Any luck buying used air tools?

03protege · Apr 15, 2013

I've been wanting some nice air impacts and an air hammer for some time now and have been considering the HF Earthquake models, but I was wondering if anyone has picked up a good working air tool from the pawn shop.

Pretty much all the air tools I see at pawns looks WELL used on the exterior and still cost close to $100 but today I spied and Ingersol Rand Titanium model that I really like.

They had the 3/8" which I believe the model number is 2115QTI and the bigger brother that looked identical only in 1/2" drive.

Any advice? I'm just a avid DIYer so I don't need the best, I just want it.

Also what is the skinny on Mac air tools, I see them more than anything else.

DandDMachine · Apr 16, 2013

I have done OK buying used air tools. Had a few lemons but most have been good. I have never bought any from a pawn shop though the ones around here want retail prices or better for their stuff.
My best story is at a Swap Meet. Guy has a 1/2" CP impact on the table with a $5 sticker on it. He says it worked fine but hasn't used it in a couple months. I check it over as much as you can without an air hose and figure $5 is worth a shot. Got it back to the shop put a few drops of oil in it and its stronger than my Mac and my Ingersoll. That cancels out a few of them that just barely worked.

oldtools · Apr 16, 2013

I seem to have pretty good luck with used air tools. I bought about 20 used air tools that work except for 3 of them (Snap On grinder, Sioux grinder, CP impact wrench). I seem to have bad luck with grinder since they spin at such a high speed. I did finally bought a Dotco grinder that work.

HaroRider · Apr 16, 2013

I think I can honestly said I have only bought one new air tool. It was an IR 1/2 air ratchet.

All the rest I have gotten used off Ebay, CL, and on here.

billymade · Apr 16, 2013

All of my air tools are used; impacts, drills, die grinders, sanders, etc. are usually fine (worst case I have to take them apart clean, put back together) but generally air ratchets need head kits or a rebuild. You can get a ton of air tools for very little dough; pro tools are cheap prices... whats not like?

Jawn · Apr 16, 2013

Rodac 3/8" reversible air drill, $25
IR 1/4" stubby ratchet, $20.

Both work great.

DodgeMech · Apr 16, 2013

i've got three used air tools, a blue point air ratchet from the pawn shop, a cornwell 1/2 inch impact from the classifieds here, and a refurb mg325 from snappy...none of em has ever given me any complaints, and i hammer the piss outta em...just gotta either know what you're doin or just get lucky like i do haha...

redline380 · Apr 16, 2013

i bought a used mac aw4400 from the mac guy for $25. works great. its nothing special and i dont have enough air to power it properly but i tried it down at a diesel shop and it works just fine. can't complain about the price

Thunderbisciut · Apr 16, 2013

Most of mine are used. This is what I do when I get them:
Depress the trigger and put a good amount of oil in there (I use Marvel Air Tool Oil)
Hook it up to air, cover the exhaust with a rag, and give the throttle a quick blip
Depress the trigger and fill it with more oil
Let it sit for a while (at least 5 minutes)
Hook it up to air, cover the exhaust with a rag, and run it for a bit
Take it apart and check its health

I've had to replace a few seals, grease some parts, and replace a crankshaft on a ratchet, but most are good to go. In fact most look brand new, and were a fraction of the cost of a new one.

Stay away from tools with broken parts like cases, housings, anvils, motors, etc. Some of these parts can be very costly. For example, replacement blades for my CP shear cost more than buying a whole brand new tool <--makes perfect sense. Air tools are very simple creatures, and exploded diagrams are all over the place for them.

sberry · Apr 16, 2013

I usually buy new, I wouldnt pass on something at a price you stole it if it was convenient but brand name tools are very competitive for some of the commons, impacts and ratchets and I am not in to repair and reman of a bunch of half worn out where its fuzzy to get a little part,,, or got to buy a 50$ kit and work on it while a new one is a 100 out of the box.

I am not an import fan here and probably cause I have not used them but there are other places they are fine even super. I dont care how much you pay for a grinder none beat that HF 4 inch by a pinch of **** and probably not then. This one is sold worldwide under lots of brand names, never had to so much as tighten a loose screw on one.

You can buy a 9 dollar straight at HF but its junk compared to this red thing at 30$,, I wouldnt trade it in a blind test for a 300$ one and I got a couple. I did repair the 7 inch sander, I put a bearing in the head, was a generic thing I had on the shelf, it lasted so long prior to that I had planned on toss and replace method but its worked years since.

sberry · Apr 16, 2013

For a common hobby garage, even some light biz or farm you couldnt put enough air thru that 4 inch to wear it out. Compressor would **** first I bet. I handed a man a 10 yr old tool, he ran it for 2 months cleaning a machine, a couple dozen wheels thru it, felt like when we started. I bet one of them has a hundred hours on it, probably twice that. I get by so havnt invested in a couple more to keep different cut off wheels on, other new tools have took a lot of load from that.

chris142 · Apr 16, 2013

All overpriced and worn out junk here. I bought a couple over the years and neither were any good. At least they give a 14day warranty and I was able to return them.

IngyHere · Apr 16, 2013

I bought air tools from a pawn shop through Ebay. I got an old Snap-on die grinder, and it was missing the chuck insert which Snappy no longer sold. It was too much trouble to send back, and I finally found something that fit at an old IR authorized repair center.

I bought a couple others, too, from online pawn shops. One was an IR111 3/8" air ratchet -- A fine tool, but it bound up after using it for 6 hours. The IR shop charged me $25 to hone out the rust. Another was an IR2131 1/2" air gun -- Another fine tool but it was worn to hell. It worked but had only about 50 percent power until the shop replaced the rotor and vanes. These IR tools were older models not made or available anymore.

Why? I don't like cheap import ****, and it seems only the good stuff is available used. I'd rather get good stuff, and have it fixed. The tools I found were either MUSA or Japanese and are the finest tools when working properly.

Pawn shops charge outrageous prices, but you can often bargain with them. I wouldn't buy anything there unless it's something special that cannot be found elsewhere. Most pawn shops don't have the expertise to know a good tool. Definitely never tell them that you actually want something they have or that it has any value whatsoever, they won't bargain and will raise the price.

Personally, I'd only buy from a pawn shop if the things I wanted were unavailable elsewhere. Then, I'd look it over real closely and expect something near the Ebay average price.

RECox286 · Apr 16, 2013

Most of my air tools come direct from HF, with some exceptions. I

have a 3/8 impact from SO, and a 1/2 impact that I refurbed myself

from 2 (CP) that were in the trash at a repair shop. Can't say anything

bad about any of them. If you aren't willing to take a used one

apart to at least clean it up, then you may as well stay away from

the ones that look really abused.

Uncle Bob

X1 Mike · Apr 16, 2013

I bought one of these at a flea market for $40

http://www.matcotools.com/catalog/product/MT1769A/1-2-COMPOSITE-IMPACT-WRENCH/

My all time best used tool score. It is a hard hitting S.O.B.

crewchief888 · Apr 16, 2013

it's been hit and miss over the years, most of my air tools were bought brand new off a tool truck, the used ones i bought were trade in's off the truck.

i had an air ratchet **** out after a couple weeks, no biggie, it was $10, rodac die grinder was missing a collet, $5 "deal", i sold it to somebody that needed parts , and got my $5 back.

bought a couple sanders, used them for a while, and made a couple bucks on them when i sold them to fellow employees.

:beer:

Fordman7795 · Apr 16, 2013

Got my mg725 off ebay for $150. Lightly used, works great, i love it. As a general rule the inside of the tool is in about the same shape as the outside.

vintagefan · Apr 17, 2013

Fordman7795 said:
Got my mg725 off ebay for $150. Lightly used, works great, i love it. As a general rule the inside of the tool is in about the same shape as the outside.

That is sage advice for used air tools.

On other tools, it may not be so much the same, but this is one case where that holds quite well.

fflintstone · Apr 17, 2013

I only have around a 50% success rate with used air tools. I recently bought a nice looking dynabrade DA of ebay and it didn’t work till I spent 15 min’s putting PB blaster air tool oil in it and working it back and forth. Often the PB blaster works wonders, but most often the triggers end up not working. Item will not shut off after you will release the trigger.
I bought 3 IR 231’s off CL for a good price. The one I kept works fine but one of the two others I got for a friend need a rebuild.

ianguilly · Apr 17, 2013

Bought a used snappy PH3050A from a pawn shop, oiled it up it worked great.

Any luck buying used air tools?

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