Over-oiling air tools

[JHZR2]

I'm not sure what you mean by portable fashion. I used a Pancake compressor for finish nailing on a job site back in the day. Last time I used them I powered them from my 60 gallon compressor running 100' of hose from the garage down the basement steps. All three tools got a workout doing framing and finish work.

I have three nail guns, a framing nailer, a finish nailer, and a brad/stapler. I use about 5 drops of oil in the framer, 3 in the other two guns. I will get a little hint of oil the first few shots, that's about it. I'd rather over oil the tool than under oil it, 3-5 drops seems to be the magic numbers.

What I meant about portable is what you describe. A pancake small compressor, on a job site, isn’t necessarily set up to have all kinds of filters and driers. Thus the quality of air to those nailing tools isn’t the best, as compared to someone who has a big permanently installed compressor with a piping system and all kinds of filters and driers and whatnot.

Unless there’s some kind of inline filter I should be using on the job site. I used to use inline desiccant filters but they get wet naturally over time, and they can shed fines which aren’t good for the tools.

So nailing tools may not get as great of air supply. That’s all.

 

[SubieRubyRoo]

3-4 drops is fine, it is hard to over oil air tools as they just blow the excess out the exhaust port and make a mess.

Which is great for the “spatter effect” method for staining of untreated trim…

 

[The Critic]

Just one mfg's position:

Air motor lubrication:
We recommend running an inline lubricator, or manually lubricating the tool through the air inlet with IR #10 Air Tool Oil.

• This should be done before each use to lubricate the motor, and before storage to prevent corrosion.
• 10-15 drops of oil in the air inlet, followed by a few-second run of the tool will distribute the oil through the motor.
• If the tool is being used for extended periods of time without a lubricator, oil should be re-applied after every few hours of use.

https://irtoolhelp.ingersollrand.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013919553-Pneumatic-Impact-Wrench-Maintenance-and-Lubrication#:~:text=We%20recommend%20running%20an%20inline,before%20storage%20to%20prevent%20corrosion.

 

[D60]

Wow 10-15 drops seems guaranteed puke-fest of oil, but if you're staining or working around finish carpentry maybe it doesn't matter.

I'm learning perhaps I'm very stingy with oil. Somewhere along the way I was taught 1 or 2 drops and that's what I do. OTOH it's very arid here and tools don't really rust from humidity. Of course a water-laden air supply can happen anywhere......I just have a "cooling wall" to allow water to drop out and with zero humidity that works well enough

 

[JHZR2]

Wow 10-15 drops seems guaranteed puke-fest of oil, but if you're staining or working around finish carpentry maybe it doesn't matter.

I'm learning perhaps I'm very stingy with oil. Somewhere along the way I was taught 1 or 2 drops and that's what I do. OTOH it's very arid here and tools don't really rust from humidity. Of course a water-laden air supply can happen anywhere......I just have a "cooling wall" to allow water to drop out and with zero humidity that works well enough

Well, an air motor and a piston type nailer are different too I suspect.

Just one mfg's position:

https://irtoolhelp.ingersollrand.com/hc/en-us/articles/360013919553-Pneumatic-Impact-Wrench-Maintenance-and-Lubrication#:~:text=We%20recommend%20running%20an%20inline,before%20storage%20to%20prevent%20corrosion.

That’s good data, thanks!

 

[demarpaint]

Wow 10-15 drops seems guaranteed puke-fest of oil, but if you're staining or working around finish carpentry maybe it doesn't matter.

I'm learning perhaps I'm very stingy with oil. Somewhere along the way I was taught 1 or 2 drops and that's what I do. OTOH it's very arid here and tools don't really rust from humidity. Of course a water-laden air supply can happen anywhere......I just have a "cooling wall" to allow water to drop out and with zero humidity that works well enough

I was spot on with my nailers.

That seems like a lot for impact guns though, I guess I'll be upping the dose for them. I usually go 5-6 drops each use, then another 5 drops when I store them.