Portable air tank for workshop use?

Or get a Makita AS180DZ which is the 18V volt version of their handheld blower?

What makes one suitable?

Something to watch with many tanks/cylinders is that while they might be designed to contain pressure, they may not be designed to cope with the repeated stresses and work hardening that can come from cyclic pressure changes. That is why proper pressure vessels are of a much heavier construction than say a disposable gas canister. You really don't want a compressed gas cylinder going bang anywhere near you.

The 4kg bottle will be designed for cyclic operation, but not the disposable cylinders.

Batter blower or HVLP inflater (think more airbed rather than tyre)?

Small, portable, cheap

Good point. Somewhere I have a re-fillable 400'ish cylinder ... but where?

I think a small hose from an air tank (or compressor with tank) would be better at shifting sawdust from awkward places, but worth a thought.

Like:

You can use a fair amount of air with a blow gun... I find it does not take much use of one on my 25L compressor to cause it to start recharging.

Unless you have a machine shop, you are likely to spend a lot of time & a lot of money trying to make your own. Bite the bullet. Buy one & enjoy. Which one to buy is a different subject. :)

Interesting

Hmm, that's triggered another thought ... my brad nailer is a bit long in the tooth so I was tempted by the Mak 18V ones but have been put-off by the price. Perhaps an air-driven nailer would be worth investigating, and that might justify a slightly larger compressor ...

Aha, feature creep sets in :-)

Yup, Mak nailers are rather pricey, and they don't seem to have any fully electric large nailer options either - which is surprising considering the vast range of cordless tools they do.

Smaller nailers are relatively low users of air IME.

I have a 23 gauge pneumatic pin nailer, which is fantastic for things like quickly fixing trims, beads, lipping etc. I can probably shoot 50 -

I bought a second-hand compressor last year (3hp, 2-cylinder, 50l receiver). The compressor, hose and impact wrench cost less than an equivalent electric wrench.

Air tools are very cheap compared to battery tools, so since then I have also picked up an air ratchet, a straight and a 90° drill, a straight die-grinder, a tyre inflator, a chisel and a blow-gun. The tools are generally considerably smaller than electric versions, allowing access in much tighter spaces too.

Oh dear, I can feel desire building ... slightly surprising at my age ;-) OOI what pin nailer and compressor have you got?

I haven't thought about them before, but this "conversation" has spurred a few ideas. As JR said "feature creep"

I don't suppose you notified your insurers:-) Commercial use air pressure vessels are required to have a bi-annual inspection if the multiple of volume (L) and pressure (Bar) exceeds 250!

Air tools are nice in many cases (very compact, good ergonomics) *but* many of the ones you may want, can need a fairly high rate of free air delivery - so may not work that satisfactorily on smaller compressors.

I have a 1.5HP compressor with a 25L receiver. That is good for nailing, tyre inflating, and blow off gun. It will also drive a large impact wrench - although if you need a longer burst you may need to leave a gap to allow the receiver to recharge.

Tools that need continuos air delivery like sanders, grinders etc wold be better off on something like Steve's 3HP/50L setup since on mine the duty cycle is not really good enough and it can't quite manage an adequate delivery rate.

But not required for home use - and would be overkill for something that is used a fraction of the time that it would be in commercial use.

I did look at home insurance when I got it and they had no interest at all in anything that size.

The nailer is a Axminster "white" branded 23g headless pin nailer. Fairly basic and only supports pins up to 20 or 25mm. However it is very compact, and works well. I don't think they currently sell one like it. Not a good picture, but can be seen here:

The compressor is a SIP Airmate "Tornado 21025" I bought s/h from the late Andy Hall formerly of this parish, back in 2004 ish...

Thanks for the info. One of my moans about my (230V) Rapesco finish nailer is that the bulge at the front (for the solenoid and weight) means that it's not possible to get very close to something that's perpendicular to the thing that's being nailed, but the bulge on yours looks much smaller. More research needed!

Probably not something for me to boast about :-)

Ha! :-)