I’m relatively new to airbrushing and recently bought a Paasche Talon TG1213 airbrush direct from Paasche and a TCP Global air compressor with 3 gal. tank from Amazon.com. I thought I was ready to go when the model was ready. But, this afternoon I setup the compressor to practice for a while. The Talon is a dual action and my limited experience was on a single action. When I started to hook up the airbrush to the air compressor, I was surprised to find that the brush has a 1/4" input connection. It came with an air hose which has a 1/4" connector on one end and a 1/2" connector on the other. The air compressor has a 1/2" output connection. The problem is that the water trap/pressure gage which came with the air compressor has a 3/8" output connection. The hose that came with the air compressor has 3/8" connectors on both ends. I was able to practice by eliminating the water trap/pressure gage. But I want to be able to control the pressure and I live in a very humid climate and need the water trap, too. I know that there must be adapters available that will solve this issue, but none that I’ve seen reference the connector dimension. They generally refer to a brand of airbrush which for me at this point is no help. I looked around on the internet, but didn’t find anything helpful. Surely this has happened to many others in this forum. Have you any advice for me?
By 1/2" you probably mean 1/4" NPT and by 1/4" you probably mean 1/8" BSP. Anyway, you just need to buy a coupler that connects the water trap output and the air hose at a hardware store. You should be able to find the right one at Home Depot or Lowes. Wrap the threads with plumber’s tape and connect. It’s very simple job.
As Chris says, it is a simple job. It could be a little difficult to find the correct adapter locally though; BSP threaded fixtures are not available at my local stores. Your TCP compressor will have a 1/8" BSP male connecter at the regulator; your Paasche hose will have a 1/4" NPT female at the compressor end so you need an adapter like this:
www.amazon.com/…/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_1
As Chris says, 1/4" pipe threads don’t measure 1/4" across - they’re quite a bit larger; true for all pipe threads
Most anything of this sort that I need, I can find at my neighborhood hardware stores. For items they don’t have, in town there are three shops that specialize in compressors, hoses, clamps, fittings, adaptors and such. Depending on your location, check the phone book for specialty shops like that.
I find it helpful to take the items along, so the shop can see exactly what it is you need. They can always simplify anything I might end up with, if I do it myself. I’ve created some real Frankenstein devices in the past.