 Fox finally got that air compressor he’s wanted. Might have taken a little bit to get the hang of it…
If you’re not familiar with compressors in the workshop (because I wasn’t – I only knew about them in relation to airbrushes), it’s basically a big power source for tools, like the staple gun here. Hook it up to the compressor via hose, and it’s powered by bursts of compressed air.
In before “Team Actually trying to educate people on air compressors”
And before anyone asks: Despite the color scheme she chose, neither of those tools are Dewalt.
In fact, thinking about it, they’re both red and black.
If you’re a tool guy, you don’t need to ask.
I like the little gag of the air hose breaking the wall between the last two panels.
Lol! I didn’t even notice that! 😀
Ah the sacrifices Fox must deal with for Seley’s artistic license. I think she has orange on the brain after that powder incident….
It is one of my favorite colors!
I have ruined more than one set of nice aluminum sawhorses that way. I always forget to change the depth after switching from 8 pennies to spikes.
I once had a Hitachi nail gun; as you know, the safety has to be fully depressed to activate the trigger, but as a first time user I thought I had the hang of it (i’ve shot guns before; piece of cake)
After going full auto, I have yet to find the other three nails I sent sailing around the garage.
So basically, Fox is like a more destructive version of Mr. Fixit
I really hope Fox is using ear-protection of some sort, for compressors are LOUD! When I use mine, I usually work outside the garage, with the compressor inside, connected with an extra-long hose.
The decibels produced by compressors vary widely.
While safety is at the forefront of most of our endeavors, and my PPE is hanging right by the door as I walk into the shop, this compressor is relatively quiet. Quiet enough that I can work without my ‘ears’ on, though I’m generally listening to headphones.
For reference, my circular saw is far louder and will cause my ears to ring if I don’t wear protection.
But yes, the plan is to move the compressor to a sound-dampened room, run a line to the hose spool I have and use tools from there.
The loudest tool in my barn is an old surface planer. I have to wear plugs *and* earmuffs if I have a lot of wood to mill. Compared to that, my compressor is downright quiet.
. Just waking up; now I do so with a nice laugh. TY is owed.
A fox after my own heart. I’m in the middle of a ton of construction/roofing work. I *need* that airgun, like, reeeal bad.
I just watch for deals on certain websites.
This is a stop-gap compressor and I got the gun pretty cheap.
Just don’t sacrifice the quality to offset the cost. Get good name brands with good reviews, for the best price possible.
So…typical Iron Triangle:
Good
Fast
Cheap
Pick two.
In the case of my recommendation…it might take a while. 🙂
… Milwaukee?
Thats what I thought at first, but I don’t think they make small compressors.
Porter Cable’s compressors are red and black.
Milwaukee – red and black
Craftsman – red and black
Porter Cable – red and black
Black and Decker – red-orange and black
Ridgid – orange and black
Not sure of other brands with red-and-black (or close) color schemes. I’m guessing Craftsman is the brand Fox has.
Wow, I screwed that up. That’s what I get for just trying to come up with something quick to say so I could get back to work.
I completely forgot about Craftsman. Ever since their quality started to decline I only use them for handtools and the lifetime warranty.
And Milwaukee is branded into my head as “red & white” because I only look at their logo. Great tools, but when I spend that much a tool, I get a Makita.
The two tools pictured are PC. I’ve no complaints about them so far.
What was Fox building?
A new panel for the comic now
A fence, I guess. Sort of.
Framing lattice for around the HVAC unit. I don’t blame Mandy for not wanting to draw all those lines.
Makes sense. I was just wondering cuz you didn’t seem all to concerned about the wood being crushed, but that was just too much wood for you to be screwing around with a new tool 🙂
I don’t think I ever fully understood the “Team Actually” thing. It’s just any time somebody mentions a fact about something? Or is it more specific than that?
I’ve never heard it before this commentary, so I’m with you.
I had it burned into my memory as “Team Actually”, but it’s actually called The Actually Squad.
Pun intended.
“Actually, the most likely problem here is incorrect staple length, but even if that’s not it, I wouldn’t immediately assume a pressure problem, I think Fox just didn’t correctly tighten the connections, it takes exactly six and three-eighths turns to get the right seal…”
It’s not a problem to bring up facts (like talking about which tool brands are red and black) or talk about things (like people here comparing compressors/tool stories) or even criticize the comic (like wondering what he’s building, it’s a fair point that I didn’t make it clear here) – but it’s hard not to find it a little tedious when “oops, did something incorrectly!” is the entire basis of the joke.
“Fox follows proper safety protocol 100% of the time and nothing goes wrong” would be a really dull comic, after all! 😀
That seems like an awfully small air compressor for Fox. No real shop is complete without air driven tools.
Our workshop is powered by a Campbell-Hausfield compressor. The shop and hangar are piped for compressed air at multiple outlets. The compressor is located in the Compressor Room along with the air tanks.
When you live in a townhouse, you learn to live within constraints.
For half the price we paid for this townhouse, we could have a farm and a large single family home with a ‘compressor room’.
But then I’d have an hour long commute every day, rather than ten minutes.
In my experience, a large tank is only necessary if your compressor can’t keep up with you.
If my demands on it increase, I’ll switch to a Makita bigbore or just build a belt driven two-stroke and put it behind some baffles.
I know what you mean. I’m looking at a townhouse that’s literally a ten minute walk from my office right now. Right now my commute is 45 minutes by express bus. The buses are comfy but the amount of time sucks-especially in 100+ degree heat.
The reason that we had the air system installed was at the time, Dad was building an airplane and the system had several machines connected to it. Most of the machines have been removed and disposed of since that plane was written off in a crash about a year ago.
Mandy, your artistic talent and attention to detail never ceases to amaze me. I love the way you depicted Fox’s safety goggles. That little “reflection” not only gives them depth and accents the curvature, they LOOK like they’re made of polycarbonate. 🙂 🙂 🙂
As to compressor size, nail/staple guns use short burst pulses of air to drive them. That apparent size compressor (8-10gal?) should be able to handle up to a framing gun driving 4″ nails w/o much if any problem.
Now if he were using an air sander, impact wrench or die grinder, something needing constant flow volume as well as pressure, that’s another story. I have a 30gal Campbell Hausfeld in my garage that handles every air tool I have. Found it at a yard sale for $50…..in excellent condition.
I’ve got a Lego backhoe that runs on a pneumatic system – I gave the compressor too many pumps once and one of the hoses shot off.
So, yeah, just like what happened to Fox, though perhaps in my case, less destruction was caused… although putting the hose back on was a pain in the proverbial.
BTW, love the Compres-A brand.
I found the Compres-A brand amusing as well. 🙂
I found a ‘Kompressor’ badge in a local junk yard and stuck it on my shop compressor. 😛
A subsidiary of Yay! Brands. 🙂
I haven’t gone back into the archives for awhile, but the art evolution looks great.
An air compressor powered nail gun just isn’t noisy enough, is all… For real fun you need a Hilti gun (powered by .22 blanks.)
Best of all, Hilti is also red-and-black! Bonus!
SUUUUURE…..that’s all kindza fun so long as Fox wants to either drive the nails completely thru the wood and into the floor/his foot…..or fasten the framework to the sawhorses/workbench. :-p 😉
But they ARE noisy. 🙂
Or maybe put a nail in someone who happens to be REALLY annoying. We all know someone like that. Also would be extremely hilarious until they sue.
Lolz autocorrect u funny. Correcting “sue” to “die”
Mmm, it’s been awhile since I last checked in.
This one makes me think of when I was building a doghouse for my labs awhile back. My dad and I put in a light, some insulation and everything.
The insulation lasted half a day before it entered one of the dogs’ stomachs.
We used to have insulation on the walls in our basement, but our dog had other thoigts
Yeah, the owners manual for most of he air tools I’ve bought as an auto mechanic all recomend 90 psi. What do I do? hook them to a big industrial shop air system that makes 150 psi. And instead of a regulator to bring it down, I go and buy a mini air dryer to deal with the moisture that inevitably gets in.