Archive for the 'Astro Pneumatics' Category

Digital Flow Regulator

Wednesday, October 28th, 2009

Instead of adjusting the air flow at the compressor, Astro Pneumatics’ digital flow regulator screws right onto your spray gun or other air tool to precisely control the flow of air. Love it or hate it, instead of a analog gauge it uses a digital readout.

Constructed with a mirror-plated finish, the regulator’s electronics are sealed and the display is behind impact-proof glass. Unfortunately this also means the battery’s not replaceable, but the display shuts off 45 seconds after you press the button to give the battery a life expectancy of 5,000 readings.

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Posted in Air Tools, Amazon, Astro Pneumatics, Harbor Freight, Paint | 5 Comments »

Flexible Hose Clamp Pliers

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Constant-tension hose clamps are fast becoming ubiquitous on mass-produced cars, courtesy of their stone-cold reliability and automatic adjustment. Worm gear and T-bolt hose clamps should be re-torqued after installation with the hoses hot, since the clamping force squeezes rubber out from underneath the band (a tendency called cold creep), but constant-tension clamps keep themselves properly adjusted. They are, however, one of a mechanic’s knuckles’ worst enemies, and very difficult to detach without the right tools. Additionally, factory installations aren’t always the easiest to remove, which is where flexible hose clamp pliers come in.

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Posted in Astro Pneumatics, Automotive, Hand Tools | 7 Comments »

Finds: Pneumatic Screwdriver

Tuesday, March 13th, 2007
airpowereddriver.jpg

Tool guys often like to have bragging rights on the biggest and most powerful tools. Drivers aren’t really any different: more power and noise is pretty cool.  A pneumatic driver that spins 1,800 rpm sounds like a good plan then, right? 

It’s a normal-looking pneumatic driver as first glance – a 1/4” hex drive system hooked to an air hose charged with 90-120 psi good for 45 – 115 in/lbs of torque.  The 1,800 rpm speed is almost certainly a “free-spin” speed, however if the speed under load is anywhere close, that’s about 30 revs per second.

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Posted in Air Tools, Astro Pneumatics | No Comments »

Finds: Offset Handle Pliers

Wednesday, January 31st, 2007
offsetpilers.jpg

At first glance these pliers look like they were mangled in a tragic farming accident, but they’re that way on purpose.  They’re offset handle pliers, and they’re pretty damn handy.

For instance working on the Yukon project I managed to drop a bolt down into the exhaust “y” pipe.  Luckily it didn’t go too far down, but the trick was getting it without pushing it further down the pipe.  That’s where the offset pliers would have come in handy. 

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Posted in Astro Pneumatics, Hand Tools | 3 Comments »

Finds: Pinstripe Removal Kit

Tuesday, January 16th, 2007
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Sick of those 70s-inspired — or maybe that should read “sticker-upcharge-inspired” — pinstripes the dealer added to your brand new Honda?  Remove ‘em with a pin striping removal kit. 

The kit is really just a 4,000 rpm “Pinstripe Removal Tool” — technically an air powered polisher with a safety lever — and 12 “smart eraser” 3-1/2″ rubber pads. The rubber pads strip the striping off without killing what’s underneath.

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Posted in Air Tools, Astro Pneumatics | 6 Comments »

Finds: A Professional Brake Tool Set

Tuesday, December 26th, 2006

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Looking to recoup some cash before the Christmas-time Visa bill arrives?  As we’ve suggested before, you can save a bundle by doing your own brake jobs on the family voiture.  And while you can get the job done with basic hand tools, having the right tools takes the job from pain-in-the-ass to not-so-bad.

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Posted in Astro Pneumatics, Automotive, Hand Tools | 5 Comments »

Finds: 7 pc. Lugnut Service Set

Thursday, October 5th, 2006
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When rotating the dubs on your fly cruiser have you ever wished for more bling in your lug sockets? Astro Tools knows you have.  Now you can flip your whip with this 7 piece chrome plated Lugnut Socket set.

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Posted in Astro Pneumatics, Shop Tools | 4 Comments »

Finds: 8pc. Fuel & Transmission Line Disconnect Tool Set

Wednesday, September 27th, 2006
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When in the throes of an automotive project there are many things that can hang you up, like not having the best tool for the job.  Having to “make do with what you got” is the hallmark of every DIY mechanic out there. There are times, however, when it’s worth the dough to just shell out and buy the tool that’ll make your project a bit easier — like when you’re messing with fuel, oil, and transmission fluid.

Sooner or later it’s gonna get messy, and there’s nothing you can do about that.  But why not speed up the process with the right tools. 

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Posted in Astro Pneumatics, Hand Tools | 1 Comment »

Finds: Handheld Composite Air Sandblaster

Monday, September 25th, 2006

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We keep a small-box media blast unit in the shop to clean up small parts and such, and we’ve found it extremely useful — so useful, in fact, that we’ve considered picking up a larger open-air unit to use outside.  It’s a pretty big investment, though, and the large ones take quite a bit of time to set up (and clean up).

Something like this might be a good interim fix: It’s a small hand-held unit that gravity feeds from a top reservoir and plugs right into your standard air compressor line.

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Posted in Astro Pneumatics, Pneumatics | 10 Comments »