Picked up a new toy yesterday!

[tgiro01]

The upright looks similar to the Kobalt I bought last year.

image.png

It is much quieter than my old Cambell Hausfeld compressor. I wouldn't be surprised if they are made in the same factory.

Actually, the Quiet Tech line is made by Kobalt. I found this because, while working at Lowes, part time, in tools & hardware, I was of the same assumption. But enough customers were asking the question, so I had to look it up, before getting it wrong.

Most of the Kobalt portable power tools (PPT) are made by Chervon, who are notable for their battery powered lawn machines and the new Flex brand of PPT. Chervon has, also acquired the Skil brand of PPT.

[hotshot]

....
Most of the Kobalt portable power tools (PPT) are made by Chervon, who are notable for their battery powered lawn machines and the new Flex brand of PPT. Chervon has, also acquired the Skil brand of PPT.

I was shocked when I first learned Hitachi didn't actually make my Hitachi c-40 scroll saw. At that point, I was completely shocked, and of course my "faith" in the Hitachi brand was trashed as I realized their tools were made by company's which were totally unknown to me at the time. Anything in the chart below surprise you?


power-tool-brands-parent-companies.jpg

[will8989]

That’s an eye opener Randy.

[NC Scroller]

I was shocked when I first learned Hitachi didn't actually make my Hitachi c-40 scroll saw. At that point, I was completely shocked, and of course my "faith" in the Hitachi brand was trashed as I realized their tools were made by company's which were totally unknown to me at the time. Anything in the chart below surprise you?


power-tool-brands-parent-companies.jpg

Wow! Lots of surprises there. It is like airbags in cars and hard drives in computers. There are only 2-3 manufacturers in the world that actually make the components.

[Bill Wilson]

The days of stand alone, "Made in America" tool companies has long been just a fading memory in the minds of aging baby boomers. I think the most surprising thing these days, is how often these tool companies change hands and/or are absorbed into ever larger corporate conglomerates.

[tgiro01]

Oh, Yeah, that chart's been around for awhile and changes now & then. BTW - you can pencil in Kobalt Hand tools under Apex. Lowes puts the lifetime warranty on them to compete with Craftsman, also a major product sold by Lowes.

[tgiro01]

[QUOTE=Rolf;n881537]Randy I have this California compressor. It looks just like the Fortress version. As you said amazingly quiet. One outlet is connected to my power carver the other is connected to another regulator and I use it when airbrushing. I did have a problem with it when I first got it. There is an "check valve" that prevents tank pressure from bleeding back into the pumps. That was not working, so when the compressor started up it stalled and overheated the motor. fortunately I smelled it or may have caught fire. I took the valve apart found a tiny bit of debris. Works fine since then but I always turn it off when not in use to be safe. The Fortress is now in the Garage. It took a bit of time to fill from empty will see how well it cycles when in use.

I got a C.A.T. 10 gallon compressor for the garage last spring. Before that, I was using an old Bostich, which would wake the dead if there was a cematary around.

[daveswoodworking]

I like my air compressor I have

[Rolf]

Dave, Is it reasonably quiet?

[RJweb]

Who makes kobalt power tools, thx RJ

[Bill Wilson]

According to the innerweb;

"Kobalt is owned by Lowe’s, but the products are made by Chervon Holdings, a company that owns various power tools and outdoor equipment brands. Not to be confused with Chevron, the oil company based in California, Chervon is a Chinese-based firm that was founded in 1993. The tool company is one of the top 10 manufacturers of power tools in the world. It also owns SKIL, a well-known electric power tools and accessories brand in the U.S. after acquiring it in 2017 from Bosch."

[jim_mex]

Hi - I just picked up an order to produce 100 wall clocks. Not scrollsaw work but putting my laser engraver to good use to decorate the faces.

For a good while all of my finishing of woodwork items has either been by brush on or wipe on techniques but I decided for this latest and future ‘production’ work I need to switch to spraying. My previous compressor finally gave out several years back so I’ve just taken delivery of a Marietta 13 Gal. compressor along with a relatively inexpensive Dynastus mini HVLP spray gun, both sourced via Amazon. I chose what is listed as a dental compressor because it is exceptionally quiet and not too bulky to move around. The spray gun has 2 cups, one of nylon of 150 cc capacity and one of aluminium of 125 cc which are ideal for small project work using either water or solvent based finishes. If orders keep coming in I may upgrade this gun to a more professional and versatile model later on but for now the Dynastus has decent reviews and should suit my needs.

I’m trying to put the brakes on my shop spending but there always seems something new that I need but looking forward what I need most of all is to find a larger workspace.. This is going to be a big challenge as I have no space to increase the workshop size at home and I dont really like the idea of using a remote location because of security issues. My father- in-law may come to my assistance here as he has a large property about a 15 min drive out of town with plenty of space to build a new workshop but again, security may be a problem along with the expense involved in setting up a new shop. Something to ponder on....

marietta.jpg

spray gun.jpg

[Rolf]

The compressor looks just like the California brand. The Marietta 13 Gal does not come up in my amazon site here.

Have fun with your projects and of course we need pictures.

One suggestion based on my experience with my small California compressor. always turn off the compressor when not in use.
I smelled burning electrics and found the the motor was starting to smoke a bit. Ended up there was a tiny bit of debris in the bleeder valve so when the compressor tried to start the cylinders were already under pressure so the motor stalled and overheated.
It is fine now. I had always wondered why the compressors vented after pumping.

[jim_mex]

Hi Rolf - I bought the Marietta through Amazon Mexico. I never thought to check if it showed on the US site. I use both of these sites quite a lot but where possible buy through the Mexico site even if items are listed as being imported because import duties and delivery charges where applicable are rolled into the listed price at check out.

Thanks for the tip on switching it off when not in use.

Ref. my clock face project. I'm still waiting for the client to approve his preferred design from a few I have drawn up but here's an interesting thing. When I costed out making wall clock faces from natural wood the cost frightened me. The faces need to be around 12" wide, either circular or square and after abandoning the idea of using wood boards edge glued together to get the width I called around to my local plywood supplier to see if they had any nice hardwood faced plywood. No such luck, they only had radiated pine which tended to look a bit cheap. As I was walking through the shop's showroom I took a look at some melamine coated MDF for another job I have coming up and it occurred to me that if I could engrave through the 1/4" melamine coated MDF they had available I could use a wood look design, of which they have many in their catalog, at a very much lower cost.

Back home last night I ran a test on a laminate flooring sample similar to the melamine. Assuming that there was a real risk of shadow burning the melamine around the engraving edges I first covered the surface with painter's tape and then engraved through that. As the test was engraving the painter's tape looked in a pretty sorry state but after I finished the engraving and removed the excess tape the result was pretty impressive and I now have a work around as an alternative to natural wood at a heck of a lot lower cost with the benefit that the clock face won't need any finishing other than a dusting over, which means I likely won't be needing that compressor and spray setup for this job!

My test.The skull image measures 4" in height

melamine test.jpg

[Rolf]

Great design!
I hope you vented the fumes to the outside! Lots of nasty stuff in melamine and probably the tape.