Tiger Tools... Part 3

[gilescooperuk]

Here is the third part of Steve Valentines tiger tools articles.

IT'S TOOL TIME ONCE AGAIN
Already in the list of TOP TIGER TOOLS are:-
1. A Large Hammer
2. An Angle Grinder
3. A Very Good Set of Drill Bits.
4. A Pair of Engineers Dividers.
5. Propane Gas Heater.
6. Deburring Tools.
And coming in as Tiger Tool No.7 we have...........
An Air Compressor & Air Tools
Yes, I know that this TIGER TOOL sounds expensive but please bare with me on this, and also try to remember that the cost of tools necessary for the build are NOT to be included in the build costs.
Tools purchased during the build are for the benefit of the entire household on future DIY projects and so, therefore, are to be included in the housekeeping budget.

On its own an air compressor is about as much use as a chocolate teapot. So you're going to need lots of shiny tools and useful accessories to make the best use of your new best friend.
The air tools & accessories that I found most useful were:-
   *1/2in Air Wrench.
   *3/8"chuck Air Drill.
*Air Nibbler.
*Air Riveter.
*10m Rubber Air Hose.
*Quick Release Couplings.

Tiger Tool No.7 - Air Compressor
For home & garage use you do not need a thumping great noisy 3-phase monster that dims the lights in the whole street every time that it starts up.
A 1½ – 2hp unit providing around 7 -10cfm (cubic feet/minute) of air with a 24 – 50litre air storage tank should be sufficient to run most tools for reasonable periods of time. On occasions when consistently drilling holes, or when air nibbling long cuts, it will be necessary to allow the compressor to rebuild pressure. This could be avoided by buying a bigger and better compressor, although 9 times out of 10 the smaller units will suffice.
These are quite compact units that only need a 13a supply and are easily hidden under the bench, necessary when you haven't yet explained to SWMBO the link between tools & housekeeping budgets.
I dismantled my donor and completed my build with the help of a 24ltr 2hp Wolf Air compressor from Screwfix at a cost of £99. During the build it was in almost constant use for days at a time but has continued to run very reliably since it was bought 2½ years ago.

Tiger Tool 7A – A ½in Square Drive Air Wrench. - Around £30
Ideally this would be the first tool to buy as it is so useful when stripping parts from the donor vehicle. It drastically speeds dismantling as bolts are swiftly spun out without constant ratcheting in sometimes difficult and inaccessible positions. The very nature of Tiger tolerances will ensure that many parts will be fitted, removed, then refitted and removed before being refitted again. This aspect of kit building is greatly eased, and speeded, with an air wrench.
I also found that incidences of bloodshed were reduced (assuming that she doesn't find your new toy!) as my knuckles and fingers remained remarkably intact for much longer than usual.
Don't confuse an air wrench with an impact wrench which is more bulky and largely unnecessary for the home mechanic. If a bolt is too tight for the air wrench use a breaker bar and socket set. 

Tiger Tool 7B – 3/8" Air Drill. - Around £30
The beauty of one of these little fellows is in its compact size and light weight. This allows holes to be drilled in places that would be inaccessible to your average mains electric or battery drill and is far less tiring to use, particularly when a typical day of 'Tiggering' can involve drilling, and deburring, hundreds of small holes. The handily sized 3/8" drill can handle most jobs, but when a larger bit (over 10mm), or more power is needed just revert back to your trusty Black & Decker.

Tiger Tool 7C – Air Nibbler – Around £40
This amazingly simple tool saves so much time & effort for the Tiger builder that it should be part of the 'comprehensive kit'.
We have all found out that the alloy panels supplied with our kits are woefully inaccurate and need either trimming or recutting from a fresh sheet of alloy.  Using tin snips to re-cut or trim is laboriously hard work and results in a very tatty appearance to the cut edges.
The 'nibbler' cuts cleanly, quickly and easily.
Accurate straight edges are obtained with the help of a straight edged guide clamped to the work piece & freehand curves are swiftly mastered. It can also nibble, as its name suggests, if there is a need to enlarge holes such as the exhaust cut-out in the side panel. It can cut aluminium & mild steel up to 1.2mm thick at a rate of 3000 strokes a minute.

Tiger Tool 7D – Air Riveter – Around £50
After 15 years of MX & Enduro induced injuries my fingers & wrists were in no fit state to hand rivet all of the panels onto the Tigers chassis. Therefore when I spotted this little beauty in the Machine Mart catalogue I had to have it. The ease with which this thing secures the rivets is amazing. It is 10 times easier than doing it by hand and also much neater as the rivet can be held tightly in place and then swiftly secured with the pull of a trigger. I know that it's not that difficult to put in pop rivets but when you are doing 50 – 100 at a time it sure makes your fingers ache. With the extra internal panelling and 'fairing in' that I fabricated and fitted my rivet count came to over 1000, and boy am I glad that I used the mechanical option.
There were occasions when the Air Riveters size meant that I had to resort to the manual option due to space constrictions, but that is the only downside that I found.


When using air tools & compressors it helps to remember that the tools need to be regularly (daily) lubricated with the proper oil due to the moisture in compressed air. I used the cheap option of filling an old oil can with compressor oil and each day put a squirt of oil into the inlet of each tool prior to starting work. A much neater solution is to fit an in line oiler and filter at around £25 which does it automatically.
Also the compressor air tank needs to be drained of all accumulated moisture and water each day, particularly after a busy day of using your shiny new air tools.
I realise that this little lot adds up to a tidy sum ( around £300 including airline & connections ) but I had always wanted air power in my workshop and the Tiger project was the perfect excuse to install it, remembering the housekeeping source of finance of course!!!
Next month I promise to return to a few cheaper options that will ease the birth of a Tiger.

Steve Valentine

[Ultra]

These are quite compact units that only need a 13a supply and are easily hidden under the bench, necessary when you haven't yet explained to SWMBO the link between tools & housekeeping budgets.