Air Compressor and Welder

[ssgoodman]

what should i be looking for when buying an air compressor and welder for vehicle fabrication?  i live in an apartment and the garage only has 110 outlets.

Sutton

[VileZambonie]

Well then I would say noise is a factor in an apartment and any 110 compressor is probably going to be loud and have a slow recovery rate but Craftsman 110's are decent.

Lincoln makes a decent mig welder and you can get it at home depot along with all the supplies which makes life easy and it requires a 15amp 110 circuit. 

When you have your own place you'll want to upgrade but these'll get the job done.

[ssgoodman]

think a 17 gallon 1.1hp compressor with 150psi max pressure would be good enough for body fab?

[VileZambonie]

If you're gonna do body work I would get at least a 30 gallon or that thing will never stop running

[Blazin]

17 gallons and 1 HP wouldn't run any body tools for more than a minute or two max. Even and impact would not work to its full potential. Minimum 5 HP 60 gallon for your compressor, a two stage compressor motor will be a huge benefit. As far as a welder 110 welders work great for sheet metal or 1/8 steel. Anything over 1/4 you might want to pre heat cherry red with a torch before you weld it.

[Lt.Del]

I've been keeping my eye on this one for a while.  May get it.  I have an arc welder---I mainly use 3/16" metal for modifying my utility trailer, and doing various other projects.  But, this baby should be real nice...
http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&productId=100039229



Mason Nation
 

[Blazin]

A buddy of mine has that exact same welder. It works real good for a small machine. I use it allot when I work on his stuff at his shop.

[Robry 87]

I used a  15 gal comp to restore my truck it's small and did a great job the only prob with the small tank is a d/a. I used a craftman electric comercal d/a insted of air,and i spared my truck with it and it only ran 3 times  for less then ten Min's maybe a little longer but did great.I bought it at wallmart for 225 with 80 piece tool set my body panels with a 110 MIG welder with flus core from tractor supply i paid 150 or so for it and it will weld up to 5/16 and penetrates great and i stored it all in the cab with the seat in it if space is the problem that worked great for me but like these guy's are saying bigger is bedder you just can't be in to big of a hurry with a small set up good luck hope to see pic's soon!

[ssgoodman]

i think i am going to buy a good side grinder instead of an air compressor, i am worried about the air compressor tripping the breaker whenever it is running and filling.  plus i cant find any compressors with good CFM on a 110 unit.  do you guys have an recommendations on a good side grinders?  i would want something that i could use to cut bolts/rivets and grind off rust/paint if possible.  what are some specifications that i should look for and what brands should i stay away from? 

Sutton

[HAULIN IT]

Sutton, As Vile stated, Lincoln has a very good 110 unit (for a 110 unit) I believe it is a model 130? On the air compressor, many mistaken the tank size as the basis of a compressor. The CFM rating at working PSI is what counts, you need about 15 CFM to run effectively with most tools. The problem with the average guy in the garage is that most buy too little of a compressor, then buy "cost effective" tools which compound the problem because they are less efficient than good quality ones. A good DA sander will use a few CFM, but "a cheapie" may use up around 9 or 10, so you start sanding,run the tank down a little & the motor/pump turns on making, say 8.5 CFM @90psi, you pretty soon are low/out of air. A cheaper straightline board sander will need about 10 or so CFM & a sandblaster is basically a planned air leak, so it will run you out in a hurry. One option due to your apartment situation is to look at yardsales, ect. for a couple smaller units & hook them together with a different pressure switch, so one comes on, then the other, keeping the "high demand" down. Just a thought. Lorne 

[ssgoodman]

i'm gonna skip the air compressor and welder and buy a side grinder for body work and when i get ready to put the floor pans in i'll just rent a welder from the shop down the road for a few days they seem to be pretty cheap for a 72 hour rental.  i think a 110v electric grinder would be less of a draw on the electrical system of the apartment then a good compressor.

edit: just bought a DeWalt 10 amp 4 1/2 inch grinder from amazon.com for 72 bucks, hopefully it will be here before this weekend to get some work done on the jimmy.