Don Malling wrote:
> ===========
> I'm looking at Mig welders and trying to decide if I need one with
> infinitely adjustable heat controls or whether the ones with 4 settings
> are good enough.
I haven't suffered with only four.
I guess to really use the infinite heat control, you'd have to have
the expertise to recognize where a tiny increment or decrement of heat
would make the difference.
Maybe I'm just not there. ;>
The four settings are actually fairly close if you figure that with a
small MIG even the hottest setting isn't very hot. It's not like
spreading four heat ranges out between welding tin foil and welding the
hull of a battleship.
> I was looking at an Ingersole Rand 80 gallon with 11 cfm at 90 psi--
> single stage compressor. 11 cfm seems adequate for most tools, and I was
> told that I could get by with less -- maybe 9 cfm at 90 psi.
...you mention sandblasting, that is a big consumer of air. I have a
smaller 6cfm compressor and it works for everything, but for
sandblasting only spot duty. I have a cabinet so it works long enough to
do a bracket or whatever fits in the cabinet, and it can recharge during
part changes. I couldn't do a car without going insane.
I have painted with it successfully though. A pro might find
themselves waiting a little bit, but I did everything so slowly and
carefully that the compressor didn't hold me up.
> The big question is sand blasters -- it's the biggest reason to get the
> compressor. I am completely confused. I see a sand blaster gun and a
> siphon tube for $15.00, and then I see other sand baster equipment for
> $200.00. I have no idea what I need.
Lots of options, cheap siphone sandblasters are trivial things and
are cheap. Pressure sandblasters that pressurize a pail of sand and air
can cost more. A booth is useful too, and hobby booths are small and cheap.
Consider starting with a booth big enough to hold the stuff you want
to blast, and go from there. A water trap will be essential or you will
mostly be spraying mud, but the cheap ones work.
Sandblasting a whole car takes a bit of thought and care because you
make a huge mess and have to figure out how to recover and clean the
blast media, etc. etc.
> Air Impact Wrenches
> ===================
> How much torque do I need -- Is 250 ft-lbs adequate or do I need more.
> Again this is for occasional home use. If I need to use liquid wrench on
> the bolt and let it sit, that would probably be OK. On the other hand if
> 250 ft-lbs is simply not enough, I would spent the money to get
> something more adequate.
I've lived with 250 ft-lbs, and it's very useful because it removes
stubborn bolts very fast and trouble free.
However, if you think about it, 250 ft-lbs is not much. If you have a
three-foot breaker bar and weigh about 200 pounds, then just stepping on
the end of the bar will put 600 ft-lbs on a nut. Throw a pipe over the
end of the bar and you can get 1000 ft-lbs.
However, the impact wrench succeeds often because of the impact
action, and is really a must have. It isn't always the best way to pop
that truly stubborn bolt though...
--
Trevor Boicey, P. Eng.
Ottawa, Canada, tboicey@brit.ca
ICQ #17432933 http://www.brit.ca/~tboicey/
"I am disrespectful to dirt. Can you see I am serious!" - Mr. Sparkle
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