[TroyO]

I bought a mister system from Ebay, and it worked pretty well, certainly as advertised. Link:Mister
But, like most "Benchtop" machine hobbyists I don't have a ginormous compressor in my shop. (Although I may be better off than some, at least it's got a 20 gallon tank.)

Result being that the compressor was running more often than not when using the mister as delivered. (It said it takes a minimum of about .7 CFM) I did some searching and ran in to a post by "Bogstandard" on another forum about making a high effeciency mister nozzle. The mister I got didn't come with a "nozzle", just a regular Loc-Line air nozzle and the 1/8" tube sticking out of it. Amongst the posts about misters, someone had mentioned the idea of using an airbrush, but not much came of it.

I stole the idea, LOL.

I had some old airbrushes hanging around that I had gotten at a flea market ages ago... for $5 each if I recall. They are the dead cheapest crap airbrushes you could ever find, LOL. As such they made sucky airbrushes and got stuck in a bin. BUT.... they make great mist nozzles, LOL!

So, here's the upgrade and how I made it fit. I cut off the air valve on the airbrush and threaded the inside of the barrel 5/16-18. Then I threaded the Loc-Line nozzle to 5/16-18 and screwed the airbrush body right to the nozzle with some teflon tape.

Finally, I used a bit of airbrush line to adapt the 1/8 line to where the paint usually goes. Ohh, I also threaded the hole where the tube used to go in the air block and shut it off with a screw and a O ring.

I can get a steady mist with dead slow air flow... just a little more than someone could do through a straw. I can up the air pressure plenty high enough to blow chips away and adjust the coolant flow from nothing to full on drenching.

The best thing is.... I can run this for about an hour (Maybe more?) on a full tank of air without running the compressor. (Harbor Freight, 20 Gallon 2.5 HP) I would guess the MAX is about .7 CFM now.

I don't know the brand of the airbrushes but I would imagine there has to be an equivalent out there dirt cheap.

Thought others might be interested. The idea has occured to me that if "Fog" turns out to be a problem, simply tapping in to the air block where the coolant tube used to go I could pressureize a water filter tank pretty easily and try for a "Fog buster" effect. So far though I haven't seen any fog.

[hi_im_sean]

i have been thinking about what to do for coolant for months now. i havnt got all my stuff setup (got vise just today), and i have the same predicament as you with air. this seems like the perfect solution, thanks!

edit: what kind of coolant are you using

[TroyO]

Some blue stuff from Enco, LOL.

I think it's this:
Enco - Guaranteed Lowest Prices on Machinery, Tools and Shop Supplies

But, I plan to get some Kool Mist 77 whenever I order from LMS next. A pint makes something like 4 gallons....

LittleMachineShop.com - Coolant, Kool Mist 77 Pint