Sand Blasting Cabinets

[Zach Bouchard]

Are sandblasting cabinets as useful as they sound. I currently am using a wire wheel for everything and it would be nice to have an alternitive. I know if I buy one it will never be big enough but they seem very useful for cleaning small parts. Are they efficient to use or are they a bigger pain in the rear than their worth? Sand blasters are nice but i don"t want to deal with the mess in my shop so I think the cabinet would be a good option. Any things to look for when shopping for one? Any reccomendations?

thanks in advance

 

[glennster]

i bought this one about 2 years ago, its a real nice cabinet. the vacuum keeps all the dust down and you can get some pretty decent sized stuff in thecabinet. i bought the foot pedal and also the carbide nozzel. use the cabinet at about 65-80 psi, any more and it wears out the media real quick. the cabinet comes with a crushed auto glass media, we are using aluminum oxide now, more aggressive and cuts a lot quicker.
960 t blast cabinet

 

[Ken-Pa]

Sandblasting cabinets are great , but you"ll always wish it was bigger at times . Now , you"re concerned about the mess . U*nless you have a dust control system , you"ll have dust everywhere .If you can set it by an exterior wall & vent it outside , that will help . HTH! God bless

 

[Hotflashjr]

Don't buy the $100 Tractor Supply cabinet. Too small, no vaccum, and it did not last long. The light inside burnt out within 3 hours of use. I tried hooking a vaccum up to clear out the dust and it just didn't work. Would be good if you just had to get a little paint off of things, but if rust is involved it is just too small and gets so dusty you can't see a thing in it. I was changing media every three - four parts.

 

[jim in N M]

Zack I bought a 24X24X42 Glass bead machine several yrs.ago and the only thing I'd change would be I'd buy one 48" long. You can clean most everything you want, BUT you must clean the grease off first,cause the's what will clog them up fast. If you need more info just email me..HTH Jim in N M

 

[G. L. Grumpy]

TP Tools has big catalog and web-site. Some of the best built I think. I bought the plans they had and left it wider at 48" when I cut from 3/4" plywood. I have angle iron frame, now they are wood legs. I also made a wider window that also opens to change plastic cover and such. A top opening one would be great/easier, not too many of them in bigger size. I have a 6hp compressoer, 60 gal tank and it runs pretty constant to keep up. I have trigger gun, the foot pedal probly will save a cramp or two in hands/arms. I have a 16 gal shop vac on my port and it clogs filter pretty fast. You can't see a thing because of dust w/out the vacumn. Tip has cabinets with vaccumms with them, probly best bet. The carbide tips are a must, the ceramic go real fast, even steel wears quick. Those are about $50 or more for the kit, but worth it. Mine has been used for couple years with occasional use now. Have tried sand and carbide, and had best luck with Black Diamond from TSC. Carbide makes dust real early. Sand goes good for quite awhile, but all breaks down to dust after while. The Black stuff works fastest, but leaves the metal some rougher. You might not want the rougher finish on say carbs or die-cast parts. I've heard glass bead is one of best, but costs more. Biggest PIA problem is having to have a removeable cover over the window. I have a safety glass window, was using plexiglass cut to fit on inside till it fogs over, then have to change just plexiglass. I have tried the thicker rubbery like window films, and they work OK, but not as clear to see. Best bet is those tear-off self stick edges that TP offers or others. They seem to stay clearest longest. I have trouble with dust getting past the plywood joints, even tho I caulked some, not enough. Also, find that catch tray below door and blocking tin on door inside to keep media in when opening is good idea. Otherwise, there is quite a pile on floor when opening doors. Ocassionally I take mine outside and wash out with a hose and let dry, start with new media, air filters or such, good to go. Use a water filter and reg on the unit. I also have to sometimes go in and knock media down into center to get to pick-up tube if blasting for longer time. Yes, it can be PIA, but I blast about everything I take off my old rigs and repaint when done.

 

[c.perkins]

all the others are right about the vac. system and cleaning the part of oil and grease. the best advice I can add is to make sure to get the clear plastic cover that goes over the window. It helps save the window from being damaged by the sand.

 

[Mike M]

Cheap old saran wrap works as a throw away lens protector.

I know a few who have set up sandblasting rooms or even used an old truck van body out back for a blast room.

 

[cd1]

i built my own, its exactly what i want and works great, but in the end i would have been cheaper off buying the one that TP puts on sale sometimes. we had the TP, scat blast i think its called, we had one at my old job and it was very nice. be sure you have way more compressor than you need. at the time i made mine i had to run two compressors, now i have about 15 cfm compressor and run easily.

 

[RobMD]

Your biggest ememy will be moisture content in the sand. It's big enough of a problem to drive you insane and destroy your blast cabinet with a track loader.

An air dryer would be nice. Trouble is, you gotta have money. A big, two-stage, 80 gallon compressor **WILL** BE NEEDED. You'll never sandblast much if you use just a little compressor and no air dryer.

 

[charles todd]

I bought the large Harbor Freight Tools (HFT) cabinet blaster. I used some parts I had around and made a foot control from a 120V pneumatic valve and a foot switch. I use glass bead. Dust is an issue and a shop vac is marginal at best, but it beats the wire wheel. I will retrofit a better gun with carbide nozzles later on. I have not worn my ceramic tips out yet.

As for moist air... YES it will ruin a good experience blasting. I have had some luck by taking the supply hose and making 8-10 coils inside a 5 gallon bucket full of ice water. Poor boy dew point dryer.

Good luck,

CT

 

[toolz]

I think cabinet blasters are a great thing to have around, but I don't use mine as much as I thought I would. Mine looks just like glennster's, and it works well, but the one I sold some years ago was better. The former one hinged at the rear, at table level, and the whole upper cabinet lifted up. Much easier to load. One of my friends was begging me for it, and I let it go. Shouldn't have done that.

 

[cd1]

try putting 3 inches or so of water in the shop vac. that will create a trap for the dust.