Need Air Compressor and Bench Grinder advice.

[JOE G]

Hi, I am looking for a new compressor, I have a stand up unit and a portable unit now, the portable is on its way out, I would wither go with a new stand up that is good unit for a good price or a nice portable unit, if you guys could post ideas and links to different units.

I am also looking for a nice bench grinder, do I want a 6 Inch or a 8 inch unit? do I need the lights on them? any links to good units? Thanks

 

[2LaneCruzer]

Hi, I am looking for a new compressor, I have a stand up unit and a portable unit now, the portable is on its way out, I would wither go with a new stand up that is good unit for a good price or a nice portable unit, if you guys could post ideas and links to different units.

I am also looking for a nice bench grinder, do I want a 6 Inch or a 8 inch unit? do I need the lights on them? any links to good units? Thanks

Can't be much help on the air compressor, although I have a portable Sears unit that I have to manhandle from the shop to the garage. I would say if you do a lot of heavy stuff like air tools, painting, etc, the stand up unit would be my choice. I'm in the market for a small, portable unit for the garage, just to take care of car, truck and bicycle tires.

The grinder is another story. Many years ago I bought a cheap 8" grinder...and it runs like a bat out of He!!. The rpms are so high I hate to use it; if you lose your grip on the object you're grinding, it could end up anywhere. When I built my shop, I bought a Sears, 8" grinder with a variable speed control. I am very, very happy with it. I can turn the speed down or up, depending on what I'm using it for. I have never had it jerk something out of my hand; you can grind or polish small objects with safety...and yes, it has a built in light. It wasn't expensive; I think about $80 bucks and another 25 for a stand. I highly recommend the variable speed. It's a light-duty unit, good for my shop, but probably a bit underpowered for a commercial shop. Hope this helps.

Dennis

 

[JOE G]

I am looking at the sears unit, there around $160.00 Now.

 

[mikehaugen]

you didn't mention a budget, bus looking at your list of husky and stihl products, I would assume you are willing to pay for quality. The sears grinder seems good for the money, or the dewalt one available at a lot of stores for similar price. One like the following will be better built and last longer.
DAYTON Premium Bench Grinder, 8 In, 1.5HP, Var Spd - Bench Grinders - 2FDB6|2FDB6 - Grainger Industrial Supply

I would get as large of a wheel as you are willing to pay for, I often use a 12" at work and it is nice. Personally though, depending on what you are doing, I prefer a belt sander, like this.
JET Belt/Disc Sander, 10 In Disc, 6 X 48 Belt - Belt-Disc Sanders - 3WRP6|J-4210K - Grainger Industrial Supply

These are grainger products (along with grainger prices) because they are easy to find online. With enough looking around you should be able to find similar products cheaper (less expensive, not lower quality) elsewhere. The dayton product linked is a grainger exclusive brand I believe.

 

[JOE G]

I have a Dual stage stand up craftsman that does well, unless your running cut off tools or sanders for long periods, I am moving that compressor to my new shop, ( I would keep that one where it is and get a new one for the shop if I could find a good deal ) I am leaning toward a Little portable unit since mine is shot.
Looking at this unit
Factory-Reconditioned Stanley Bostitch U/CPACK300 3-Tool and Compressor Combo Kit - Amazon.com

As for grinder it is just for normal use sharpening stuff and taking rust off.

Craftsman Variable Speed 8 Bench Grinder: Power Up With DealsSears

 

[2LaneCruzer]

you didn't mention a budget, bus looking at your list of husky and stihl products, I would assume you are willing to pay for quality. The sears grinder seems good for the money, or the dewalt one available at a lot of stores for similar price. One like the following will be better built and last longer.
DAYTON Premium Bench Grinder, 8 In, 1.5HP, Var Spd - Bench Grinders - 2FDB6|2FDB6 - Grainger Industrial Supply

I would get as large of a wheel as you are willing to pay for, I often use a 12" at work and it is nice. Personally though, depending on what you are doing, I prefer a belt sander, like this.
JET Belt/Disc Sander, 10 In Disc, 6 X 48 Belt - Belt-Disc Sanders - 3WRP6|J-4210K - Grainger Industrial Supply

These are grainger products (along with grainger prices) because they are easy to find online. With enough looking around you should be able to find similar products cheaper (less expensive, not lower quality) elsewhere. The dayton product linked is a grainger exclusive brand I believe.

I also have a cheap disc/belt grinder that I use a lot, but I use it mostly for woodworking.

 

[troutsqueezer]

My two cents:

Light bulb, definitely.

Sometimes you have to buy decent wheels along with a new grinder as the ones that many grinders are equipped with are not perfectly round and will vibrate. Any vibration will cause the incandescent light bulbs to stop working after a few minutes. Use fluorescent to get around this problem if you want to live with a vibrating wheel, just be sure the size bulb fits into the smaller hood on the grinder. You may also want to buy separate wheels to get the grit you want. One wheel should be fairly rough and the other should be smooth - Norton white aluminum oxide is a good choice for fine sharpening.

You also need to get a dressing tool which will keep the wheel cutting efficiently (clean), thereby lowering the amount of heat generated when grinding. A clogged wheel doesn't cut well and causes the operator to push harder on the object being sharpened which causes heat. You want to avoid bluing the tool being sharpened, right? Variable speed grinders help with this also as the lower speed mitigates bluing as well.

The advantage of 8" wheels over 6" wheels is you get more for what you pay. A 6" wheel will have to be replaced when it gets to about 5" in diameter whereas an 8" wheel can last until it is 6" in dia.

 

[LD1]

I dont know bench grinders too well, cause I rarely use them. I like the belt sanders. With a good belt sander and a good angle griner, I dont have much need for a bench grinder. We do have a nice 10" grinder at work in the shop, but again, it rarely gets used.

The compressor, need a little more info. what are your planned uses??

You said you already had a vertical unit. Do you want a little portable 110v one for airing up tires and what-not out in the drive where the air hose wont reach? Or do you want a big one for use in the garage that just happes to have wheels incase you need to move it?

If you just want a little portable one for an ocassional tire, like buying the cheap disposable ones. Like $100 @ a box store ones. They are also great for running a nail gun in a remote location.

 

[JOE G]

If I was to buy another big stand up unit I would want at least 60 Gal tank, I am thinking of just getting a little 6 Gal protable unit that I can move around the yard easier and also around the house, I would get a 60 Gal plus size one if I could find it for the right price.

 

[Bird]

I have this Craftsman 6-in. bench grinder with its own stand, Model No.152.241230, for which I paid $86.79, including tax 7 years ago and I'm still very happy with it. It does have a light and I do use the light.

And I have this Industrial Air by Coleman Powermate compressor. It, too, was 7 years old in Sept. and is used almost every day. I got it from Northern Tool for $536.08, including tax, but I don't think they sell this model anymore.

 

[kenmac]

I have a Dual stage stand up craftsman that does well, unless your running cut off tools or sanders for long periods, I am moving that compressor to my new shop, ( I would keep that one where it is and get a new one for the shop if I could find a good deal ) I am leaning toward a Little portable unit since mine is shot.
Looking at this unit
Factory-Reconditioned Stanley Bostitch U/CPACK300 3-Tool and Compressor Combo Kit - Amazon.com

As for grinder it is just for normal use sharpening stuff and taking rust off.

Craftsman Variable Speed 8 Bench Grinder: Power Up With DealsSears

have that bostitch compressor that I use as a portable unit. It works well.I paid $100.00 compressor only. If your looking for a large compressor for running air sanders, etc. you need 1 to be able to produce enough CFM'S so you don't run out of air
this is what I have in my shop 318VLE BelAire 7.5-HP 80-Gallon Two-Stage Elite Series Air Compressor (208-230V 1-Phase) I have a craftsman bench grinder. It works well,just used to sharpen drill bits

 

[RobertN]

I have a 60 gallon upright 5hp. It works pretty good, but I wish I would have got a twin cylinder oil type instead of the oilfree. The oilfree has worked well for 10 years, and has driven sanders, impact wrenches ect. But, it is the NOISIEST thing you ever heard! I have about 175' of hose, and can reach anywhere in the garage or house. I keep 100' of "clean" hose for when there are projects in the house; air nailer, brad nailer, finish nailer etc.

I do wish I had a portable though. I had a CH 2hp for years, till the tank rotted out. I was able to use it all over the property, on the shed etc, powered by portable generator. It would be nice to have that option again.

Whatever you get, replace the drain immediately with something easy to use. I hardly ever drained the CH 2hp compressor, because the little finger tighten valve was hard to use, and the "T" handle on it broke early on. And, where are those valves on compressors? Right where spiders etc like to nest....

 

[JOE G]

I got the Ridgid Today, tried out seems to be ok, I think it'll do fine in the basement for what ill use it for plus I can move it around easier. I'll move my craftsman vertical out to the shop and at some point move up to a 80 Gal tank or so compressor.

Tri-Stack 5-Gal. Portable Electric Steel Orange Air Compressor-OF50150TS at The Home Depot

 

[murphy1244]

The problem with oilless is water, you can't paint with it.

 

[whistlepig]

I have this Craftsman 6-in. bench grinder with its own stand, Model No.152.241230, for which I paid $86.79, including tax 7 years ago and I'm still very happy with it. It does have a light and I do use the light.

And I have this Industrial Air by Coleman Powermate compressor. It, too, was 7 years old in Sept. and is used almost every day. I got it from Northern Tool for $536.08, including tax, but I don't think they sell this model anymore.

I have a Coleman Powermate also. It's a darn good compressor. I don't think Coleman is in the compressor business anymore. I had a Sears Oil-Less compressor before that. I wouldn't recommend the Sears oil-less.

 

[Bird]

I have a Coleman Powermate also. It's a darn good compressor. I don't think Coleman is in the compressor business anymore. I had a Sears Oil-Less compressor before that. I wouldn't recommend the Sears oil-less.

I used to have a Craftsman oil-less, made by DeVilbiss. I very quickly learned to rebuild it in less than an hour, but after the 3rd or 4th time, I got rid of it.:laughing: Oil-less is OK for occasional use. I used to carry a 2 gallon DeVilbiss oil-less in the RV. But they won't last long if run continuously for any length of time, as I did, and still do, my compressors.

 

[whistlepig]

I had the Craftsman oil-less about 13 months and the motor burned up in it twice during that period. And I didn't use it that much.

 

[troutsqueezer]

The problem with oilless is water, you can't paint with it.

Dang, wish I would'a known that before I went and painted my whole tractor! :drink:

 

[kensnelling]

The problem with oilless is water, you can't paint with it.

You can have moisture problems with oil less and oil lubricated compressors. And with an oil lubricated compressor you can get oil in the compressed air also. If painting it's a good idea to run a filter/water trap to remove the contaminents no matter what type of compressor you use.

Ken

 

[deepNdirt]

You can take my word when I say I have had many many types and makes of air compressors, and I can advise you to stay away from the oil-less ones, they might be OK for those only using it once in a while, But I use a compressor each day all day 8-9 hours per day, about 6 years ago I finally found the ones that would hold up to my use, actually I 3 type that you mentions possibly needing, I have a Upright shop compressor, name brand ( Farm hand ) made by Campbell Hausfeld, been a very reliable unit, I have a semi-portable (Ingersoll Rand) that I keep in my trailer, it does have wheels, although I have never had it out of my trailer in 6 years, I also have a carry around compressor Branded by ( Dewalt) that has been an excellent compressor for the 5 years of using it, I've run it all day long with 2 framing guns building decks, No problem..... I could go into details of why these units are better then the rest but it might take a while, so I'm just saying I've had good use from these over this time, and if the broke tomorrow I would still give a :thumbsup: on them,