Light Aircraft Association

Hi,

I'm about to start building a Zenair CH650B and whilst my workshop is 95% complete, I'm not sure about a suitable air drill and compressor.

I need to have a quiet compressor as the garage is attached to the house and one year old son sleeps almost above it plus I don't want the sound of a jack hammer all night whilst working!

I've looked at quiet compressors from machine mart et al bu ttrying to find a drill and compressor seems to put them in the £000's. Does anyone have any suitable advice about the best type of quiet yet usable kit for this task?

Thanks in advance.

The drill and riveter or any pneumatic tool will have a cubic feet/ min air consumption rate. Size your compressor output to just above that and get one with a decent sized receiver vessel, otherwise the thing will be cutting in and out too much. Don't go for the cheapest - get a good one for your project. There has been discussion on this subject previously if you look back a bit.
Don't forget to get the additional filter/drier unit, lubricator etc.

Thanks Bill,

Looking at the Sioux and Chicago air drills as recommended these eat up between 12-16 cfm depening on model, which even the top of the range quiet air compressors doesn't come close too (even at £1500 - 6.5 cfm).

I'm struggling to believe that all aircraft builders have gone out and spanked £3-4k on an air compressor to drive a drill.

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/range ... ompressors

Paul, that seems a heavy consumption rate - my stuff uses in the order of 4cfm. If you do go for a large vessel there will be enough capacity to allow the compressor to "catch up" when you stop drilling. If you engage in heavy work, a compressor fitted with an unloader valve gives continual running with the unit going to atmosphere when max pressure is reached and will then discharge to the vessel pressure drops a bit.

Belt driven compressors are generally a lot quieter. Consider putting it in an out building or shed or make an outdoor acoustic enclosure and run the hose to your workshop. But don't forget to drain the tank purge valve regularly.

You're rarely using an air drill continuously, usually just a few seconds at a time, so the amount of air you use isn't that great. A good sized tank will mean that the compressor won't need to run so often either.

I am building an RV7 and have found a Makita small battery drill the most useful thing to have. Cost is about £150 (with a driver that I dont use) and 2 batteries with LI-ON (10.8 volt I think)technology. Still need a compressor to drive the rivetter of course but thats not so often. Bought my compressor from Axminster Tools at one of their special sale days for £48 ex demo. Only has 25 litre reservoir but is maximum for 13 amp power supply and just about copes.

If you are about to begin building a metal AC, and need to ask about a compressor / Air drill. JMO, you need to take a course in engineering. Why air drill, Cordless drill will suffice, much better control.

Cordless drill are heavy and will give you RSI. Their size will also prevent them being used in some locations. Isn't their speed also a bit slow to give clean holes?

Your problem is the 'quiet' bit.

For straight forward jobs you could use a portable electric drill. I have an 18V Makita and it is fast and powerful enough for simple jobs. But it is a huge thing and needs an extension and a right angle drive to get into a lot of places that an air drill would directly access.

I also have a 15cfm petrol powered compressor with a 200lt tank. Used with a Chicago air drill it is the only way to do any job of any size. But quiet it is not!

My shed is plumbed up with an air ring main with the compressor in a small workshop next door. This keeps the noise down - and increases the capacity of the system. An option may be to site your compressor remotely and simply run the power out to it and the air back from it. A garden shed or something similar (with a bit of ventilation) would produce a quiet air supply and still be a lot cheaper than the 'quiet' compressors (which at the end of the day may not actually be that quiet).

Thanks everyone (except Roger for the condescending post). I was recommended to use an air drill after going on the LAA metalworking course! I'm also going to be using an air powered rivet puller.

A purchased a small Chigago air drill in the end (CP7300RQC) which should suit the job perfectly. Seems a nice peice of kit and very comfortable to hold.

Gasax is right, the issue is the quiet bit and I think I'm just going to have to stump up the money for Clarke quiet compressor - from talks I've had, it should do the job but I want to see one working with the drill I've bought first, and hear it of course.

Here's the Puppy !

http://www.machinemart.co.uk/shop/produ ... compressor

It sits in a ply box, next door to the workshop with sound insulation inside, remote air intake, wired through a cooker socket.

It's far from silent, but in a trade off over cycling and air volume, it is about as small I would want to go for.

Built an RV7 and now an RV8 and just added a remote ex gas tank 500ltr vessel for more storage.

Once you have used air tools, you don't tend to go back.

I have a dual circuit, 4 outlets at 90psi for the main tools and a separate outlet with a stand alone water filter/pressure regulator for spraying. That is set at 40psi for my HVLP guns.

You will struggle with much under 150ltr storage if you intend to spray/sand/grind.

You will find that pneumatic tools are used in most production workshops. Electricity cables can get severed by sharp objects (such as your aluminium), gets tangled up with other gear etc. A single air line can power your drill, pneumatic rivetter, nibbler and a host of others via the line snap connector. Don't get one of those "curly" air lines though - it'll drive you nuts. Its important to get a good quality reinforced rubber hose too, as the braided nylon ones are not flexible enough for you to get into tight spaces. A air jet gun is also great for blowing muck out of tubing and awkward places. I worked with pneumatic tools for over forty years and am slightly biased !