Here is the compressor I got. It works my air-tools:
The compressor is what would be described as a "3HP belt-drive portable air compressor". This is a bit of a mouthful, but anyway, it represents a very useful class of compressor. It is on wheels and can be moved around. It is powerful enough to do useful work. And with a slower-revving oil-lubricated compressor belt-driven from a standard commercial induction motor, it is of a category normally regarded as durable enough for serious work.
A "3HP portable air compressor" will give about
With a compressor of this type you can run a plasma cutter continuously and you can run air tools intermittently - but as much as someone not on a production line will ever need. For instance, if you are running a pneumatic angle grinder, you will be grinding a bit here and a bit there and the compressor will be able to catch up between usages.
(Richard Smith, June 2005)