Advice for servicing air impact wrench?

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John Burns - 13 Mar 2009 21:34 GMT

I have a Blue Point air impact wrench that's not give the sort of torque
it should, it struggles to undo wheel nuts. It's running from a decent
size air tank at 6 bar.

I plan to strip it down and degrease it then recoat all the parts with
air line grade oil. Is this the right thing to do or am I missing
msomething? Seems to be very little information online about this sort
of thing.

I only use it once a month or so.

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Alan B. Mac Farlane - 14 Mar 2009 00:49 GMT

> Is this the right thing to do or am I missing
> msomething?

lucky you gets to strip it down ... sometimes one is unable to do that for
engineering reasons in being built that way.

I blew out an air impact wrench on some truck tires, and think there is a O
ring in there with the impact gun oil they have me use ... that I just
destroyed from use.

I also do not think grease is the word ... take it apart, check for parts
(see if you have a parts list to order from in your instruction manual) that
are worn away ... and fill up with air gun oil is my suggestion.

However, I am not a brainaic on these things.

I just have to spend the big bucks on getting a professional air gun to use
with my air tank tools .. which is why I think I have the problem, it is
cheap and chinese. Gonna get a Yank gun next time.

sumbuddie hopes that helps

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John Burns - 14 Mar 2009 14:23 GMT

> I just have to spend the big bucks on getting a professional air gun to use
> with my air tank tools .. which is why I think I have the problem, it is
> cheap and chinese. Gonna get a Yank gun next time.

Thanks for the advice :-)

A few years ago I started to replace all my tools with Snap On / Blue
Point stuff. It's a lot better, no more rounded off bolt heads or
stripped Allen bolts. Seems a lot better than most of the cheaper stuff
I've seen, I suppose you get what you pay for. Ebay seems to be a good
source for discounted new / used Snap On stuff.

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Dave Plowman (News) - 14 Mar 2009 19:06 GMT

> A few years ago I started to replace all my tools with Snap On / Blue
> Point stuff. It's a lot better, no more rounded off bolt heads or
> stripped Allen bolts. Seems a lot better than most of the cheaper stuff
> I've seen, I suppose you get what you pay for. Ebay seems to be a good
> source for discounted new / used Snap On stuff.

Snap On, if you have to pay full price in the UK, is poor value. Nor is
their quality anything special. A good test is how long a cross head
driver lasts in good condition when used with hardened screws - I still
often drive them in by hand. And Wera is my choice there.
For the usual spanners and sockets, etc, Halfords Pro range takes some
beating. And has a no quibble life time warranty.

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John Burns - 15 Mar 2009 00:03 GMT

> For the usual spanners and sockets, etc, Halfords Pro range takes some
> beating. And has a no quibble life time warranty.

I'd had a few problems with their sockets rounding off nuts, but those
were 12 point "normal", not the pro range. I also manged to break a few
of their wrenches over the years. For light use they're not bad value
though.

I found Snap-On's screwdrivers to be much better than anything else I've
tried. In particular I bought a ratcheting screwdriver from them two
years ago. I didn't expect much more than a gimmick, but I was very
impressed by it and it sees regular use.

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Dave Plowman (News) - 15 Mar 2009 00:12 GMT

> > For the usual spanners and sockets, etc, Halfords Pro range takes some
> > beating. And has a no quibble life time warranty.

> I'd had a few problems with their sockets rounding off nuts, but those
> were 12 point "normal", not the pro range. I also manged to break a few
> of their wrenches over the years. For light use they're not bad value
> though.

I've no experience of their normal range - just the pro one. And they have
put up with anything I've thrown at them. Superb finish too.

> I found Snap-On's screwdrivers to be much better than anything else I've
> tried. In particular I bought a ratcheting screwdriver from them two
> years ago. I didn't expect much more than a gimmick, but I was very
> impressed by it and it sees regular use.

Screwdrivers are actually quite a good test of the tool maker's art. Make
them too hard and they break too easily. Too soft and they lose their
profile. Not impressed with the couple of Snap On ones I own.

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Scott Dorsey - 15 Mar 2009 00:31 GMT

>I found Snap-On's screwdrivers to be much better than anything else I've
>tried. In particular I bought a ratcheting screwdriver from them two
>years ago. I didn't expect much more than a gimmick, but I was very
>impressed by it and it sees regular use.

The absolute best ratcheting screwdrivers I have used are the Yankee
ones. They used to be made in the US by Stanley, but I think these days
they are made in the UK and seem only to be readily avaiable there.
I find them a whole lot easier than an electric screwdriver for working
in close quarters where you have a lot of screws to do. My co-workers
cannot stand the things, though.
--scott

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Miike G - 15 Mar 2009 19:37 GMT

>> A few years ago I started to replace all my tools with Snap On / Blue
>> Point stuff. It's a lot better, no more rounded off bolt heads or
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> Snap On, if you have to pay full price in the UK, is poor value. Nor is
> their quality anything special.

Exactly. With Snap-On you pay for the 'name' rather than the quality.

A good test is how long a cross head

> driver lasts in good condition when used with hardened screws

Some years ago I bought a cross head screwdriver from Snap-On when I'd
mislaid mine, and the S-O van happened to be outside. Cost about £7 IIRC.
Within weeks of light use the corners had rounded off. OTOH my cheap
Halfords one, (not Pro BTW) which I found later, is still sharp, and is
still in use.

The next time the S-O guy turned up, he refused to replace it. On the basis
no doubt, that I was not a regular customer, and he couldn't be bothered. So
much for their lifetime warranty.
His real customer was the w/s next door to me. An engine rebuild Co. I
suppose I could have asked them to exchange the screwdriver for me, but I
couldn't be bothered. What use is a crap quality screwdriver even if it is
new?

The same poor quality goes for their hexagon keys. On tight screws they wind
up looking like corkscrews, or round off. Damaging the hex screw in the
process.
There's only two names I trust for hex keys. Allen or Unbrako.

- I still

> often drive them in by hand. And Wera is my choice there.
> For the usual spanners and sockets, etc, Halfords Pro range takes some
> beating. And has a no quibble life time warranty.

I've no doubt that the Halfords Pro range are good quality, but as I've said
before, I don't think you need to even pay that sort of money for good hard
wearing tools.

I have many spanners and sockets which cost far less, whic have withstood
some serious use. A 13 piece combination set comes to mind. 10mm to 32mm.
Cost me, IIRC, £16 from Screwfix, with a finish equally as good as that of
Snap-On.
Some of the larger sizes have been used with scaffold tubes to give extra
leverage, and have survived without damage.

Personally I don't think you need a 'name' to find good quality tools. There
are plenty to be had at prices considerably less than those of more well
known brands.
Mike..

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Dave Plowman (News) - 16 Mar 2009 00:19 GMT

> Personally I don't think you need a 'name' to find good quality tools.
> There are plenty to be had at prices considerably less than those of
> more well known brands.

Absolutely. Some 40 years ago I bought a tool set which was an offer in
Motor Sport. Free credit and IIRC 5 monthly payments of 5 pounds. All 'no
brand' stuff. Fitted socket tray with all the common AF, BSW and Metric
sizes. Same with both open enders and ring spanners. A few assorted
screwdrivers etc. In a nice steel cantilever box. Rough bright finish -
but I've still got most of it and nothing ever broke. Despite the abuse of
youth.

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Scott Dorsey - 14 Mar 2009 15:54 GMT

>I have a Blue Point air impact wrench that's not give the sort of torque
>it should, it struggles to undo wheel nuts. It's running from a decent
[quoted text clipped - 6 lines]
>
>I only use it once a month or so.

It's not gunked up, odds are the seals have dried out and are leaking.
If you ask your Snap-On guy, he should be able to sell you a rebuild
kit with a couple seals in it.

Otherwise you can take the thing apart, get out the rubber parts, and
take them to an industrial O-ring place to have them match them. Note
that you can get O-rings made from a bunch of different materials, and
you need to tell them that it's for a high-pressure air application and
not oil or water.

You do need to oil the thing regularly, even if it's not getting a whole
lot of use... and let me take this opportunity to recommend the Royal
Purple Synfilm oil... it's a synthetic that has pretty strong solvent
properties and tends to clean the crap out of there. Otherwise I think
Castrol OC-11 or another turbine oil might be the most stable way to go.
--scott

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John Burns - 14 Mar 2009 18:48 GMT

Just stripped it, was prety clean inside. Gave is a good lube and it's
better than it's ever been :-) Take off wheel nuts no problem now.

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