Compressor & Air Gun

[wcsg]

I'm looking to buy a compressor and air gun for the router bit. I have the 3hp spindle. I was looking at the vortex cool gun for $185 but I read somewhere that might be overkill and good compressed air at 35-40 psi is good enough. So my question is without being overkill what size dedicated air gum compressor is good? Oil Free? Oil Lube? I don't need it for anything other than a cooler and where is a good place to get a regular air gun as an attachement?

[Brady Watson]

Erik,
You can make your own for under $20.

http://www.bradywatson.com/Aluminum.htm

-B

[gwilson]

After looking at Brady's set up and if you have a compressor in your shop already, I would consider running a line to near your bot than have a pressure regulator before going to the tip. I airbrush and use a full size 125psi compressor and use my regulator (with water trap) to drop down to about 10 to 25psi depending on the paint.
Gerald Wilson

[wcsg]

Nice pic Brady. What do you use for a compressor?

[fleinbach]

Nice work Brady, Proper procedure and the bot can preform many wonders

[Brady Watson]

Erik,
For little stuff like that I use my PorterCable 'homeowner' style upright 25gal compressor. It is an oil-less high-RPM deal that does around 6-8 CFM at 90 PSI. Setting it to 25PSI it only cycled on about once every 10 minutes to fill the tank again. I didn't see the need to run my 25 CFM Ingersol for this. It doesn't take much air to cool the bit. I just used the compressor's built-in regulator to dial it down to around 25 PSI. Like Ron Popeil says: "Set it and forget it!"


I bought a Husky blow gun kit from Depot and took the 1/4" NPT nipple adapter that allowed the football inflator to screw into it and just threaded it into one of the 90° brass fittings. I used 2 brass fittings together to allow double adjustability. From there, I just screwed in a brass nipple and then a 1/4" compressor fitting. You'll notice the black electrical tape that I have wrapped around the football inflator. They put a hole in the side so that kids don't try to stab their friends with it and inflate their legs etc...Tape this off so that ALL of the air blows on the bit. This requires very low CFM from your compressor and very efficiently cools the bit only. Larger orifice tubes only waste CFM and reduce pressure/efficiency.

Although I didn't use it on the AL project I did, going forward, an automatic oil injector filled with denatured alky would probably put frost on the parts! A tiny bit in the air line is all that is needed to take advantage of the cooling by evaporation principle. The discharge should be dry to the touch and never dripping. It doens't take an expert to know that it is flammable, so keep that in mind.

-B

[wcsg]

what's the pros and cons of oil and oil free? Anyone know? Or am I putting to much thought into this,


Thx Brady

[olecrafty]

oil free (oil less) compressors are generally cheaper, and a lot louder than the conventional oil lube compressors. The oil free compressors are home owner type compressor or what we call throw away units. When it quits it cost more to repair than it is worth at that point.

I have a coleman 5 hp oil free that is 8 years old and still going strong. Just have to wear hearing protection when working close to it for a long period of time

[scottcox]

I recommend the oil-filled for the noise reason alone. I also have a Coleman 5hp oil-less and it startles me everytime it kicks in. It's really, really loud. It's about to go in the shed out back with the air hose through the wall.

That'll be 2 cents, please. ;-)

[wcsg]

OK, glad I asked, noise is a factor for me