OUTFITTING YOUR AUTOMOTIVE WORKSHOP

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The best small compressor I have found for sale today is Black & Decker's Air Station Inflator/Compressor, a high-speed, small displacement electric pump that develops tire pressure quickly and sells for under $50. If mated with a small portable air tank (about $30), it would make a good basic farmstead air supply for occasional use.

You'll pay $150 minimum for a constant-use, pressure-switch-equipped compressor on a big, wheeled tank. More powerful, more easily carried are compact, somewhat lighter-weight professional models used by painters. With two small tanks, or pressurized air contained in a tubular frame-they cost $250 minimum A set of the four or five most popular tools in small homeowner-size and okay quality costs another $120. My compressor and tools are made by Campbell -Hausfield, a low-to-medium-price brand found everywhere-in mail-order catalogs, the auto departments of Sears/J.C. Penney/Ward type stores and in larger home centers and hardware stores.

Once you have air, you'll never know how you functioned without it. A high pressure compressed-air gun will blast dirt out of spark plug sockets and brake drums, clean out foot wells and luggage space, will unclog carburetor jets and fuel lines ...as well as fill the kids' bike tires (if you are very careful not to over inflate them), plus inflatable boats and air mattresses, soccer balls and more.

In the shop, an air-powered impact wrench will remove frozen lug nuts and ease tire changing greatly; an air hammer, die grinder and rotary disc grinder will speed blacksmithing and body work; an air-powered ratchet-wrench will remove stuck or rusted nuts or studs; an air chisel will cut rusted-together exhaust pipes; and the compressor can power paint guns for autos as well as paint and stain the house, squirt wasp nest remover into the eaves, and do much more around the home and barn. For less cost than its equivalent electrical counterpart, you can get nearly any tool in air-power: circular and reciprocating saws, metal shears, lube-guns, sandblasters and high-pressure-sprayers.

The individual tools, a set of black-steel sockets for the impact wrench, a 50-foot length of air hose, and a set of couplers will cost between $25 and $50. All told, equipping yourself with good homeowner quality"air" and the tools to fit will set you back $400 to $600. Northern Hydraulics is the best mail-order source I have found for compressors and air tools.

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