Pneumatic DA Sanders

Minimal 120 gallon 2 stage and that will likely run constantly trying to keep up

Now I think they have a name for that type of gift. Let me think. Oh yeah, I think that's called a White Elephant:-b

It's all about CFM. And duty cycle. Check the manual or www.porter- cable.com for specs on your model, but continuous service for pneumatic DA ROS's typically consumes 15CFM at 90psi.

My compressor sustains perhaps 11CFM at 90psi. It runs a Dynabrade ROS slightly underpowered, but adequately for most work. If I have more than a half hour of continuous sanding to do, I lower the regulator pressure to 80 psi and set up an external fan to help cool the compressor. Under those conditions, the compressor is on about 80% of the time. Not ideal, but it does get the job done.

Jim

For most DA's you'll need at least 12SCFM.

Not at all. I have a single stage with two massive cylinders and a 60 gal tank and it cycles in an acceptable manner running my DA. It's all about air volume. Mine delivers 18.7 SCFM at 100lbs and 16 SCFM at 145lbs. Plenty for a DA.

Holy moly!

Eh? I have four cylinders, single stage, three HP. Not three HP "developed" or whatever the advertising hype says but 3 HP on the motor nameplate. Keeps up with sanders and everything I've tried except a big sandblast gun. Tank is 20 gal. I takes it a long time to shut off again but it gets there eventually, (running the sander).

bob g.

Never Enough M> I got one as a birthday gift, a Porter-Cable.

Just out of curiosity, "How many legit HP does your compressor have powering it?". I don't remember how many SCFM my two pumps are rated at. I have two, two cylinder pumps (single stage) on a 3HP motor, 20 gal tank. Runs and ROS OK, cycles, smells a little warm after an hour or so but doesn't get too hot to touch except the heads and air line to the tank.

bob g.

Mike Marlow wrote:

Don't know for sure what the real HP is since I've never measured the current flow. It's rated at 7HP max, so you can guess at what the real HP is.

-Mike-

Porter Cable advertises 15 CFM needed to run their pneumatic DA sanders. That said I run a DA sander off my Porter Cable air compressor often. This model.

On Tue, 23 Nov 2004 19:21:09 GMT, "Mike Marlow" calmly ranted:

Y'know, if you guys would plane and scrape your wood, you wouldn't need so many sanders, and those you used would do the job on a much smaller air supply.

--- Is it time for your medication or mine?

Are you running your DA in dual action mode Greg? I had a smaller compressor that would half operate a DA but it never delivered the air volume to properly rotate the thing. It would sand - sorta, but not really. Not compared to what a DA should do. Hook it up to a decent air delivery and it's a whole different story.

This is very true, but I do a lot of body work also and do you have any idea how hard it is to run a Stanley #4 over a fender? Makes you and expert at Scary Sharp technique...

Hmm. I use hand planes and then sometimes touch up with a fine grit sanding (say 400). Also use sanding between finish coats. I assumed hand planes wouldn't be good for a shellac surface...

Yup! Works fine. Greg