I was so deprived as a kid, not ever having a meccano set.
It is a wonder I managed to get an engineering degree at all.
😉 Now that I have managed to get myself completely disowned 😉 there are still ways we can get to play putting stuff together in many different configurations, easily, while achieving a desired outcome.
There is Ikea for some, but that isn’t particularly useful in a workshop setting.
What we need is a kit, full of all the fittings and items needed to fit out a workshop with something productive and useful. We (at least the majority of us) are not allowed to play with electricity, but there is nothing stopping us playing with compressed air!
Picked up my master kit and extra fittings I needed from Professional Woodworkers Supplies today, and had a bit of a look through all the fitting, bits’n’pieces etc that it comes with.
Only real problem I see, is it is going to be a bit too easy to put together, and running a permanent air supply system around the workshop will be a bit too rapid. (See what I did there? It is called RapidAir after all 😉 )
The outlets get screwed together- everything into a machined aluminium block. There are taps provided for each outlet to drain condensation out of the lines. The connecting hose fits tool-lessly from point to point, manifold to connector, connector to outlet etc.
Extra outlets, connectors, hose are all available as extras, so you can get the main kit, then supplement it as your workshop requires.
Now you can have a compressed air system throughout, with outlets right where you need them.
Who needs meccano play sets, when we can get something like this to ‘play’ with, setting up the workshop!
Filed under: Manufactures and Suppliers, Shed, Shed Build, Tools | Tagged: manifold, meccano, Outlet, Pneumatic, RapidAir, Workshop Setup |
I always worry about an air leak developing when I am not there, so I have a central switch that switches off everything when I leave the shop, (apart from the lights and the dust extractor), including my compressor. And I use a single hose, so that I have to remove the tool from the supply to use something else or put the hose away, and never end up with a live nail gun lying around by mistake. Cool system though. Are you going to put little hoses on each outlet, or little hoses on each tool?
Hi Max,
One of the things the electricians did for me while wiring up the external switch (that will be used for the air compressor) was to add an isolating switch inside the shed, so I can turn it on and off without having to remember to go to the other shed.
Not quite the same as isolating all the power supply to the shed each time I leave as you do, but hopefully the convenience will be enough.
Really have not decided how to deal with the hose situation yet. The self-coiling hoses would be a way to go, but the ones I have seen (and had) so far, feel wrong (cheap, inflexible, tangle) so will have to think about that side of things some more.