spaco wrote:
It says "30 cubic feet", but at what pressure does it do that? I'd
want to know that for any compressor I'd buy. The worst case is when
they give you "free air" pumping rate. The pumping rate goes down
rapidly as the pressure goes up.

Yeah, I've seen the "free air" stat occasionally. I need 20cfm @ 100psi.

I would want to know that parts are available locally. For
instance, one of my kids tipped my IR outfit over and knocked off the
intake filter. the other kid works a couple of miles from a
dealership, so it was no big deal.

Power hammer, eh? I take it you get into blacksmithing. Are you
hooked up with a club? See what they other members like. They may
have been through this already.
Also, I'd consider contacting the company you bought the machine
from or the guys who provided the plans if you built it yourself.

Not with a club, but I've worked with several other blacksmiths and used
mechanical hammers before. I've also gone to the ABANA conference and
gone through Kinyon's class. I am also involved with online smithing
communities. However, while they mention generalities with compressor
needs (2 stage, large tank (80 gal or better), go by cfm, not HP, get the
proper plumbing for it, filters, and dryers, proper mounting/isolation
pad), they tend not to get too specific on brands and actual models. I
didn't actually see that it was single stage until after I started the
post, but wasn't sure exactly how much of a difference that made, so I
figured I'd finish out the post. Oh and the plans are the Ron Kinyon
ones through ABANA. I'll be going with some of the more popular
modifications. I'm down to just needing to get the compressor, valving,
plumbing, and ram.

Personally, I'd go for the 2 stage model, since you can store more power
in the tank at higher pressures. As you know, you can't hardly use the
power hammer 100 percent of the time anyway so, unless you are a
production shop, the lower rate probably won't be an issue.

There is a Campbell Hausfeld 2 stage that is carried by Grizzly that is
27cfm at 90psi, and 25cfm at 175psi. http://www.grizzly.com/products/g2815
I'm close enough I can pick it up in person and not worry about shipping.
But I'll check Ebay and Craigslist first to see if there is a decent used
one I can get locally. I've already got 240v available.

Pete Stanaitis
-----------------------