Larry,

I have occasional need for an air compressor and have been sharing a
small unit with Number One Son. I use it mostly for brad nailing, once
or twice a month. So I don't want to invest big bucks. I'm thinking
125 PSI will be all that I need. I've heard I should go oiless. Any
specific recommendations? Any thoughts about HF models?

I have a 4 gallon, twin tank, oil less, Porter Cable compressor that has
served me well for over 11 years. We initially bought it to run a framing
nailer and roofing nailer when we built our garage. We also used it to
build our house a couple years later. I use it frequently for woodworking
and remodeling projects to power a variety of finish nailers and brad
nailers.

It is perfect for running nailers, but not so much for high volume tasks
like airing up tires. I can fill up a car tire, but the compressor kicks on
quickly and runs constantly till I am done. It's OK for short random tasks
like that, but I wouldn't want to run it that way for long periods (paint
spraying, air tools, etc.)

The Porter Cable is quite loud when the compressor is running, but it
doesn't run much when using nailers as they have low air requirements.

I would like to have a larger compressor that could handle a paint sprayer,
but that would require a lot more space than my little Porter Cable needs.
For the same money, I would probably buy a dedicated HVLP sprayer that
would use less space. Then again, I don't use any air tools like wrenches,
grinders, cutoff wheels, or that sort of thing.

Anthony