Tools! - Keep hammering assholes! - The Something Awful Forums

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Automotive Insanity > Tools! - Keep hammering assholes!

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

I need a big boy air compressor. Something that can run a sandblasting unit. Preferrably something under 600 bucks.

# ¿ Aug 9, 2012 14:40

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# ¿ Jan 18, 2021 01:55

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

600 is just a soft limit, if I need to spend more I will. To have the entire car blasted I'm looking at around 1200 bucks. I figure if I just buy a good compressor and this http://www.eastwood.com/review/product/list/id/3203/ (oh poo poo, it dropped 60 bucks in price) when everything is done, I'll have a compressor that is actually useful.

# ¿ Aug 9, 2012 18:07

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

Luckily I live in Colorado where the standard humidity is around 30%, so moisture shouldn't be as big of an issue. I was planning on going with crushed walnut as it will be done in my garage and at least with crushed walnut people can't bitch me out for sweeping excess bullshit into the yard.

The car in question, if you have followed my build thread, is about 90% rust 10% paint. I could probably just as easily go to town with an orbital sander, but I want to be able to get to all of the nooks and crannies that I just know rust is lingering in.

Back to the question at hand, I need a big air compressor. Not even sure what brands to look at. Anything I can get local gets horrible reviews about being Chinese junk, Craftsman, Huskey, etc.

Oh right, it also needs to be 110v.

veedubfreak fucked around with this message at 21:25 on Aug 9, 2012

# ¿ Aug 9, 2012 21:21

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

Brigdh posted:

For sandblasting, any compressor that runs on 110v is going to be 5 minute blasting, 20 minutes waiting for the tank to refill. Assuming you can't get 220v wired up, would you consider a gas powered compressor?

So what I'm hearing is that I should just invest in sandpaper and not bother having it blasted unless I plan to go show car with it?

# ¿ Aug 10, 2012 13:23

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

daslog posted:

I see. Having some experience with rust, I'd say to go to Harbor Freight, get a 5 to 7 inch polisher/sander, a backing pad, and some 36 grit to go with it.

For the deep stops, you can get a the small spot sandblaster.

I already have a 5" rotary sander with a ton of 80 grits ready to go

# ¿ Aug 10, 2012 20:54

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

I think I'm just gonna go the sanding route as I have no plans to do the body work required to get a real paint job. Seems like blasting is just overkill at this point for a weekend roller. Need to save money for an engine. The more I search for air cooled engines, the more I'm thinking I might just do a subaru swap. Air cooled engines are stupidly expensive.

# ¿ Aug 10, 2012 21:46

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

daslog posted:

80 Grit is fine for Paint removal, but I have found that 36 grit works faster. Either should be fine though.

For those really pitted rusted areas, you really need to sandblast it or the rust comes back. Even a wire brush wheel won't get it all out.

http://www.harborfreight.com/21-oz-...-gun-95793.html

If you have seen the pictures of the car, there isn't really any "paint" to remove. It's mostly surface rust at this point. I'm going to hit it with the sander, por15 the poo poo out of it, then rattlecan it flat black. If rust shows up later, it gets resanded/sprayed.

# ¿ Aug 13, 2012 14:08

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

daslog posted:

Don't Use POR15 on anything you plan on topcoating later. (Unless you don't care about the quality of your paint jobs, in which case go nuts)

Edit: NM, you are going rattlecan I wouldn't do that, since you can do it pretty cheaply other ways.

~~Do tell, I just want the car to be black and slightly less prone to disintegration over the next few years. I'm always up for cheaper ways to go about things.~~

Took it to my thread.

veedubfreak fucked around with this message at 19:57 on Aug 13, 2012

# ¿ Aug 13, 2012 19:47

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

grover posted:

My jack broke. Sunk a wheel in soft asphalt and the frame twisted Portability is important to me, so I don't want a 50lb hoss, but it needs to be safe and reliable. Seems to be rather slim picking among compact jacks, though. How's the Torin 2lb jack Wal-Mart sells? How's it compare to Harbor Freight's?

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Torin-Jac...Handle/14560041

I've had this one for a few years http://www.walmart.com/ip/Torin-Jac...o-Jack/14560042 . It doesn't do much other than lift the car long enough to change summers to snows and move my bug around. Comes with a case too which is pretty cool, and has room in the case for a foldup 4way. Had to get the low profile one because my last car only had like 4 inches of clearance.

# ¿ Aug 17, 2012 16:14

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

I picked this set up a couple years ago and so far it has done everything I have needed it too. Biggest issue I have run into is that I bought a 1/2" breaker bar which leaves the weakspot at the 1/2" to 3/8" adapter since all my drat sockets are 3/8". Haven't broken anything yet and I'm dealing with a 55 year old car.

http://www.sears.com/craftsman-94-p...3&blockType=G13

# ¿ Aug 30, 2012 14:16

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

Is the harbor freight torque wrench worth picking up? Seeing as they like to put it on sale for 20 bucks constantly.

# ¿ Sep 4, 2012 13:39

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

daslog posted:

I use them for primer only. They will use a lot of CFMs. If you see my project thread, I painted my car in single stage urethane with a Warwick 904h LVLP gun. But it's just a Tercel so it will probably be fine.

I'm going full on rattle can. The amount of money I'd have to spend on a "decent" spray gun and compressor would make it not worth the effort.

I just realized that the 6" wire wheel I bought is only rated for 4500rpms, so I gotta return that. Anything I should pick up there?

As far as 5" sanding disks, should I just go with the cheapest disks I can get my hands on, or is there something better that will last more than 5-10 minutes of sanding. The rust comes off easy, the OG paint is a BITCH. 55 year old paint is hard as a rock.

# ¿ Sep 5, 2012 00:09

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

Anyone have any experience with this?

I need to get rid of all the 50 year old undercoating on my fenderwells. Figure for 18 bucks it's not too much of a risk.

http://www.harborfreight.com/Oscill...Tool-68861.html

I figure with a 90 day warranty, if it burns up I'll just return it as many times as I need to to get the job done. HF is on my way home from work and this will be the third time in a week I have been there.

veedubfreak fucked around with this message at 19:53 on Sep 7, 2012

# ¿ Sep 7, 2012 19:49

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

I was in there the day that the Aurora shooting happened, and the lady checking me out had been up since 2am because a friend of hers got killed

# ¿ Sep 7, 2012 21:39

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

Just get the adapter. It works fine.

# ¿ Sep 16, 2012 03:11

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

Anyone have any experience with this?

http://www.harborfreight.com/heavy-...nder-91223.html

My 7" grinder is killing my arms when trying to grind off welds in tight spots.

# ¿ Sep 25, 2012 19:47

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

kastein posted:

I have a Husky torque wrench for the high torque stuff and a Kobalt for the low torque stuff, since the first time I needed a torque wrench that went under 40 foot pounds I was closer to a Lowes than a Home Depot.

I found another thing HF didn't manage to gently caress up:

That's a pinion nut rusted in place on a rearend, we simply couldn't break it loose with the cordless impact and didn't have a compressor handy. Ended up not getting it loose with the HF breaker bar and a 3 foot cheater pipe, but I don't think anything short of an O/A torch, some penetrant, and an air impact was gonna do the job, since I was pulling up on the far end of the cheater pipe with everything I had and it didn't come loose.

Near as I can tell it stood up to at least 500 foot pounds, probably more like 600 or 700 based on how my back felt the next day.

I remember playing this game on my 68 bug trying to remove the axle nuts. Soak that fucker with pb blaster. I kept soaking the axle nuts on my 58 every couple days whenever I was working on the car, and they actually came loose with -just- the breaker bar and not even that much effort. I was amazed.

# ¿ Oct 1, 2012 13:54

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

BraveUlysses posted:

Well I was in the check out line and Cool-as-gently caress-grandpa behind me in line hooks me up with a 15% off my entire purchase coupon and then goes for a high five afterwards. Saved me 30 bucks!

http://www.harborfreight.com/oct-tab1.html

I've been to HF twice this week for poly abrasive wheels, and both times they let me keep my coupon. Woo, save a tree.

This poo poo right here is the best thing I have ever found for stipping a car clean of old paint and rust. Problem is, they only last about an hour or so. I've gone through 4 of them at this point and still have 1 door, front quarter panels and front apron left. I'm guessing it'll take me 1 per fender also. But the amount of time it saves, and the ease of use compared to sanding is well worth it.
http://www.harborfreight.com/4-1-2-...heel-94017.html

Also, parking lot sale starts tomorrow!

Anyone used this thing before? http://www.harborfreight.com/high-v...-kit-44677.html I've read a couple threads on samba of people using it to paint their cars. I just don't have a big enough air compressor, and I'm only going flat black, so I figure it's worth a try.

# ¿ Oct 11, 2012 13:57

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

revmoo posted:

Why do roughly half of the quick-connect air tool fittings I have leak air and the other half never leak even a tiny amount? How can I tell if a quick connect is going to leak just by looking at it in the store?

Because Chinese parts have no quality control. That being said, you can usually buy 3 harbor freight tools for the price of an american made tool.

# ¿ Nov 11, 2012 03:11

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

tonedef131 posted:

I like Harbor Freight, and I'm glad it's around because it's fun to buy things you could never otherwise justify. There are a couple of rules you have to follow though, or you will actually end up spending more money in the long run because you'll end up buying the same tool over and over.

Rule the first: Be aware that power tools of any form have a 50%+ chance of immediate and catastrophic failure. I had a pneumatic drill die on its second use the other day, I bought it knowing I wouldn't use it all that often but I was still surprised at how fast that happened. I�m in the market for a MIG welder right now and HF isn't even being considered. I know how that would end, best case scenario I save a few hundred dollars and get a handful of low duty cycle uses out of it only to have it fail within a couple years and I�m right back to where I am now. I�d rather pony up the cash for a Lincoln or Miller and just be done with it.

Rule the second: Be honest with yourself about how much you will use the tool. I have a pipe wrench that costs like $5 from there and it�s shown no sign of fatigue in the few times I've used it. If I were a plumber I�d feel much more confident on the jobsite with a Ridged, but for my needs this is fine. Precision instruments are doubly so. I�d have no problem paying exponentially more for a Fluke multimeter if I were an electrician using it every day, but for a guy who just needs to find a blown fuse a couple times a year why not get the $4 HF special? I am a machinist, and didn't think twice about dumping money into a Mitotoyo micrometer that I use constantly, but I also didn't have a problem getting a stand for it from HF. I guess the point is you don�t need the brand name unless you are giving it the kind of abuse that made that brand name famous for withstanding.

There's a reason I spent 1100 on my Miller set up instead of chancing burning down my garage with a Harbor Fright welder.

# ¿ Nov 15, 2012 20:28

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

sharkytm posted:

Guess who got a plasma cutter and a Honda genset, that's to zoro tools 40% off sale?

Well, don't leave us hanging.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2012 15:10

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

I'd love to have a plasma cutter, but I blew my wad on buying a welder.

# ¿ Nov 27, 2012 18:26

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

nmfree posted:

Both Milwaukee and DeWalt make battery-powered caulk guns so if he already has any tools in those ecosystems it would make more sense to me to get one of those rather than having to drag an air hose around everywhere.

That means it didn't happen _{_{_{Just like I never went flying onto my rear end while pulling the ball adapter out of my Draw-Tite once}}}

Similarly, no one has ever seen my car fall off the jackstands twice while trying to move it around the garage

# ¿ Nov 30, 2012 14:44

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

revmoo posted:

Up to $150 or so, what is the best 3/8" ratchet money can buy?

Buy 5 craftsman rachets, and as they break just replace them free

# ¿ Dec 3, 2012 15:07

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

Deceptor101 posted:

What's the best solution for paint/rust removal and general grinding. I've got an 4-1/2" angle grinder, but with a 5/8" arbor my choices are remove the guard and use a 5" wire wheel or use a thread-on cup style wire wheel. The cup one extends past the guard and fills my clothes with wires that shot off. It looks like there's a lot of options for die grinders, but I'm having trouble finding a decent plug-in one. My OSH angle grinder was $40 and has kept me happy. It seems like die grinders are more expensive and usually air powered.

http://www.harborfreight.com/4-1-2-...heel-94017.html
These are the greatest thing ever invented. So far I have gone through about 6 of them. They remove 50 year old OG paint and rust like its loving butter. You will have to remove the guard though. They also make a 4" that might fit in the guard, but I haven't tried.

# ¿ Dec 5, 2012 15:04

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

Mooecow posted:

Yea, they are great. But, you have to be careful about heat buildup on the metal though. Its easy to get focused on cleaning one area and get it too hot to touch / risk warping it.

I haven't had any issues with heat. But then again I'm not using them to try to get rid of heavy pitting, just paint and surface rust. They work great for that. When I get to the heavy gnarly rust I pull out the knotted wheel or the 3" cutting wheel. gently caress rust.

# ¿ Dec 5, 2012 19:45

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

Lowclock posted:

Just get a cheap pair of ratcheting crimpers and a box of blue butt connectors.

This. Don't over think it. You're just putting in a stereo, butt connectors have worked for decades.

# ¿ Dec 6, 2012 14:50

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

kastein posted:

I am always suspicious of the solder ones - get a box of sealant lined heatshrink crimp butt splices. Also, get a decent ratchet or hydro crimper. The reason most people can't get a solid crimp that will pass a pull test is that they are using $7 lovely stamped sheetmetal crimpers that are about half a step up from mashing the crimp with a pair of pliers.

Crimpin ain't easy, guys. Not without the right tools anyways

I just use pliers. Usually crimps better than those lovely crimpers if you know what you're doing.

# ¿ Dec 6, 2012 15:49

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

Ok guys. I have a riddle for you.
How can I make this http://www.harborfreight.com/4-inch...rush-91371.html fit on this http://www.harborfreight.com/120-vo...tool-68523.html

Using it on my drill just isn't getting the job done.

Bonus question. How long are grinding wheels really good for?

veedubfreak fucked around with this message at 19:30 on Dec 7, 2012

# ¿ Dec 7, 2012 15:05

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

Sir Cornelius posted:

Your second link is dead, but I suppose this is the correct link: http://www.harborfreight.com/120-vo...tool-68523.html

I wouldn't try to run a nylon wheel at that speed. It'll melt in a matter of seconds. Those nylon wheels are pretty good for removing paint in hard-to-get-to places, but not much else. Forget them for rust.

I fixed the link. I'm using it for the rails around the cloth sunroof. Basically nothing else is going to get in there. No rust, just dirty as all hell and old paint.

# ¿ Dec 7, 2012 19:31

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

mod sassinator posted:

I would add a leatherman so you have a knife and pliers.

What kind of self respecting car guy doesn't already have a knife in their pocket?

# ¿ Dec 17, 2012 14:35

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

General_Failure posted:

One that lives in a country where random searches are allowed and carrying a knife is an offence?

Really...carrying a pocket knife is illegal? The hell man.

# ¿ Dec 17, 2012 20:50

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

SNiPER_Magnum posted:

Anyone have the Harbor Freight 12-ton press and like it (or not)? A-frame or H-? I'm Christmas shopping, will it be a bad gift?

I actually have both the 6 ton and the 12 ton. I bought the 6 ton but it was too small to do what I needed to do, so I bought the 12 ton. Worked well to press out and back in my kin pins for my new spindles. It also did an impressive job bending the everloving poo poo out of one of my chinese made socket extensions that I was using to press out the kingpin.

# ¿ Dec 18, 2012 14:51

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

Torque sticks are all well and good, but they still don't stop the chucklefucks from crossthreading your god damned hub because they forgot to put the hub rings back in, stripping out both rear hubs. Ask me how I know.

# ¿ Dec 20, 2012 14:45

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# ¿ Jan 18, 2021 01:55

veedubfreak: Apr 2, 2005; by Smythe

The good thing about when Discount tire fucks up your hubs, they pay to have them replaced

Although this still costs me time to sit at brakes plus to watch those monkeys replace poo poo that should have never been damaged.

# ¿ Dec 20, 2012 19:03

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