Adam Savage's Favorite Tools: Reciprocating Air Saw!
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- Опубліковано 5 лют 2025
- Chicago Pneumatic Lightweight Reciprocating Air Saw: amzn.to/3bRaWLt
Ingersoll Rand Low Vibration Reciprocating Air Saw: amzn.to/30a7p5b
Air Saw Blades: amzn.to/3dUsmcG
Adam shares an essential tool he learned about while working at ILM's modelshop: the trusty reciprocating air saw. It's perfect for making fast work of cutting urethane parts for costume armor or prop building, with precise control that you get from a hand tool. And it's one of the relatively safer air-powered tools to get started with in a small workshop. Adam has a range of them in his shop, and they're all equally useful!
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![Underwater Pneumatic Reciprocating Saw [Restoration]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/t7In-zbH42I/mqdefault.jpg)
Chicago Pneumatic Lightweight Reciprocating Air Saw: amzn.to/3bRaWLt
Ingersoll Rand Low Vibration Reciprocating Air Saw: amzn.to/30a7p5b
Air Saw Blades: amzn.to/3dUsmcG
Disclaimer: Tested may earn an affiliate commission when you buy through the links here.
I am here
Yes
What kind of air hose are you using, Adam? I haven't seen one that flexible prior to this video.
Adam you have to try the Aircat air saw,I've tried just about every saw on the market, hands down the best,more compact and durable than any other I've tried,and I use them daily
HF tools are only worth buying if you buy them at HF.
I love seeing Adam's progression from Mythbuster to super creator/Cave dweller/master explainer. So glad he didn't disappear after MB's ended. I learned so much from his TV show but I honestly feel like I've learned more from Tested the past few years!
me too!
I like listening to masters discuss their craft candidly.
Totally agreed! I've never been much of a maker but watching Adam on Tested (especially in the last year) has me thinking about building up a workshop sometime soon.
@@kilroy987 There are few places one can experience such things. I'm thankful it's available here.
When you are shopping for these saws, you want to make sure it is a dual acting piston. NOT a spring return single acting piston, you can check which it is by manually moving the blade if the blade can stop in any position it is dual acting. If it returns under tension to one side it is spring return. The spring return type is much easier to stall in cuts.
Very useful tip, cheers!
Is the CHICAGO ELECTRIC 120 Volt Electric Body Saw (item no 65766) a spring or Dual Action?
@@StuffTested my comment applies to pneumatic saws only, I would assume all electric saws will be powered in both directions.
@Jeremy Klein so which one do i buy?
take your favourite hacksaw blade and cut it to size - will work in these saws much better than the average/below average blades you're "supposed to use" or suffer using....
I like how every one of these saws sounds like the horn in a clown car.
Saw goes beep beep!
If you ever cut your finger off, give 2 good toots afterwards so it's funny.
😂😂
Just to add a correction, Chicago Pneumatic is a good brand, the harbor freight name knockoff is Central Pneumatic. Would love to see a Milwaukee M12 version of one of these.
Came here to say this. Harbor Freight sells electric tools under the "Chicago Electric" brand, which is probably where Adam is getting confused.
Correct...Chicago Pneumatic is owned by Atlas Copco (one of IR's major competitors in the commercial pneumatic market): en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chicago_Pneumatic
That said, you can score decent tools at Harbor Freight, but a lot depends on who they have making them; I've had more luck with their hand tools than their air and electric tools, but, even there, I've had some decent ones.
So, the question remains: how bad is the central pneumatic knockoff?
@@BenODen If it is made in Taiwan it is probably pretty good. Mainland China is more of a crap shoot. My Blue Point air saw is made in Taiwan. It's OK.
This needs to be pinned to the top
Adam: "I'm not sure if they make an electric version of this"
Milwaukee rep: (head pops out from around the corner taking notes)
Ryobi close behind with that damn 18 One+ line - another tool for the 37 batteries!!
Sawzall "What am I, chopping liver?"
@@cabe_bedlam To be fair, I'd have a hard time holding a Sawzall in the air cutting plastic parts with it. I've had mine a long time, though, maybe they're lighter now.
@@PostalTwinkie really do love the Ryobi stuff. I get mocked until people try them and then I have another convert.
@@shannahmiller these things are tiny and much more controllable than a sawzall.
I know them as pneumatic body saws. They were invented by the aviation industry to cut patch holes in sheet metal panels without damaging the rest of the panel. In autobody repair we use them for basically that same purpose....Though after watching this vid I'm gonna defiantly try the thing out on some plastic first chance I get. And yes though I've never tried one Harbor Freight Tools does have an electric version.
Adam says, “ This is one of my favorite tools.” I do believe each tool he uses is his favorite tool. Just shows me the respect and craftsmanship he displays for his tools. Wouldn’t it be a shocker if he would say, “I can’t stand this tool ..........”.
Thanks my friend you are truly an inspiration and a true maker!
I will stand in tool isle for a long while deciding between the pneumatic and power version of a tool, you're not the only one!
Can we all appreciate the amount of content he posts, double uploads a ton and like never misses an upload. Loved watching mythbusters, savage builds, and obviously tested. The amount of effort and time he puts into his shows and videos is crazy props to Adam. Been watching since 2009 I am 16 now. Absolutely insane.
Super old video but as a mechanic what I was told is, pneumatic tools have a longer duty cycle and handle being under load better. Specifically, when you bare down hard on an electric tool and you hear the RPM's slow due to the pressure/load, you are damaging the bushings and shortening the overall life of the tool. Pneumatic tools don't care about how much pressure is applied and they can handle very hard loads/RPM decreases without damaging the internal components.
Awesome too see Adam Savage likes AVE. Was totally not expecting him getting mentioned. Keep your stick on the ice my man 🤙
the button press air hose connectors are a great shop addition. They eliminate the need for whip checks (Safety For Accidental Release of Hoses while under pressure) and they are super convenient. They make it less of a hassle to connect and disconnect hoses. Might be worth a shot. Ive used air saws in most production sheet metal shops for cutting fancy shapes. The control of a band saw with the portability of pneumatics. I havent found any that are battery powered to be worth it. Maybe if your main materials to cut were plastics/fiberglass a battery option would work when air hose was too much of a hassle to setup. but if you have a plumbed shop then no need to switch over. if it isnt broken dont fix it unless its a noticable quality of life change. I like these videos where you show some of your productions tools and methods. An air saw for example is an uncommon tool that can make allot of task easier. I love seeing you share the weird industry specific tools that are not common place. It helps other makers out know what works. Maybe not what to buy but how to solve a problem easily. You can get allot of pnumatics like air saws and other odd ball tools at local pawn shops for pennies on the dollar. A great place to look first when needing some specific tool for a one off job.
For many of the pneumatic tools I use, being able to afford not just the tool itself but the strain relief swivel (as is on your Chicago Pneumatic saw) makes a huge difference in how easily the job gets done. I really enjoy hearing about the tools you use and your shop organization.
Adam I agree these are by far one of the best tools I have ever owned. I have been using one for about 15 years and finally just repaired mine in an upcoming video I made. One of the things you should know about blades is, if the blade is thin enough it will fit. I have cut handles off of cheap knives from the dollar store and for the fun sliced bread, used saw blades. Your not just limited to buying hack saw blades. CP7900 is a great saw I have owned that model for years.... Awesome video and absolutely awesome tool....
The Japanese pull saws you introduced have been amazing!!!
We remodeled our kitchen and opted to use them instead of power tools, it was a much more pleasant experience. I could work in the kitchen while someone watched TV without a disturbance. The mess was also far more contained! They would have never been on my radar without Tested. What they are capable of doing is also incredible - with such little effort to use.
A bit off topic, but your comments at the start about saw blades brought it up.
Try a gomboy saw in the garden or while camping It’s basically a double action pull saw so it acts like a regular saw bit cuts very fast with no effort
AvE mentioned, that is very skookum of you
Loving the use of Chinook Jargon. I bet you know how to pronounce Puyallup correctly.
yes, you caught that too... Adam knows how to chooch
The empire 'o dirt represent!
I was thinking the same thing when he said AvE; I was like I have to comment about this! Thank you for doing it already!
She chooches
Adam is probably the only famous person that can show you all this cool stuff without being like ”look at all my cool stuff" not arrogant about it or anything so humble and genuine
At this point I'm convinced that every tool he has is 'one of his favourite tools' ...
If the tool you’re using isn’t your favourite one, then why are you using it? 🤷♂️
@@Dust76tr Because it's not good to hammer nails in with a heat gun.
@@Merennulli not with that attitude
@@GuilhermeLima-mi8nt I'm not saying I haven't done it.
As a metal fab shop owner we have lots of air die grinders that we use single and double cut burs to grind aluminum and steel. Up till this point we always had a problem with the bur catching the hole wrong and violently rattling around the hole which intern knocks off a couple of edges off the bur. We just bought a Dewalt battery powered die grinder that has 3 total speed ranges and also a variable trigger. I don't know if it's the weight of the tool or slightly less rpms but that catching of the bur wrong in the hole completely went away when we used the electric one. It does seem to cut just as fast but with less problems. Also it's a taller tool so you have a broader hand placement for greater control.
I have a Chicago pneumatic air saw at work and have had no issues with it in an industrial environment. Oil it a couple times a week and it works well.
i like how he goes 'wanna see it work? I'll just grab this piece of a project I have been working on and lop a piece of for you'
One of my favorite tools for a long time now. I love them when cutting in tight areas. Work well on sheet metals too.
We used them in aircraft mods. Everything with aircraft is tight places. So yes they are fantastic.
I've used reciprocating air-saws at tech school in an automotive program, and it really is very nifty, because it is far smaller and lighter than the electric versions.
Bosch, Suhner, Dotco, Cleco, Festool, Mirka, 3M, Chicago Pneumatic, some Ingersoll Rand tools, National Detroit, Dynabrade , Sioux and Nitto Kohki are all great quality brands for pneumatic tools.
Dynabrade is an American brand and well regarded in the automotive industry. I got great deals on Bosch and Suhner pneumatic tools at an auction. Unlike many of their consumer electric power tools, Bosch's pneumatic tools are made in Germany. Suhner is a Swiss brand.
I use a saw like these almost everyday in my work cutting glas fibre panels and more. And i can agree with everything Adam says. Great tool with alot of useability.
Glad your still here Adam, great video.
That's the best thing about pneumatic tools, even cheap tools are usually good quality, and very usable, I have cheap pneumatic tools that I have been using over 10 years,
i have a Matco gear driven saw i love it. quite and fast with little vibrations.
I had one when I was a mechanic...I don't think I ever used it on the job, but it came in super handy for doing PC case modding.
My go-to for a reciprocating saw is Milwaukee's Hackzall for when I don't have a compressor handy. Small but capable.
One benefit to these is they can also be used as an air filer and air sander. I like IR as I know people that work there and am right near a plant so parts, if they break, are easy to come by, though they rarely ever go bad. These pared with a thin diamond file make a great sharpener and metal finisher.
Dude you are a quirky guy , I loved watching your video lol keep bringing smiles to folks ! Thank you for sharing this
I worked as an auto body crash repairer and use air saws all the time, alot are very similar but there is one that stands out from the rest by some amount
the low vibration air saw commonly sold through power-tec and snap-on etc,
i'll post a link to the power-tec one but its one thats generic and badged up retailers,
this saw had me in fits of laughter, for years i had been using the ones like the ones you have and they are good, they cut cars up ok, some times they slow down a bit on thicker steel like unibody members, jam a few times when the pressure pinches them, but the low vibration one just doesnt stop, it is literally like a hot knife through butter, even old school chassis members it just cuts though them quickly.
as for sheet metal its like its not there at all, definatly worth taking alook at one of these if you in the uk it is far better than the cat 32 type sold by clarke / sealey etc
as for air saw blades / hacksaw blades i have found the usa Morse bi-metal blades to be excellent, far out performing reqular ones, i use them in those air saws, just cut the blade in half with a pair of snips and away you go, i also use them in hand hacksaws too, they dont shatter either which is important too.
the "depth setter" is also a tool rest that you put against the item being cut to stop it getting vibrated back and fourth
adam...when i was in the custom mobile audio industry i would make old blades into files and sanding sticks so i could have a very handy powered file/sanding tool for fine tuning whatever i was working on.
I too have a few air reciprocating saws. I just found one that takes full size sawzall blades and have been using it almost every day.
Well darn it Adam... before today I didn't know I wanted one of those... I am slowly building up my shop to look like yours one tool at a time.
Reciprocating air saws. They are neat for something so compact, about the thickness of a Dremel rotary tool or a set of Oster Classic 76 hair clippers. At first I thought they had a raunchy sound to them but listening again, they sound like an old diaphone horn (fog horn or fire code horn).
The only electric tool that comes close to that speed that reciprocates is the common oscillating tool, but it doesn't have that mini hacksaw type blade.
Some of the difference between air saws is the life expectancy if you use them a lot and in metal, I used lots of cheap saws doing body work and it was a go to tool in a lot of cases. The IR heavy duty model was one of the best !
Ridgid makes a reciprocating saw head for their JobMax oscillating multi-tool. It also fits the Ryobi 18v multi-tool with the same JobMax form factor. I use mine all the time, and love it.
Thank you for always making our day these tough times.
Thank you for your comment. Comments like yours make OUR day in these tough times.
3 things are certain in life, Death, Taxes and Adam adjusting the camera at the start of a Tested video! Love ya mate!
I have _never_ heard anyone use the words "AvE" and "reasonable" in the same sentence before.
there seems to be a malfunction in the conjunction
I think that says more about Adam than anyone else.
Love it when other you tubers mention AvE, keep your wick in a vice.
I am sold into buying every tool Mr. savage raves about.
Ohh man, I just got my first air compressor, and this is going on the list of things to obtain. I love these videos.
About air vs electric. In our mechanic shop, we have a dozen of both types for almost any tool that comes as both. Impact drivers are one of the more common ones. An air impact requires a specific amount of air to be effective consistently. But an electric impact will always provide the same power because electricity is near constant. The electric may be less effective on certain jobs, but you don't have to have an air tank nearby, just electricity. We might not want to run 100m of air hose outside, but there's probably electricity where we'll be.
What matters is not how it's powered. It's how you use it, for the limitations of your work area, mixed with reliability and ease-of-access/use. Sometimes the air tools are just better in that regard.
I've used corded, cordless, and pneumatic version of some tools.
I love pneumatic mini grinders, cordless drills, and corded saws. And for me, the other types don't work as well.
Precision tool I did not know those existed looks very satisfying to use
I was really hoping the "oh, wait" was a dash for the goggles.... Pretty cool tool. Hope it doesn't require a lot of air flow, because now I was one.
I actually have an electric relative, a cordless black and decker "Alligator" saw. Came with a big wood cutting blade, for which it works best as a "power hand saw" (still got to push and pull), but it also came with a hacksaw style blade. Haven't used it much, though, since it's NiCd...
The way Adam uses this reminds me of how I use my oscillating multi tools ("sonic tools"), as a versatile cutting thing that can do some details, and that aren't terribly finger-dangerous.
I do believe Central Pneumatic is the Harbor Freight confusingly-named house brand he's thinking of. Their cheapest electric hand tools are Chicago Electric. I'm sure the confusion is intentional on their part. They have a $22 one and a $44 one, contrast the Chicago Pneumatic one for over $100.
Definitely use those a lot at working at Boston whaler. Brand,Taylor pneumatic tool company best I’ve found. Love your vids Adam!
You may or may not know some reciprocating saws have a round cut-out in the blade slot this is so you can use a Swiss Pattern or needle file in it, a very effective tool.
8:00 - that's a fantastic line.
I love the Iron Man suit in the background. It makes the space feel like some sort of awesome laboratory.
My grandpa bought one and I love it so much
im an electrician, do you have any useful, unique or favorite tools for electrical work?
im always looking for more tools to make life easier at work.
been lovin this series btw.
Many times the harbor freight tools perform just as well as the big brand names - but not as long. If you're an every-day user you'll probably burn up the H-F sooner. But they're so cheap you could buy a couple of them.
I needed to drill some holes in concrete to install a deck header and got an H-F SDS hammer drill. $60 bucks, worked great, and I've used a couple of times since to chisel up some tile. I'll never wear that out. Much better than the cost of a Milwaukee.
Wanting a vibrating cutting tool, I got the home depot Ryobi multi tool. It comes with the oscillating head, then I bought a reciprocating head, a jigsaw head, so I have several tools with one base.
I've had the electric version and the air.
Air is by far smoother operation.
They're usually marketed as a body saw if anyone is looking.
They do wonderfully on sheet metal too (hence "body saw")
A quick google of Body Saw does indeed come back with these saws and many like them including a few electric versions. Very cool!
Don't forget that the HF saw can also take full size reciprocating blades. I haven't tried the others, but I know I've strapped a n 8 inch recip blade into my tiny air saw and it worked just fine. Not quite enough juice to cut through thick steel, but sheet metal all day.
the low vibration air saw commonly sold by power-tec among others is what i use to cut through chassis on collision repair, these will do it to but they are slower
I ground down the tang on some 12 inch sawzall blades to fit the Porter Cable verzion and it has been the best thing for large scale styrofoam sculpture.
I love how Adam randomly picks things up and relocates them on his work bench
Welcome to OCD
I wonder if you should have used that to cut the drawer fronts out on the micrometer box. On a completely different note, I got my apron yesterday, so thank you.
The biggest advantage to pneumatic tools is they are heavier duty (think impacts wrenches and nail guns) and much more compact than their electric equivalents. Their internal mechanisms are much more simple in design. Provided you take care of them, add a few drops of oil to your air intake and make sure your compressor is frequently drained of condensed water, they can cycle thousands and thousands of times without need for maintenance. A rebuild, is typically somewhat easy to do, and typically involves replacing a number of o-rings that come in a kit,
I'm pretty sure that Ingersoll Rand makes the air tools for Harbor Freight. I remember a tool rep telling me that there are only 3 companies that make air tools and that from looking at the shape of the casing of the tool you can tell who made what no matter the brand name. Kinda along the lines of car companies, different name plates, same car manufacturer.
Not sure if you’re aware I have one and love it but I would jus get a standard hack saw blade and cut it to whatever size I needed
Hot tip is to use some cut down starrett or Lenox hacksaw blades, if you can by with the blade width. Its expensive to get decent quality body saw blades vs. regular old hacksaw blades 👍 a little grinding may be necessary 😁
You need fine pitch blades to really use these as panel saws. Regular hacksaw blades are often too coarse.
@@1pcfred anything with more than 18tpi has worked fine for me, 18,24, and 32tpi hacksaw blades are available at any hardware store, actual good quality body saw blades are not that common in most stores (assuming you don't keep a good stock of online purchased blades)
@@1pcfred really the only downside is having no taper, ive cut tapers with a really thin cutting wheel but if you're not careful and really quick you'll lose the temper on the first few teeth, but for many of my uses the full width hacksaw blade helps for large radius or straight cuts, allowing the tool to be bent away from the workpiece while still maintaining a nice straight cut, also its occasionally helpful to leave the hacksaw blade full length to make an otherwise inaccessible cut.
@@berryreading4809 blades for body saws are not widely available. The tool itself is not a common item. For general use I believe body saws have largely been supplanted by multi tools today. Body saws remain useful in their original designed for role though.
@@1pcfred that was my whole point about hacksaw blades, you only buy the tool once, but need the fairly rare blades much more often, as a bonus the hacksaw blade can give your saw more flexibility. Anyone with common sense just keeps them in stock in their shop, but not me! 😄 I always buy them after I needed them, then lose half of them before really needing them again 🤦♂️
“This is my favorite tool!” Said at ever show and tell. 😂😂🤣
Chicago Pneumatic is an old brand of quality air tool. It is not from Harbor Freight. Central Pneumatic is one of the Harbor Freight tool brands.
And the Harbor freight air saw is sorta crappy, but not bad enough to throw away while it still works. (Ive had one for over 3 years)
I was going to say the same thing. Additionally Harbor Freight has a line called Chicago Electric, and the "design" (including the shade of red they use) is very similar to Chicago Pneumatic.
In my apprenticeship we had nearly everything pneumatic.
For Aluminium drilling (aircraft fuselage ) pneumatic drills are great. And they are considered safer for various reasons.
For example if something was tangled up in a drill. It would just jam up. Where a electric drill would just keep powering through.
These are great for picking locks. Pumpkin carving knives that reciprocate are even better.
You should check out the Cengar JP901. Great saw, best I've used.
AS mentioned by Kahnawake Utah’s Garage and Works - Not a Harbor freight model - I will add this its (CP) is often confused with Central Pneumatic brand - but CP or Chicago Pneumatic is a long standing tool company that is owned by Atlas Copco. I own a HF version and its officially a POS - I changed it out twice and it is crappy often getting jammed between the in and out stroke and I have to keep it moving otherwise it jams up.
Thanks for that man 👍.
That's a cool tool i don't have.
I love tool reviews 😜
MAC Tools makes a gear reduction version of the air saw and its so good it’s life changing. If you ever get a chance you need to get one. It will even cut though sheet metal with no effort.
Also there is little to no sparks when cutting metal vs a cut off wheel. If your worried about setting something on fire in a tight spaces.
Pneumatic things are so nice!
Hey Adam, have you heard of Fein Multimaster? I think you would like it. Multipurpose cutting tool
I bought an IR model after seeing Ant Anstead use on on his Master Mechanic series. Amazing things!
Used one nearly every day on a daily basis as a panel beater cutting off panels .
I really enjoy this channel great work. That's a tool I would have over looked .now I need to go check one out thx
AVE one of the best tool reviewer of all time.
Eacch one was different in sound from the first. The Chicago was the quickest, but gave a soft sound the older Ingersoll was a lot higher. And the final one was different again.
Adam after finding another air saw:
“this Will be a fine addition to my collection”
SP Air tools made in Japan makes a reciprocating gear powered air saw, it doesn't jam or have the vibrations as piston driven and delivers a lot more torque to application.
Can an oscillating tool such as a fine tool replaces? What are your thoughts on the fine/oscillating tools
It’ll cut metal too. Love mine
Can you let us know what tools you have to carve a foam board please. Like using heat strings or such. Thank you
Electric saws like the sawzall has a transmission to change the shaft output from the motor into linear action of the blade. Also, pneumatic tools for not create sparks so there is no fire hazard in a room with volatile fumes like JP6.
Hey, nice introduction to the Air Saw. Does anyone know what type of air compressor one would need to be able to use the Air Saw?
What air compressor do you have?
Thanks for convincing me I need a new air compressor in my bachelor apartment... My neighbors are going to love me :D
Get one from California Air Tools. Extremely quiet air compressor.
Hi Adam, I love your "favorite tools" videos, Do you have an Air Compressor (type/Brand/Size) that you recommend?
Love this great channel keep going
The tattoo in your arm, is it a measuring tool ? I’ve seen you reference size with it.
Obviously, it reminds me of a sawzall. This "mini-sawzall" is also different due to how much faster the blade is moving. When I was doing projects as a younger woman, once I got a Sawzall, I found myself reaching for it regularly. It is just a super versitital tool when nothing else really works for fast, rough cutting, especially when you have to cut something from an awkward angle. This mini-Sawzall seems similar in utility. Its really amazing and interesting the tools that have been developed over the last couple of decades. Drills, hammers, chisels, knives, saws, these tools have been around since prehistory. But tools like the Reciprocating saw Adam demonstrated, these are pretty new as are at least some of the materials they being used on.
Heading to Harbor Freight after work today... 😎
I have an old Dynabrade air random sander. Best hands down, but will drain a 60 gallon air tank faster than other air tools.
These are great for cutting out metal in really hard places in your car. Because of being straight not pistol grip.
But that nibber tool looks pretty interesting.
Adam could do a side by side comparison?
Air tools are a lot safer to use in areas that have a lot of dust, are damp, or have fumes over electric tools that tend to have internal sparks. Running air lines are cheaper, easier to scale up, and safer to run than power lines in factories. At home it is easier to get a more robust compressor and/or larger air tank than to rewire a shop. If others have access to your space, air tools don't get borrowed as often as electric tools. As someone that Adam knows likes, air tool systems are usually multi-taskers.
P.S. Adam, did you make Alton's pepper grinder?
Air tools tend to be lighter since you don't need lug a motor around with you and you can't burn out the electronics. There's also a way to scale your set-up based concurrent tool usage.
Yeah you dont need to lug a heavy motor and battery around but you need a really good air compressor to be able to run these tools efficiently, your largest consumer grade compressor from the usual hardware stores might be able to run these for about 2 minutes max before they need to kick on again to fill the tank, you need some sort of small commercial or smaller industrial twin screw compressor, they’re expensive but they’re well worth every penny. Way quieter and they can actually keep up with the load.
For me the high speed air grinders are great but you need a compressor that can handle the CFMs. When I have to, I use a friend's home autoshop compressor. He comes over when he needs my planer and jointer.
@@tiacho2893 it's great when friends' tool collections complement each other and no one has to worry about the other one breaking/losing/forgetting to return something.
@@nefariousyawn Related, I loaned a couple bent chisels to that friend when he was making a "log cabin" playhouse for his kids. His little brother "borrowed one" and used it to scrape vinyl tile adhesive. My friend gave his little brother a ration of shit for grabbing a Japanese laminated steel cranked neck chisel instead of hitting a dollar store for a cheap putty knife. After about 30 minutes of rehab it was OK. It's good he didn't use it as a pry bar.
Sometimes the investment in an air source (and its accoutrements) is beyond a maker's reach. And I don't just mean financially.