Sandblast Cabinet anyone?

[Buzz]

Curious if anybody has built there own Sandblast cabinet. I made mine out of plywood but would like to build a metal one.

[jakeru]

I made a small one, out of a large plastic bin. Stores nicely (on a shelf) when not needed. I use mine for glass bead blasting. Just for small parts.

If you want a suggestion for building one yourself, use glass (or something hard) for the viewing window if possible, instead of plexiglass. Plexiglass is too soft, so can abraide too easily. Also make sure you have good lighting designed into it.

I use a shop vac air filter on a hole to allow air to breathe out of it. It works well to keep most of the glass beads inside while allowing it to breathe. I have a large, heavy duty rubber glove I use to reach inside to hold a part to be blasted. And just a small hole I point the blasting nozzle through into the cabinet to do the blasting. That's about it... pretty simple.

[Jake98]

I built a big one many moons ago. It fit two truck wheels with tires. Plywood with sheet metal lining, squirrel cage blower and duct. Top was made in thirds, one section had the access, window and light, and could be moved across as I worked. I used a siphon type gun tho, if you want one that really works, get the pressure tank type.

[Buzz]

I built a pressure pot last year out of a propane tank, It works fantastic. If like to build a cabinet with an expanded metal bottom, then have a hopper under that to fall onto a bucket.

[Jake98]

That looks pro Buzz!

[Jason]

A friend of mine built a pot similar to the one above bug larger awhile back. He has a cabinet that was a cheap purchased one but the corners don't fit tight together. I would recommend if builting one to weld the corners or seal them if they are going to bolt together.

A to the ones who have built them, what did you use for the "gun"?

[jakeru]

This is the gun and media container that I have set up on mine:
http://www.harborfreight.com/portabl...kit-37025.html

It's not made for blasting parts very quickly. (But to do that, you'll need a pretty serious air compressor.) It does allow me to blast small parts though, and not take up much space. (Cabinet "box" stores up on a shelf when not in use.) When I blast the media out of the hopper, I just manually dump it back in. It last for quite a long time. It is important to keep the media dry.

These are the gloves I used. They are a nice size, plenty long, and seem to be durable enough for bead blasting:
http://www.harborfreight.com/rubber-...oves-4468.html

Due to the small size of my cabinet, I only have one glove in there, to hold the part being blasted with. I hold the gun on the outside of the cabinet with my other hand and blast into the cabinet through a hole that nozzle tip fits through.

[Buzz]

$15 at Home Depot is where I got my gun

[Buzz]

The biggest and most dramatic difference in sandblasting for me was the pressure pot, I had a siphon feed first and it was so slow, 10 times faster with the pressurized system.

[67cudafb]

Buzz what kinda of media do you use with your blaster I had bought a HF one awhile back and just tried to use tractor supply media I think it is called black dimond and seems to heavy to run through my blaster. I am getting ready to start on my cuda project and have been looking at soda blasters to remove the paint to see just what I am bitting off. Anyone have any experance with this type of media. Thanks for any thoughts sorry I didnot mean to hijack this thread

[hesstx]

BillI have the HF bench top unit and use the same stuff had a bigger tip I think. Soda is the way to go will not harm glass and just wash off. FYI dont wash it off till you are ready to make ready to paint as it provides a protective coating that helps to reduce rust. You have to add Viniger to water to remove

[Joe from NY]

I built a pressure pot last year out of a propane tank, It works fantastic. If like to build a cabinet with an expanded metal bottom, then have a hopper under that to fall onto a bucket.

Hey Buzz - I dont know what your training or experience is, but I made one of these a couple of years back, then had second thoughts about the safety of it, and I stopped using it. Some brothers on another forum made me aware of the dangers of welding pressure vessels. It worked great, but I got scared after reading some warnings. I am not a weldor, just a backyard tinkerer. I made it with my Millermatic 211 MIG, which I got after not holding a welding gun or torch for 15 years. You might be extremely competent to make one, i was not.


See the thread here: http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...m-propane-tank






The handle was made out of an old piece of stoop railing, the wheels came off my sons scooter from when he was a kid, and the angle iron came from an old bed frame. I always pick up junk to see what i can use to build crap i need around here. One problem was that the tank was already about 20 years old and rusted all around before i started the project.

[Buzz]

Buzz what kinda of media do you use with your blaster I had bought a HF one awhile back and just tried to use tractor supply media I think it is called black dimond and seems to heavy to run through my blaster. I am getting ready to start on my cuda project and have been looking at soda blasters to remove the paint to see just what I am bitting off. Anyone have any experance with this type of media. Thanks for any thoughts sorry I didnot mean to hijack this thread

Bill Im no expert by any means, I use the same stuff, black diamond, I have not used it on a cars sheet metal. From what Iv'e read soda blasting is the way to go, but Iv'e also hear of fellows using a fine sand media and keep the gun moving and always at an angle to the metal. One note I should stress is NEVER USE PLAY SAND also known as SILICA SAND! it will screw up your lungs bigtime read this for more info http://www.silicosis-injury-attorney...ing_risks.html

Hey Buzz - I dont know what your training or experience is, but I made one of these a couple of years back, then had second thoughts about the safety of it, and I stopped using it. Some brothers on another forum made me aware of the dangers of welding pressure vessels. It worked great, but I got scared after reading some warnings. I am not a weldor, just a backyard tinkerer. I made it with my Millermatic 211 MIG, which I got after not holding a welding gun or torch for 15 years. You might be extremely competent to make one, i was not.
See the thread here: http://www.millerwelds.com/resources...m-propane-tank
The handle was made out of an old piece of stoop railing, the wheels came off my sons scooter from when he was a kid, and the angle iron came from an old bed frame. I always pick up junk to see what i can use to build crap i need around here. One problem was that the tank was already about 20 years old and rusted all around before i started the project.

Joe , my propane tank was in great shape and my welds were pretty decent. But one other thing is that the tank never see's more than 10psi, you don't pressurize the tank fully, that's why there's a regulator there, the gun see's full pressure regulated at your compressor and another line passes under the tank and picks up the media. a water separator is mandatory, otherwise your nozzle keeps getting clogged.

[Spike]

I've got a decent sized blast cabinet right now...
... but on my list of "hopefully one day i'll get around to building" projects i do have a bigger better blast cabinet planned. I can blast straight 6 cylinder heads, and gas tanks and the like... but i'd like one that i could get bigger pieces into, like maybe whole engine blocks, or maybe a whole motorcycle frame. Also, i want one with a hinged lift up top, so the cabinet top lifts off the table (gloves and all lift up, and you can set things right on the blasting table), rather than how mine is now with just a big door in the side.

I'd make mine out of 6061 aluminum (no paint to blast off, leaving metal to rust).
Also... a matching parts washer designed in the same fashion. =)

[Joe from NY]

Bill Im no expert by any means, I use the same stuff, black diamond, I have not used it on a cars sheet metal. From what Iv'e read soda blasting is the way to go, but Iv'e also hear of fellows using a fine sand media and keep the gun moving and always at an angle to the metal. One note I should stress is NEVER USE PLAY SAND also known as SILICA SAND! it will screw up your lungs bigtime read this for more info http://www.silicosis-injury-attorney...ing_risks.html

Joe , my propane tank was in great shape and my welds were pretty decent. But one other thing is that the tank never see's more than 10psi, you don't pressurize the tank fully, that's why there's a regulator there, the gun see's full pressure regulated at your compressor and another line passes under the tank and picks up the media. a water separator is mandatory, otherwise your nozzle keeps getting clogged.

that was another problem with mine. i put full 100 PSI pressure into it to push the sand out. i was eventually afraid that it would blow up.