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I just searched and read some threads on air compressors, but did not see opinions on this question. What is you experience on Harbor Freight's air compressor quality. I don't want to buy import "junk", but with the large quantity of import stuff now on the market I assume some of it is decent. It is certainly cheaper.

The "Central Pneumatic" brand of air compressor in Harbor is one I am considering for spraying guitars mainly, but also driving some light tools for building jigs/guitars. What is your experience with this brand?

I can buy this new on sale "Central Pneumatic" oil-lube, 3 HP, 21 Gallon, 115 PSI Cast Iron Vertical Air Compressor, 7.0 SCFM @ 40 PSI, 4.9 SCFM @ 90 PSI, for $138.55 out the door of the store 4 miles from my home. Seems like a steal to me, even if the quality is not first rate. I assume it would last for a few years. It is shown here: http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/ite ... ompressors

I can buy this new "Central Pneumatic" oil-lube, 2 HP, 8 Gallon, 125 PSI Portable Air Compressor, 4.5 SCFM @ 90 PSI, 5.5 SCFM @ 40 PSI for $86.80 out the door. It is shown here: http://www.harborfreightusa.com/usa/ite ... emid=67501

I assume even the smaller one would do the job for spraying, but the bigger one would be more versatile and likely run less (less noise and longer wearing). The smaller one is only $52 cheaper but its advantage is being smaller to fit my small shop (less height allowing ti to go under something - foot print is about the same.) It would also be easier to wheel around.

Anyway, could I go very wrong with either of these cheap units. I think Harbor Freight also a replacement policy ($30) which would replace the compressor with a new one for the first 2 or 3 years. Worthwhile??

Thanks for your input in advance.

Ed

HF hardware, with very few exceptions, would frighten me. Buying cheap tools always costs more in the end since they do not last and one has to buy the real thing at some point.
Why don't you look on your local Craig's list? On mine there are tons of good compressors selling for dimes every week.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

I would not buy that hunk of junk. Chicago Neumatic/Central Neumatic produces garbage. Might work for occasional use and looks good in the shop. But eventually (after a week or two of steady use) they die. My uncle bought one and couldnt say enough bad things about it.

Laurent,

Thanks for the input. I did look on Craigslist this past week hoping (really, expecting) to find a good buy. Most were smaller or larger than I was looking for. But I was surprised at the asking prices. Much higher than what I expected. I have not given up on this source though.

Thanks,
Ed

If it has a motor on it from Harbor Freight I wouldn't use it. Go get an Ingersall rand . The smaller the compressor the more you will risk water vapor , and that is a big no no with finish spray. You can get a fair turbine unit for under $200. Tool and equipment is one area you don't want to scrimp on. Cheap tools ? There is no such thing. When you buy cheap tools , you end up buying that cheapie , only to have to replace it with the better unit you thought you couldn't afford.
How often did you buy a cheap tool and do nothing but gripe about it. Yet when you buy a good tool , did you ever complain about that ? Always buy the best you can afford.

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John Hall
blues creek guitars
Authorized CF Martin Repair
Co President of ASIA
You Don't know what you don't know until you know it

What amazes me is the similarity of air tools from HF and what is sold at Lowes and Home Depot. When it comes to motors, HF has issues, same as Grizz products. Buy the compressor, burn out the motor, replace with a baldor and you still come out ahead.

Ed, if you're looking for something specific, look everyday on Craig's list and you should easily find your compressor. Sellers often have unrealistic expectations -whereas for tools, houses or… guitars-, and talking the price down is part of bargain-hunting.
Mike, it's not only the motors that are of arguable quality on cheap tools like HF, it's everything. Designs can look similar, but construction and materials quality varies a lot.

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Laurent Brondel
West Paris, Maine - USA
http://www.laurentbrondel.com/

When you're looking for something specific, ask for it on CL. It's amazing what you can come up with, that way.

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https://soundcloud.com/jeffreylsuits/he ... -runnin-13

ditto on laurents reply.
i have an old ermaco comp that i bought used, 25 years ago, it's still works.
i also had an emglo, that worked well, but was noisy, and it got stolen.
i also have a roll-aire, which is medium noisy, (the ermaco used to be really quiet!)
i like the roll aire. never had any problems with it, except for the time a boulder fell off a cliff in front of me,
as i was driving, i ran into that boulder, and that roll-aire flew out of my truck.
i had to buy a few parts for it, and it still works.
the '49 chevy 5 window didn't do so good.
scrap-yard blues......

I have had a compressor from Harbor Freight since 2004 and it is still running fine. I only use if for spraying finishes and occasionally airing up a low tire on my cars. I don't build very many guitars, but so far it still does great. I recently bought a Shop Fox over arm pin router that uses the air to operate the plunge, so I will see how it works under a lot more use. The deal with harbor freight tools is that you get what you pay for, sometimes not even what you pay for, but if you are a professional shop that uses it day in and day out then don't even bother. If you are like me and use it occasionally, its hard to justify paying a lot more in my opinion.

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John Thiessen
http://www.iszacguitars.com

I recently sold an Ingersol Rand 2 cylinder 5 hp with an 80 gallon tank on craigslist. It was a two stage. I sold it for $500.00 to the first person who came to see it.

I replaced it with an Eaton 10 hp 3 cylinder two stage with a 120 gallon tank I found on craigslist that was a year old and retailed for over $3,600.00 with a refridgerant dryer. I got it for $1,400.00. So now I've only got $900.00 in the bigger one.

You have to check craigslist at least three times a day to find the bargins before someone else does.

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"Try to be the person your dog thinks you are."

http://sites.google.com/site/bertsguitarshop/

Wow, Harbor Freight gets a pretty bad rap on here!

I bought a lot of Harbor Freight tools when I was first putting together my woodshop. A drill press, a combination belt sander/disc sander, a bandsaw, and many other tools. Some of them did not hold up over the years, but most held up exceptionally well. None of them have terribly tight tolerances, so I wouldn't buy them if I was going for a high-precision tool. But overall, I knew what I was getting when I bought them, and even taking into account all the tools that fell apart and let me down, I feel like I got very good bang for the buck with my Harbor Freight tools.

It's been many years since then, and I've had the good fortune of being able to upgrade my tools to the higher end of the spectrum. The only major tool I still own that has a Harbor Freight label on it is my combination belt/disc sander (and after seventeen years, it's still working very well). I enjoy having higher quality tools. But if I were not in a financial position to get the higher-end tools, I would not hesitate to make do with a Harbor Freight compressor until I had the ability and desire to upgrade.

By the way . . . One other thing that gets a bad rap on most woodworking forums is buying a cheap tool for now and spending more money upgrading later on. We've all heard "buy once, cry once." And that's a good motto. But at the same time, it's not the end of the world to buy a cheaper tool while you learn how to make it work for you, and then upgrade when you have not only the financial ability, but also the knowledge to know what you want in the tool. I have a Delta 18/36 drum sander, which is an OK sander. (It has the infamous belt tracking problem.) I'm looking forward to upgrading that to a wide-belt (hopefully soon). But if I hadn't had the Delta, and if I had tried to buy my "dream sander" the ffirst time out, there's a good chance I would have spent a lot of money and gotten either too much or too little of a sander. It's not the end of the world to upgrade here and there.