For as long as there have been vehicles have been around there has been a need for auto shops. And how could an auto shop sound like a legitimate business unless someone was buzzing off wheel lug nuts with a pneumatic air ratchet? Sadly with the advent of battery powered hand held tools with more torque than you know what to do with, Air isn’t totally necessary anymore.
I have spent 40 years working on vehicles and accumulating tools, so I have plenty of air tools. On the other hand I have never had a large compressor. This shop needs one. My 25 gallon Craftsman has done a great job over the years, but sometime last year it started popping the breaker before no longer turning on at all. I don’t really have the $1,000 to invest in a shop compressor and certainly not the $5,000 it would cost for a good one. So in the flavor of the Busted Stud and Rusty Nuts Garage I will cobble something together from whatever I can find to do the job. The two main components are a compressor and a tank. As previously mentioned the motor and most likely the compressor on the 25 gallon is hosed. The tank may be ok, but also a little small. Most shop compressors fill an 80 gallon tank. Out in the “Collection” I have a motor and a compressor mounted to a plate with a cover. This is not new, I pulled this from My Ex GFIL’s garage after he passed away in the 90’s. It had not been run in probably 20 years at that point. So who knows what state it is in now since has spent a few years outside at least.
It must have known it was next as a project and inched its way to the front of the line of junk. It is definitely solid. I venture to say it probably weighs about 90 to 120 pounds. Either way it was over what my back wanted me to pick up, but Mr. Stupid put it on the tailgate anyway.
I gave it quick once over trying to capture the details is has before I sand it down and lose them. Here is the view of what I am starting with. It looks solid but not sure if it will even turn. I give the bit pulley a shove and it turns like it’s brand new. Surprising considering how old the belt is. Hell I may even try to plug this bad boy in. That is if I can get an extension cord close enough. The closest power cord is busy cooling the refrigerator. The other from the plug by the front door is almost close enough but not quite. I simply pick up the heavy ass device and move it over on my tail gate close enough that I can plug it in if I hold the cord up. It turns a hell of a lot faster than I thought it would, and without even the hint of a squeak or squeal of a belt. I’m dumbfounded. This is amazing. I unplug it before i destroy something and decide to move this project to the side till I can get some decent paint to recover this with. I also need to decide where to mount this and buy a tank. Discovery phase 50% complete
