About to buy some air tools. Oppinions wanted

I've been squirreling away money into my tool fund and I'm ready to get some air tools. I'm looking to get an impact wrench and zip gun right now. Would like to keep the two under 200 or 250 dollars, but would rather have 300 dollars of enjoyment than 200 of disappointment.
For a 1/2" impact wrench i had my eye on a few.
**edit** also the craftsman professional composite
Ingersoll Rand 231 C
Ingersoll Rand 2130
Chicago Pneumatics cp734h
I found all three on amazon for about 120 dollars a piece
Zip gun
Chicago cp716
Chicago cp715k
IR 121k6
Found these between 60 and a hundred bones.
Anyone have them. Love them, hate them, wish they had a little more balls? I'm not impartial to these two brands

I started my collection with a IR model 111 "knuckle saver" ratchet and a dayton 1/4" die grinder. Got the two together for 20 bucks!

 

cant go wrong with ingersoll

 

For 1/2 impact I'd look for a deal on an Ingersoll-Rand 2135TI.

 

Holiday and tax season best times to find deals in pawn shops.

 

on my second ir in over 20 years bought the second one 15 years ago [when i had four of us working in the shop] both still going strong. don't remember what i paid but iknow i'm getting my money's worth.

 

IR, great tools, as long as the new ones aren't made in china
Had mine for years, no problems

 

I worked for a casting company that made Snap-On, Bluepoint, Sioux Tools and Mac air tools...all from the same casting die...and we machined them all to the same specs, so the only difference that could possibly be between them is the quality of the guts inside of them...just food for thought...

 

I've I/R tools well made very dependable, only buy U.S. made to be sure of quality.
Northern tools has a sale going on now!

 

I don't know how the new ones are but I have a Cp 1/2 inch impact that I bought in 1972 I think and used hard for the next five or six years than sporadically since and it still works perfect and has never been in for repairs. what ever you do, buy quality air tools and take care of them. Oil them every time you use the and drain the air tank on the compressor daily. I think one of the main reasons that that impact has lasted like it has is that the shop I worked in in Texas drained the air tank at five after five every night and we never had water in the air lines.

 

I have it and had no problems. With impact guns the more you spend the better tool you will get.

 

I second this recommendation. I have the 2135TI 1/2 inch and I also have the 2115QTI in the 3/8 inch size. You may want to get your hands on the 3/8 model first...I use this one 10 times as often as the 1/2 inch as it has more than enough power to do most everything that I used to do with my old 1/2 inch BluePoint. These IR guns are tits, small, lightweight, powerful, and quiet...now if you just find a place that is giving them away!

 

Ingersoll Rand has moved its production to China. That said, I use the Chinese made ones daily, and have yet to have a problem.

My shop is a mix of IR, Sioux and Chicago Pneumatic. All seem to work work well, just keep them oiled daily.

Took a Gene Winfield metal shaping class, he swears by Chicago Pneumatic tools.

 

I figure usa, taiwan, and chinese country of origin tools are about the same.

If you make money with them at a shop, you probably wouldn't be asking this question, but I'd go with the best you can afford.

For home use, I buy cheap harbor freight. I maybe have $200 in about all the air tools I could possibly need. $200 on taiawanese COI will get you 2 or 3 of them.

If I need a certain tool that is about 20% better than chinese, I can always buy craftsman and pay 5 times more. You definitely don't get 5 times more tool though.

 

that titanium is the bees knees. I think I'll save and make 1 purchase that i love. Now how about the zip guns fellas?
Titanium is only 245 on amazon. They have good prices on everything on that site.

 

Not up to speed with the current crop of air tools but for years required the best in my shop to ensure of getting high volumn work done on time. Back then IR and Cp could be counted on to get the job done.

Frank

 

try sears they have a deal in nice neat box went on sale about 70.00 bought 2 of them 1/4 1/2 hose fittings and misc. a deal

 

An Impact, a paint gun and a tire filler. A air compressor should not be used for anything else. I have decided so after years of listening to that stupid thing running trying to keep a die grinder fed. I now use electric tools if possible.
Why we ever got sucked into running a 5 HP air compressor to drive an 1/8 hp die grinder is more than I will ever understand. Schon genug! (Enuf already!)
My 2 Cs
Don

 

I've found that the real cheap ones from harbor freight have low tourque out put.. have high CFM demands, but they are light.. the middle of the road have tourque to do what ya need em to (ingersol) and decent CFM demands but can be heavy. for home use I would pick the ingersol gun.. the cheaper ones can be heavy, but if your not using them professionally they are great... just stay away from the cheapy stuff.. half the time they wont take a lug nut off.. and tax the sh%t out of your compressor...

 

I was at a buddy's shop today and he has the 2135 titanium from ingersoll. That is definitely what I am going to buy. It is so light, and man does it have balls. I'd rather spend the extra hundred dollars and not have wanted more. If anyone else is trying to decide, my buddy loves his. sold all his others after he bought it.

 

ive still got my first ingersol gun from 20 years ago. and i thought when they came out with the 2135ti i would upgrade. i love that gun, other guys in my shop bought snaper heads because they were told it was stronger . guess what ingersol has it beat hands down. even my old gun stronger then the new snapons. i was beating on a bolt for along time and finaly broke a hamer in my 2135ti . i will be fixing it and not trashing it , but i had about 6 years without a problem . zip gun, i got a long hammer cp had for years . love it .most of my home use stuff is harbor freight though. when i know i need a good 1/2 gun i bring home my ingersol.

 

I bought the Nitrocat 1200 used for $140. 1200 lbs reversing torque, this will loosen anything. A lot of rust up here.

The IR quiet model is super quiet, but pricey.

 

I bought my first IR231 in 1985--- I'll post when I replace it.

 

Chicago Pneumatic invented the impact mechanism that they and I.R. use so you can't go wrong with either. Power chisels also are both good

 

my neighbor is a retired GM mechanic, he says buying a quality tool only hurts once, in the wallet but cheap tools hurt every time you use it.

 

I have always had the cheap DA sander and Die grinder. I recently got a used Snap On die grinder and a used Blue point DA sander. OMG the difference. These USED tools are soo much better than any new , cheap one I have ever bought. the torque is amazing and seems to use less air. My compressor can keep up with these. I am rethinking my future purchases.

 

I like my IR thundergun. I have also had a couple snap-on that were good, much quieter than IR. I have good die grinders but for occasional use the cheapies from HF work just fine. If you are going to run the die grinder a lot, get an electric one. The air ones are loud and work the crap out of an air compressor.

 

I disagree. Over the last few years, in my shop, we have moved away from using electric tools in favor of pneumatic ones, almost exclusively. Of course, we do run a much larger, 2-stage compressor.

I have real-time power monitoring and logging at my power panel. It clearly shows that using the compressor all day consumes less power than running electric tools all day.

We all are also much happier holding on to tools that weigh under a pound, rather that a hulking electric motor. They may vibrate just as much, but without all of that mass from the motor and gearbox, it hurts less at the end of the day. Workman's Compensation claims are not cheap.

 

I used one of these that a co-worker had when I first started working on cars, I immediately traded everything I had for one of these. This wrench is a beast.

 

I'd also add that you'll never burn up a airtool no matter how bad you lug it down.

 

IR used to have a domestic AND off shore made lines of tools and may still now my information is a couple of years old by now.The off shore stuff was sold to compete with the other off shore brands for price. The off shore stuff wasn't bad but not near as good quality as the domestic made. Just be aware that they both exist when you shop.
I'm a fan of air tools when you can use them especially in work areas with lots of dust. dust is pretty hard on electric motor internals where air tools seem to fair much better in my experience.