Richard J Kinch wrote:
Jon Elson writes:


It would be fine for an air brush or tire filling, but almost any
standard
air tool, like a die grinder, air paint sprayer, (very small) sand
blaster, air chisel,
etc. will use at least 6 CFM, and some will use a lot more. Unless
you want to wait
5 minutes out of every 6, you will soon be looking for a bigger
compressor.


Generally correct. But I found that an air chisel is so hard on the
skeleton, that you don't want to apply it at anything close to 100 percent
duty cycle. Now sand blasting, that is something else, you have an
infinite appetite for air with that.

It depends on the job. I haven't done much metalwork with an air
chisel. But, I found a really odd way to use one. I have some of the
hardest concrete ever found in the world. It is great for a tough
foundation, until you want to drill a hole in it. I had to make a
~ 1.5" hole for a drain pipe from a "laundry tub" in my shop to the
utility room where there is a floor drain. A Starrett carbide hole
saw was instantly destroyed on this stuff, and hardly even made a mark
on the concrete. So, I drilled a bit into it with a carbide masonry
drill, and banged on things with a hammer a bit, and then the idea
hit me to try the air chisel! I had a short pointed tool that came
with it. It went through the concrete almost like butter. You just
keep the point moving, and it shatters a little cement at a time.
Eventually, the incredibly hard Jasper aggregate falls out, and there's
new cement to attack. When I ran out of length on the provided tool,
I made a 1 foot long version of it out of a McPherson strut rod that
somebody gave me. I had to turn the air tool end down to match
the tools that came with it. It was amazing! The added weight
of the tool seemed to make it even more powerful. I made the entire
hole through in one night, and then finished it to where a pipe would
fit through it the next night.

So, I ran the thing practically full blast for about 5 hours one night
and 3 or so the next. I didn't find it particularly horrible to the
bones and joints. Maybe it is worse in metal, with the rebound or
something. It WAS a DIRTY job, I came up from the basement looking
like a comics character, just 2 blinking eyes in a shapeless grey
blob!

Jon