I’d been thinking about getting a better cordless brad nailer because the old Craftsman one I have is useless. I discovered Craftsman makes a much better one in the C3 line, but it runs about $130. I kept looking around and found Home Depot selling a Porter-Cable combo kit with:

• 6 Gallon 150 PSI Air Compressor

• 16-Gauge Nailer

• 18-Gauge Nailer

• 3/8″ Stapler

• 25′ Hose

It was down to $200 from $279! I bought it the next morning. I also stopped by Harbor Freight for their air tool accessory kit (gotta have a blow gun!) and a second 25′ hose.

I didn’t want the compressor in the shop because it’s very loud when it runs. So I cut a hole through the wall, put in an electrical box, and added a face plate so it doesn’t look too much like a hack job. If I ever move it I can swap out the place for a blank one.

Where it comes through on the other side is under my staircase, which is fairly central in the shop. Figured that would be a good place to store the tools.

I didn’t want to have to go to the other room to turn the compressor on/off. So I removed an old outlet that was on this wall, added a 2-gang electrical box, put in a new outlet, and wired a switch to control the bottom plug (top plug stays hot). Now I can always leave the compressor’s power switch turned on.