that sort of compresor I wouldn't be to stressed, supercheap sometimes have air tool kits like a few different tools for 60-70 bucks with that sort of compressor I wouldn't bother going to extravagent, they get the job done most of the time, depending what your dealing with

I like CN or shimano personally. but yeah sp etc. not bad gear.

at the end of the day you do generaly get what you pay for though.
you either swear by snap on or don't see the need, e.g. i had a snap on orbital just to resel, and frankly I wsn't very impressed, well built etc. but at the end of the day, was to heavy, adjustment was awkward etc.

[krisisdog]

I'd have to recommend the Supercheap gear here actually. I used my mates stuff a while back when I swapped motors and boxes, had a rattle gun, ratchet, grinder, die grinder, drill and something else in the kit and I'd have to say it was surprisingly good (enough) quality stuff. I think he paid about what you did for compressor.
If you crack bolts with either the rattle gun or a breaker bar then whip bolts out with the ratchet (rather than the rattle gun) you shouldnt have to much dramas with the small size of the tank.

[Dansedgli]

I just had cheapo stuff and most of the time the bolts could be cracked with the rattle gun. if not it still saved heaps of time undoing shit with it after I cracked it with the socket set.

[Rollin]

120l/min should be enough to do wheel nuts comfortably I would have thought.

Get a good SP Air rattle gun - it defeats the purpose having a rattle gun if it's too soft to undo hard bolts, because then you have to put in the effort yourself!

[donno]

120l/min should be enough to do wheel nuts comfortably I would have thought.

That's what I thought too Dan, but I'm pretty steady as she goes when tinkering so waiting 10s between wheel nuts isn't going to make me slit my wrists. My main concern is just getting enough torque out of the thing to crack nuts and save me from getting out the breaker bar/busting knuckles when the socket inevitably slips off the head.

[Rollin]

The pressure in the tank is what gives you your torque, I think we run about 110psi at work and it's plenty. It's more important to buy a man rattlegun, you only need a massive tank/pump if you're spray painting or using an air powered die grinder.

[holmsy]

it defeats the purpose having a rattle gun if it's too soft to undo hard bolts, because then you have to put in the effort yourself!

Thats why i spent about $700 on a battery rattlegun with enough torque to snap a bolt if i wanted.

[donno]

Bought the SP Air SP-1145A one. I haven't come across a bolt on the car yet that I couldn't undo with a 18" breaker bar (which is about 160ft/lb from my weight), so hopefully I'll never have to pull it out again. I also picked up a set of KC Tools impact sockets with just about all the falcon sizes for just under $70. Although they're not top of the line, the old man has a ratchet of theirs which feels nicer after 10 years of use than my new Sidchrome unit.

So air ratchets - what's people's opinions on these? Are they a must have or just handy at times? I've had a think about it now and think that I'd never really use it that much as the torque isn't anything special (60nm by hand is pretty cruisy) and by the time I set the thing up, I could have gotten the bolt out 5 times with a ratchet spanner.

[Dumpsta]

it defeats the purpose having a rattle gun if it's too soft to undo hard bolts, because then you have to put in the effort yourself!

Thats why i spent about $700 on a battery rattlegun with enough torque to snap a bolt if i wanted.

Makita 18v lithium? They are awesome...

[Rollin]

I've never liked air ratchets - they're noisy, don't have that much power and occasionally they'll grab and slam your hand into something sharp.

They do save a little bit of time but I prefer to use a rattlegun to undo stuff (cause it's fast) and hand tools to do most things up because you get a good feel for how much torque you are applying.

Exceptions are things like bellhousing bolts, tailshaft bolts, wheel nuts etc that have to be done up FT anyway.

[holmsy]

it defeats the purpose having a rattle gun if it's too soft to undo hard bolts, because then you have to put in the effort yourself!

Thats why i spent about $700 on a battery rattlegun with enough torque to snap a bolt if i wanted.

Makita 18v lithium? They are awesome...

nah milwaukee 18v
600 or something nm i think

was going to get the 28v one (i have a 28v drill)
but it has less torque and is fucking huge (older technology)

[OZBMX]

I've never liked air ratchets - they're noisy, don't have that much power and occasionally they'll grab and slam your hand into something sharp.

They do save a little bit of time but I prefer to use a rattlegun to undo stuff (cause it's fast) and hand tools to do most things up because you get a good feel for how much torque you are applying.

Exceptions are things like bellhousing bolts, tailshaft bolts, wheel nuts etc that have to be done up FT anyway.

yeah only real advantage is when it's tight to reach, and has a long bolt, or particularly well locktited, (thats a word aint it?)
anyway agreed, unless your on a roll doing quite a bit, it aint worth the hassle by the time you setup and pack up, one thing definately wrth investing in is a good hose reel if your setting it up in a shed or something.
try and get one that irects the hose, or atleast has a wide mouth. **** it made a differenence neatness wise.
also make you 10x more likely to use it, because you don't have the hassle of rolling up a hose etc.

[Dumpsta]

nah milwaukee 18v
600 or something nm i think

was going to get the 28v one (i have a 28v drill)
but it has less torque and is fucking huge (older technology)

Yeah I have one of Milwaukee's 28v lithium kits (hammer drill, reciprocating saw and circular saw). Awesome stuff, better then any other cordless's I have used to date. Bigger and bulkier but I've hurt my wrist that many times from the drill having so much grunt its not funny. And the circular is amazing compared to the Makita 18v's.. I did a whole hardwood patio inc 100mm hardwood posts with it.

[holmsy]

yeh i dont get anything else.
got a 28v drill at home, 18v drill at work and 18 volt rattle gun at home
and use another guys 28v angle grinder at work (runs through the battery pretty quick tho)