Category Archives: Standard Tools

Which air compressor is right for you?

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Project2 (8155)For most shops, having an air compressor is a necessity. If you’re in the market for a compressor, make sure the air compressor you choose is the right one for your business and that it will meet all the requirements you need. With dozens of manufacturers to choose from, Tools USA only sells the most reputable and well-known brands. We stand by their products and they all have a 1-year parts warranty.

Whether you are going to use it occasionally or on a daily basis, there are several factors to consider. Tank size, configuration, horsepower and required CFM’s are important to think about.

Should you choose a vertical or horizontal unit? The configuration of the air compressor is important. Air compressor tanks vary widely in size, so it’s important to think about how you will be using it to determine the size you’ll need. Tools that work in short bursts—an impact wrench, for example—work well with a small tank. Tools that continuously use air such as grinders, spray guns and sand blasters will require a larger tank. If you can’t decide, be safe and go with the one with the larger tank.

As tank size increases, so does the overall size of the compressor.  If you want a big tank but have space concerns, consider a vertical tank instead of a horizontal model. To conserve space, a vertical compressor can be a big bonus when compared to a horizontal unit.

How much power do you need? The CFM and PSI ratings indicate which tools a compressor can operate. Make sure the compressor can supply the amount of air and pressure for your tools. Select a compressor that exceeds the CFM requirement of your most powerful air tool. For example, air hammers, die grinders, drills and ratchets require 4.0 CFM and around 90 PSI. High-speed grinders require 8.0 CFM while sanders are around 6- 7.5 CFM.

Air compressor motors range from simple 110-volt, 1/2-horsepower jobs all the way up to three-phase, 220-240-volt with 25+ horsepower. The electrical service available to your shop dictates the largest compressor you can install. The electricity used in industrial settings is generally three-phase power.

Here are a couple links on how to size the compressors that we sell, manufactured by Industrial Gold:

Click here to download for our rotary screw compressors
Click here to download for our piston compressors

Once you have decided the right compressor for you, maintaining it is extremely important. Just like changing the oil in your car. Daily usage and vibration of compressors can cause the fittings and bolts to loosen and should be checked when your compressor is serviced. Here are some other preventative measures you should take:


Daily: Drain moisture from the tank
Weekly:  Check the pump oil level and top off if necessary
Quarterly: Change oil and filter, check condition and alignment of belt, flywheel and motor pulley, check operation of the safety valve, check pressure switch unloader to ensure the compressor unloads when the motor shuts down and clean dirt and dust from the pump fins and motor.
Every 2,000 Hours: Lubricate electric motor, Inspect and replace (as necessary) the pump valves, check valves, safety valves, pressure gauge, and belt(s).

Why is Industrial Gold one of the manufacturers we choose to offer our clients? We like that they are family-owned and operated since 1996 and they build all of their products with same level of pride and commitment that they started their business with. They make the simplest to operate, easiest to maintain and most reliable compressors on the market today. Simply put, they make a quality compressor at a great price and Tools USA is happy to offer the full line to our customers.

What Does Your Parking Lot Look Like?

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car lotWinter is over and the cars damaged due to icy and snowy driving may have your parking lot in overflow mode.  People are ready to have their vehicles repaired and get ready for the nice cruising weather ahead. When there is plenty of work coming your way, you may think you don’t have time for anything else…. but now is the precise time when you should be investing in your shop for even more work down the road.

Ask yourself these checklist questions to make sure your shop is in optimal working mode:

  1. Is your frame machine working well, or will it hamper the work to be done?
  2. How about the hydraulics and clamping devices?
  3. Is your spray booth clean and efficient?
  4. Are you painting without a booth?
  5. Do you need another spray booth?
  6. How about smaller items like air compressors, mixing rooms, pulling chains, measuring tools and sanding equipment?

The best time to invest in your shop is when it you have plenty of work and cash flow coming through the door.  Make plans to improve the productivity and quality of your work NOW, when you don’t need to get a loan or settle for cheaper equipment.

Improving your shop when your competitor down the street doesn’t has a long-lasting impact on the profitability and survivability of your shop. We want to see you busy and in business for a long time to come. Let us help you today.

Visit our sites: Eagle Equipment, Tools USA, Paint-Booths.com.

Sure, you can go with the cheapest deal you find online.

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Frame Machine, Chassis Machine, Frame Straightener or whatever you want to call them!  In recent years, frame machine choices, prices and quality have changed immensely due to the ever-growing Internet.

The Internet has changed the frame machine market, with one- and two-man operations giving the impression that they are bigger than they are. They want the customer to think that they are viable, multi-location, well-staffed companies.  How can you tell when you’re shopping online, anyway?

With lower-priced import machines flooding the market, who you purchase from is as important, if not more, than what you buy.  You need to research the company that you are planning to purchase from to find out how long the company has been in business, how many employees they have, what type of facility they are operating from, and what level of customer service you can expect.

Sure, you can go with the cheapest deal you find online. But what you will get is very poor quality from an unreliable company. These companies don’t last long, and when they shut down how will you find replacement parts, contact customer service or get product support?

Remember the golden rule, you get what you pay for! Pay the little bit more to get a good machine from a quality company that will stand the test of time in your shop.

Tools USA has been a leader in the industry since 1979, you can trust that we will sell you a quality machine and be here for the many years that it will last you! Read More about Us!

Buy Before January 1st to Save Thousands.

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It’s December already, can you believe it? Where does a year go? With the year coming to a close, you may hear a lot about “Section 179” and how you’re business can benefit if you are looking to purchase some equipment before 2013.

We get just as confused as the next guy when you start talking “tax rate”, “deductions” and “depreciation”. We thought we would do a little research and try to explain how this could be a HUGE benefit to small businesses.

When we say ‘equipment’, we mean any large purchase you buy to benefit your business. Some examples: a paint booth to help your productivity, a car lift to increase your repair business or a frame machine for the busy winter months. If your business needs it to increase business and it’s an ‘investment’, it is most likely included in this category.

You can even finance it in 2013, but write it off in 2012 and save thousands.

So, section179 is what exactly? It’s an incentive created by the U.S. government to encourage businesses to buy equipment and invest in themselves. Essentially, Section 179 of the IRS tax code allows businesses to deduct the full purchase price of qualifying equipment purchased (or financed) during the tax year. Wow! The FULL PURCHASE PRICE will be deducted from your gross income. (As long as the total purchase price is less than 139,000.) Continue reading →

Standard Tools and Equipment Co. to be Featured on the “World’s Greatest…” Television Production

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NEWS RELEASE

<May 18, 2011><Greensboro, N.C.>
Standard Tools and Equipment Co, a trusted manufacturer in the automotive aftermarket industry, announced today that they have been selected by How 2 Media to be a part of the popular television series, “World’s Greatest …”, featuring their paint booths. The show airs on the ION Network.

The company goes to market as Tools USA, Eagle Equipment and paint-booths.com, to sell hundreds of products through their mail-order catalog and their various Web sites. Products include auto lifts, frame machines, pulling posts and clamps, tire equipment, powder coating equipment and, or course, their paint booths.

One of the first online sellers of Paint Booths, their Tools USA internet store opened in 1999. Recognized by Google Inc. (1,000,000 Leads Generated), and Internet Retailer (America’s Top 500 Largest Retail Web Sites), they have a history as a successful online retailer.

“We started selling to Body Shops and in the early 80’s, the company developed the very first national catalog for the body shop professional,” says Michael Kestler, President of Standard Tools and Equipment Company. “Our many years of experience in the collision repair industry helped us to develop the superior paint booth products that we offer today. The value, quality and efficiency of our paint booths have been major factors in our expansion into other industries and our overall success.”

With over half of their paint booths being sold outside of the body shop industry, Standard Tools has supplied paint booths to such industries as NASCAR teams, Woodworking shops, military, schools, government and many varied manufacturing industries.

After a careful interview process, the show determined that Standard Tools’ experience, technology and customer-service made for not only a great paint booth, but a great story too.

“We think they have an interesting story to tell and we will help tell that story in a meaningful way to our viewers,” said Gordon Freeman, Executive Producer of the show. “Standard Tools is a major company operating in the somewhat fragmented Spray Booth manufacturing industry. The difference is that they sell direct, which affords and enables them to offer products at the lowest possible prices without sacrificing quality.”

“World’s Greatest…” is a 30-minute television show from the producers at How 2 Media. The show features the world’s greatest companies, products, places and people. Past businesses featured include Anheuser-Busch, Lenox China, Land’s End, Samsung, and Xtreme Motorsports.

A film crew will be visiting Standard Tools’ facilities in late June to get the story behind the story on why Standard Tools makes the World’s Greatest Paint Booths. They will begin shooting the segment, scheduled to air later this year.

“We are thrilled to be a part of ‘World’s Greatest…’ and honored for the selection,” Kestler continued. “We are excited to highlight the company’s history, manufacturing process and the story of who we are and why we do what we do.”

About Standard Tools and Equipment Co.
Tool USA, founded in 1979, and Eagle Equipment Co., founded in 1954, are operating companies of Standard Tools Holding Corp. (Standard Tools and Equipment Co.), a privately-owned holding company. Tools USA and Eagle Equipment Co. operate as sister companies with common ownership and top management. Standard Tools and Equipment Co. is a leading manufacturer and distributor of automotive body shop equipment and through its wholly owned subsidiary, Eagle Equipment Co., it is a national leader in the distribution of automotive lifts and wheel service equipment. Manufacturing and corporate offices are located in Greensboro, NC.

For more information, visit www.toolsusa.com, www.eaglequip.com or www.paint-booths.com or contact Kat at 336.697.7177, Ext. 121 or Katm@standardtool.com.

UP, UP AND AWAY

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The 5th Dimension

Pop group The 5th Dimension had a hit song in late 1960’s called Up, Up and Away.  It was an upbeat, feel-good song that was about riding in a hot-air balloon.  It was played over and over on AM radio stations around the country and won a Grammy in 1968.

Today, the idea of “up, up and away” defines the costs of materials.  We have all been shocked by recent increases in fuel prices, but steel prices have risen more dramatically in the same timeframe.  In 18 months, gas prices rose from $2.50 to $3.50 per gallon… a 40% increase. In the same timeframe, steel prices increased by 65%.  This increase can be attributed to the rising fuel costs, increasing global demand and negative influences in supplies.  One such negative factor was the torrential rains and flooding in Australia that filled coke mines.  This coke is deemed the best in the world for smelting the high-tech steel ores used today. Continue reading →

COMPUTERIZED MEASURING SYSTEMS

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Vehicles are fighting to become the best in their feature offerings. Technology is bringing more and more “hands-free” this and “touch-screen” that…. It seems that we will soon have cars that can even think on their own! With all of these techy gadgets and time-saving devices comes a higher chance of damaging something in just a minor collision. Gone are the days where it was just a “fender bender” … a little bump affects the car’s core and all of these modern devices.

Many times, the extent of the damages is not discovered until the repairs have begun…. dragging out the repair time, raising the repair costs and causing frustration in customers.

In a world full of technology, customers and insurance companies expect more than repairs based on strings, tape measures or basic old fashioned measuring systems.  So, what is the solution? Computerized electronic measuring systems offer tremendous accuracy and will detect damage that visual inspections miss. With this technology, shops are able to compare each measurement to the vehicle manufacturer’s specifications and display any difference, enabling the technician to make needed adjustments. As an added bonus, they provide the proper repair documentation required by most insurance companies.

Until recently, these systems were out of reach for the small and mid-size shops due to the high price tag ($25,000 to $40,000).  Not only where they pricey, but so complicated that it required extensive training, limiting the number of technicians that could actually use the system. With this added training and the regular software updates, thousands of dollars were added to the lifetime cost of these system.
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How do rising gas prices affect your business?

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We have all heard the recent news of petroleum prices increasing and potential gas prices of $5 per gallon by 2013.  One question to answer is how this increase affects other prices.  When gasoline prices hit $4 per gallon in 2008, steel prices jumped 80% in four months.  The costs of mining, refining, processing and transporting the steel were all affected by increased petroleum prices.  Prices increased dramatically during this period even though demand decreased.  If the ‘experts’ are correct about petroleum prices then the prices for all steel items will increase.  Companies simply can’t absorb cost increases of such levels.

Visit your local new vehicle dealer.  All of the vehicles are priced 20% or higher than last year’s models.  The prices are offset with significant rebates, up to $10,000 for an F-150!  The automobile manufacturers and dealers expect their costs to increase in the next months.  Those vehicles still sitting on the lot when fuel prices rise will have the original price in the windows, but the rebates will be long gone.

Standard Tools knows that buying one of their spray booths, mixing rooms, frame machines, lifts or other similar products now, rather than later, is the best bet.  Buying before the prices are raised even higher ensures that you obtain your equipment and can start making profit by now.  Call our sales team at 800-451-2425 for more information!

Spray Booths – Domestic or Imported

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Written by: Tracy Beach
Plant Manager at Standard Tools & Equipment Co.

On a recent shopping trip to buy name brand jeans, I found that almost all of them were made in China, Mexico, Egypt, Lesotho and Haiti. We live in a global market. It’s often easier for a consumer to purchase a product from a foreign country than down the street from where they live. Let’s face it, it is just cheaper for the company in material and labor costs! But sometimes the initial savings do not necessarily mean that you save money. Spray booths are a great example, let me explain.

Continue reading →