Power Tools

Air tools are driven by compressed air, which is supplied by an electric or petrol/diesel compressor via an airline hose usually made from nylon or rubber. Air power tools are particularly popular with the garage trade including tyre shops and body shops. Air drills are used for drilling holes. For example fitting number plates, drilling out damaged bolts and screws. Air impact wrenches are used for fitting and removing nuts and bots. For example wheel studs from cars, vans and trucks.
 
Air sanders come in different shapes and are usually found in body shops for removing rust and smoothing body filler. Air saws are used for cutting metal panels and air steam will also be used. Air grinders will be used for sanding and grinding metal. In assembly situations, an air riveter saves time and effort.
 
Another popular air tool is the air spray gun used to apply coloured or clear finishes to metal and wooden surfaces. Machinery owners will find the air grease gun a useful tool and air sealant gun is a great time saver when sealing panels on trucks and trailers. The air nail gun is very popular with manufacturers of timber framed homes and garden sheds. Carpenters are also regular users of air nailers. The upholstery trade also uses air staples to attach the coverings to furniture.
 
Professional users and DIY users use electric power tools. The wide availability of reasonably priced power tools led to large increase in the numbers of people doing their own home improvements. The tools used by professional users are usually stronger and higher specification than those used by home users.
 
Electric drills are used mainly to produce holes in metal, wood and concrete. Electric drills are usually equipped with a variable speed switch and reverse and may be used for screw driving or removing screws.
 
An angle drill is used in confined spaces. Mixing drills are equipped with very large motors and are used for mixing paint, adhesive and plaster. Hammer action drills are used for making holes in concrete. There are many attachments available for electric drills; including drill stands to ensure vertical holes are drilled. Hole saws for large holes, wire brushes for rust removal, grinding stones for sharpening tools, sanding discs and sanding drums for surface preparation and paint removal.
 
Flexible shafts and angle attachments are available to help drill in confined areas. There are mini drills for precision work. For faster drilling in concrete, use drills with electro-pneumatic action; they usually have SDS facility, which allows for faster changing of the drill bits.
 
Another variation of this is the demolition hammer, which has electro pneumatic action and is used for chiselling and breaking down concrete walls. Electric saws come in several types. Those with a circular blade for cutting in a straight line, jig saws for straight and curve cutting, sabre saws are a stronger variation of the jig saw and are used for demolition. All of these are portable and hand held.
 
The electric mitre saw uses a circular blade and this can be used to cut at different angles. They're portable but not hand held. A useful accessory for the mitre saw is the mitre saw stand which offers support for the material being cut and saves the user from getting down on the floor to use the saw. Another variation of the circular saw is the track saw. Where the circular saw moves along a guide rail, which is laid, on the material being cut to give a straight accurate cut.
 
The electric planer is also a really useful tool. It saves a lot of time and effort when hanging doors for example. They are easier to set up than a hand plane and the blades are made from Tungsten Carbide (TCT) and are disposable. When used with the rebate fence one can cut rebates in wood for jointing pieces of wood or overlaps on pairs of wooden doors.
 
One of the most versatile power tools is the electric router. This machine is used for creating grooves, rebates and moulding with wood. It can also be used for planing small sections of wood, also dovetail joints when used with the correct jig.
 
Routers can be used for routing the recess in a door for mortice locks, recesses for hinges in doors also. Kitchen worktops may be joined using a router and worktop jig. The electric router may be fitted to a router table. This enables the use of longer router cutters and makes some processes safer and faster.
 
Electric sanders come in various types, belt sanders for linear sanding such as joinery sections and small areas of flooring; orbital sanders for preparing for paintwork and random orbital sanders are popular with furniture producers. They are usually supplied with a dust bag to collect the dust created by their use.

Power Tools Ireland

If one has any of the above electric power tools a very useful extra power tool is the workshop vacuum cleaner. This can be attached to the power tools via a flexible rubber connector and most have automatic switching. The automatic switch switches the power tool on when the switch on the vacuum is activated if they are plugged in to one another.
 
Electric nibblers and sheers are used to cut sheet metal quickly. The electric angle grinder is used for cutting metal, also concrete sections on tiles. The most popular sizes are 230mm or 115mm (this is the disc size). These machines may also be used for grinding and polishing metals and stone. Another variation of the angle grinder is the electric cut off saw which uses an abrasive disc on a moving head to cut material that has been clamped to the base.
 
In the engineering workshops the electric die grinder is a really useful tool employing a TCT rotary tool to shape steel on flap disc for sanding and polishing. Some companies offer electric staple and nail guns, the maximum staple or nail is usually about 40/50mm.
 
Electric airless spray guns offer a convenient way of painting or applying varnish to surfaces. Some specialist manufacturers supply machines for biscuit jointing, dowel jointing, morticing, lock morticing.
 
Pyrographs are an electric tool for burning designs on wood. Electric wood carving machines take the pain out of repetitive chiselling when carving. We also find electric power tools useful in the garden; electric hedge trimmers are very popular as are electric grass trimmers for the edge of lawns. The electric lawnmower is good if you have a small garden. The electric blower vacuum picks up garden debris and compacts it into a bag. The electric mulcher chops up small branches and leaves to produce mulch, which is good to reduce the growth of weeds and hold moisture in the ground.
 
Battery powered tools have been around for over 40 years and are the fastest growing sector of power tools. Nearly every type of mains tool is available cordless or battery powered. They start off with batteries from 3.6 volt up to 36 volt. There are many types of batteries, Nimh, Nicad and the Lithium Ion being the better type of battery. The Li-Ion battery offers more flexibility in charging and recharging and is lighter and lasts longer.
 

Power Tools Ireland: Joe Mckenna is a provider of power tools such as angle grinder blades, angle grinder discs, cordless drills, battery drills, sds max drills, points, chisels, core drills, rotary hammers, hammer drills, magnetic drills, planers, soldering irons, biscuit jointers, drivers, plaster mixers, disc sanders, pad sanders, palm sanders, engravers, jigsaws, nailguns, nails, staples, polishers, electric screwdrivers and silicone guns.
We provide power tools to areas such as Limerick, Dublin, Cork, Waterford, Galway, Clare, Wexford, Kilkenny, Tipperary, Donegal, Belfast, Westmeath, Meath, Kerry, Carlow, Wicklow, Offaly, Roscommon, Sligo, Mayo, Louth, Monaghan, Cavan, Leitrim, Kildare, Laois, the Midwest, Ulster, Munster, Leinster and Connaught. Call us today to find out more about our powertools and electrical power tools at 061 413888.