Hey Jason thanks for the continued support! Yeah while scary at first, it's not too bad! Whatever method you do end up cutting with start your cut inward of the window edge so you can get a feel for how the saw of choice behaves and cuts through the metal where there's less consequence and the stakes are lower. Also, it's not windows but later on when we installed the flares we prefected the order of operations on the cut a bit to help with the panel vibrating too much that might be worth a watch too. We were totally n00bs on this first video 🤣!
Thank you! In our opinion it's definitely worth the investment. We've already used it to cut through the roof for our vent & A/C install too and it's the same story up there - vibrations & fuss are significantly reduced and it's simply a far better tool for this type of work over a jig saw!
Hey @paniro21 It’s been an absolute workhorse for me. Been running in my shop almost all day everyday for the last 3.5 years with no issues. Seeing how the price has increased quite a bit though I might reevaluate the compressor landscape. I definitely wouldn’t go with anything with less specs though in terms of CFM and noise level.
I checked again this morning, I think this is a pretty good deal now, it was up around $1000.00 a 6 months ago when things were still crazy expensive. Still more than I paid for it a few years ago at $649.00. www.aircompressorsdirect.com/Eagle-EA-6500-Air-Compressor/p72651.html If you wanted to save some money & pull back the specs just a bit we had one of these at the company I used to work at and it was all a good unit too. www.aircompressorsdirect.com/California-Air-Tools-CAT-10020C-Air-Compressor/p70275.html
Heck yeah Todd! Thanks for the recommendation and the other more budget friendly option as well. We pulled the trigger on the eagle this morning for $738. Will we see you at the adventure van expo with those hood strut brackets?!
Hey Todd, I like your funny side lol. I am in my sourcing phase right now. When I watched the 529 cut that window panel out I was pleasantly surprised. Do you have any pros and cons about the 429? I have not found the CFM of the 429 and what size compressor would match with the Air saw. Last night I watched your top 10 tools, that Astro Pneumatic Tool PRN1 3/8" Capacity Pneumatic Rivet Nut Setting Kit looks like a time saver!
Hey there friend! Thanks for the kind words and glad you enjoy the humor. Building a van can be frustrating and challenging at times so I think it’s always good to remember to have fun and laugh about the things that happen along the way! I don’t have any direct experience with the 429, but as far as I know the 529s main purpose was to limit vibration and to make the tool more comfortable to use with its rubber ergonomic handle. I’ve been super happy with it and have used it so much on the van. Cutting windows, cutting for flares, cutting for fan and AC holes in the roof, cutting a cross member from under the van for our water heater and now cutting the rear rocker panels for little storage boxes we’ve made. The PRN1 has been an awesome tool as well. My only complaint is I wish it was a little smaller for tight spaces. I’ve had to use my DIY solution in probably 20% of my rivnut settings because of space constraints. But these places are so tight anyways I don’t even think any rivnut tool would be able to do it. Let me know if you have any other questions! Happy building!
Since it seems like you do your research really well, any reason you chose CRL over say the comparable premier products windows? I am currently trying to decide which way to go.
Honestly we were total van n00bs back at this point. I was really scared of anything that needed to be bonded for sure, which leaves few options like you suggested. I did look at the premier and according to a few people I’ve talked to the mechanism for opening the windows is a bit more reliable, but ultimately settled for the CRL for the sole fact that I could order and pick it up from a local shop which saved me about $175 on shipping at the time and 10% off for first time buyers too. I will say we used premieres for our flare bunk sliders and if the main windows are anything like those I’d choose the CRL windows if I was looking for an awning window again. The CRL have full length grooves for the screws which makes them so easy to install with little force, if you are lined up in the groove the screw sinks completely even with a hand held screw driver. Maybe this is why everyone says to be careful with an impact driver when installing them. On the other hand the Premier has a shallow groove with complete self tapping screws which require a ton more outward force to get them to sink. They also throw debris everywhere during this process, granted it is aluminum so no concerns about rust. I think if I know what I know now, I might actually choose a bonded slider from AMA or similar, at least for behind the driver. Since we are going to put an extra seat there it would have been nice to be able to open the window while driving. Although, I still like the idea of opening an awning window in the rain and the passengers side (I think that’s the PNW boy in me). I hope this helps!
Hey @paniro21 I have two lockout downstream dump valves from SMC coupled to my regulators that are down at floor level. I haven't had any major issues or instances where I've needed to use them yet. But since my Air compressor is mounted up high in a loft I figured it would be best to have something close by to shut off it anything happened.
Hey there, I pulled my specs from the Ingersoll Rand website directly for the model we have 529: powertools.ingersollrand.com/en-us/cutting-tools/529-air-reciprocating-saw. In the model specifications tab there's an Air Consumption @ load (cfm) value of 1.13cfm and an average air consumption of 1.10cfm. I don't know if this is an error on their part for this model or this version of the tool is just that much more efficient, because looking around yes, you are right. Most other air saws are in the 3-6cfm range. I have a email out to IR for clarification and will update here when I hear back. I think if I didn't have the compressor already I would weigh the costs of compressor/air saw vs something like the Electric Ingersoll Rand C1101: amzn.to/3ZoeaNZ. After finishing up all our exterior cuts the last couple weeks, there's no other type of tool I'd use and no other method than cutting from the inside with a sharpie line for the larger panels. It makes things so quick and so easy. Hope this helps, and thanks for dropping in the comment. I'll update the description with a disclaimer to be sure to check cfm requirements air saw vs air compressor.
Great content and great personality! I was scared to install the windows until I saw this.
Hey Jason thanks for the continued support! Yeah while scary at first, it's not too bad! Whatever method you do end up cutting with start your cut inward of the window edge so you can get a feel for how the saw of choice behaves and cuts through the metal where there's less consequence and the stakes are lower.
Also, it's not windows but later on when we installed the flares we prefected the order of operations on the cut a bit to help with the panel vibrating too much that might be worth a watch too. We were totally n00bs on this first video 🤣!
Very well done. Will for sure use this method for mine.
Thank you! In our opinion it's definitely worth the investment. We've already used it to cut through the roof for our vent & A/C install too and it's the same story up there - vibrations & fuss are significantly reduced and it's simply a far better tool for this type of work over a jig saw!
This is great thank you a lot
You are very welcome! Thank you for stopping by!
You still loving that EA-6500 compressor?! Is that the model you’d still buy today?
Hey @paniro21 It’s been an absolute workhorse for me. Been running in my shop almost all day everyday for the last 3.5 years with no issues. Seeing how the price has increased quite a bit though I might reevaluate the compressor landscape. I definitely wouldn’t go with anything with less specs though in terms of CFM and noise level.
I checked again this morning, I think this is a pretty good deal now, it was up around $1000.00 a 6 months ago when things were still crazy expensive. Still more than I paid for it a few years ago at $649.00. www.aircompressorsdirect.com/Eagle-EA-6500-Air-Compressor/p72651.html
If you wanted to save some money & pull back the specs just a bit we had one of these at the company I used to work at and it was all a good unit too. www.aircompressorsdirect.com/California-Air-Tools-CAT-10020C-Air-Compressor/p70275.html
Heck yeah Todd! Thanks for the recommendation and the other more budget friendly option as well. We pulled the trigger on the eagle this morning for $738. Will we see you at the adventure van expo with those hood strut brackets?!
@@paniro21 Nice! Unfortunately I have to go back to Taiwan for work during the AVE show, so unfortunately no :(
Hey Todd, I like your funny side lol.
I am in my sourcing phase right now. When I watched the 529 cut that window panel out I was pleasantly surprised. Do you have any pros and cons about the 429? I have not found the CFM of the 429 and what size compressor would match with the Air saw.
Last night I watched your top 10 tools, that Astro Pneumatic Tool PRN1 3/8" Capacity Pneumatic Rivet Nut Setting Kit looks like a time saver!
Hey there friend! Thanks for the kind words and glad you enjoy the humor. Building a van can be frustrating and challenging at times so I think it’s always good to remember to have fun and laugh about the things that happen along the way!
I don’t have any direct experience with the 429, but as far as I know the 529s main purpose was to limit vibration and to make the tool more comfortable to use with its rubber ergonomic handle. I’ve been super happy with it and have used it so much on the van. Cutting windows, cutting for flares, cutting for fan and AC holes in the roof, cutting a cross member from under the van for our water heater and now cutting the rear rocker panels for little storage boxes we’ve made.
The PRN1 has been an awesome tool as well. My only complaint is I wish it was a little smaller for tight spaces. I’ve had to use my DIY solution in probably 20% of my rivnut settings because of space constraints. But these places are so tight anyways I don’t even think any rivnut tool would be able to do it.
Let me know if you have any other questions! Happy building!
Since it seems like you do your research really well, any reason you chose CRL over say the comparable premier products windows? I am currently trying to decide which way to go.
Honestly we were total van n00bs back at this point. I was really scared of anything that needed to be bonded for sure, which leaves few options like you suggested.
I did look at the premier and according to a few people I’ve talked to the mechanism for opening the windows is a bit more reliable, but ultimately settled for the CRL for the sole fact that I could order and pick it up from a local shop which saved me about $175 on shipping at the time and 10% off for first time buyers too.
I will say we used premieres for our flare bunk sliders and if the main windows are anything like those I’d choose the CRL windows if I was looking for an awning window again. The CRL have full length grooves for the screws which makes them so easy to install with little force, if you are lined up in the groove the screw sinks completely even with a hand held screw driver. Maybe this is why everyone says to be careful with an impact driver when installing them. On the other hand the Premier has a shallow groove with complete self tapping screws which require a ton more outward force to get them to sink. They also throw debris everywhere during this process, granted it is aluminum so no concerns about rust.
I think if I know what I know now, I might actually choose a bonded slider from AMA or similar, at least for behind the driver. Since we are going to put an extra seat there it would have been nice to be able to open the window while driving. Although, I still like the idea of opening an awning window in the rain and the passengers side (I think that’s the PNW boy in me).
I hope this helps!
@@moonrakerdesign very helpful. Thank you.
I really like the CRL T-vent style awning windows but I’ve heard the quality is very questionable. Should I chance it?
@@OldExodus I got the CRL’s. They are fine, just don’t crank on the mechanism like a gorilla.
How long have you had them and road noise? I didn’t see any window sealant from Todd. Do you need window sealant or window weld?
Do you ever use safety air fuses or emergency cut off valves downstream of the 1/4” quick connectors on your compressor? Thanks Todd
Hey @paniro21 I have two lockout downstream dump valves from SMC coupled to my regulators that are down at floor level. I haven't had any major issues or instances where I've needed to use them yet. But since my Air compressor is mounted up high in a loft I figured it would be best to have something close by to shut off it anything happened.
Looks like a great idea! Are you sure about the cfm requirement though? I have a 6 gallon 2.6 cfm but read these saws need about 4 cfm.
Hey there, I pulled my specs from the Ingersoll Rand website directly for the model we have 529: powertools.ingersollrand.com/en-us/cutting-tools/529-air-reciprocating-saw. In the model specifications tab there's an Air Consumption @ load (cfm) value of 1.13cfm and an average air consumption of 1.10cfm.
I don't know if this is an error on their part for this model or this version of the tool is just that much more efficient, because looking around yes, you are right. Most other air saws are in the 3-6cfm range. I have a email out to IR for clarification and will update here when I hear back. I think if I didn't have the compressor already I would weigh the costs of compressor/air saw vs something like the Electric Ingersoll Rand C1101: amzn.to/3ZoeaNZ. After finishing up all our exterior cuts the last couple weeks, there's no other type of tool I'd use and no other method than cutting from the inside with a sharpie line for the larger panels. It makes things so quick and so easy.
Hope this helps, and thanks for dropping in the comment. I'll update the description with a disclaimer to be sure to check cfm requirements air saw vs air compressor.
@@moonrakerdesign thanks for the quick reply! Think I’ll try it with my compressor and if it’s not doing it I’ll
Just rent a larger one.
🦾
🙏