Hot Rod Forum banner

Blasting cabinet

7K views 25 replies 12 participants last post by  oldred 
#1 ·
Question for anyone who is using or owns a blasting cabinet. What have you learned and if you were to purchase one today what would are the options you might consider when comparing the product of the different manufactures. Compressor size not in the mix, that is covered. Not looking for industrial strength, the largest piece would be wheels, drums and general suspension parts. Another question is the media, what would be the best all around type, long lasting, not effected by moisture to be used on alum and steel..? thanks in advance.
 
#4 ·
Pepi, I will help keep you at the top anyway. :) This is a darn good question and I hope you get more answers but since I use a home built cabinet I can't really comment on that part. As for the media IMO there is no one media for everything and so ease of changing it out would be of a concern. Examples would be you would want glass beads for Aluminum but that would be next to useless for even lightly rusty steel parts, for which Aluminum Oxide would probably be best but then that would not be used on Aluminum!
 
#7 ·
oldred said:
Pepi, I will help keep you at the top anyway. :) This is a darn good question and I hope you get more answers but since I use a home built cabinet I can't really comment on that part. As for the media IMO there is no one media for everything and so ease of changing it out would be of a concern. Examples would be you would want glass beads for Aluminum but that would be next to useless for even lightly rusty steel parts, for which Aluminum Oxide would probably be best but then that would not be used on Aluminum!
very good, this is the type of information I can use and learn from. I go with the idea there is no one size fits all and having the input helps. I will be sure to plan on having a couple of different medias on hand. Thanks to the others for your input and will use your comments to make a decision. Eastwood seems to have a good selection and the prices are right.. Is a dust collector a good idea, and can a shop vac be used as a dust collector? I thought that a blast cabinet would be pressure fed by design..
 
#9 ·
I built a small one that works fine for small pieces. When I have something large to blast, I use a card board box ( called a gaylord ) on my saw horses and a siphon set up that you can buy anywhere for about ten bucks. Works just fine. One thing I would strongly advise is to buy a blasting hood and a hooded shirt. That stuff gets every where!

Youngster
 
#11 · (Edited)
Not much I can say about ease of use but I can say... "Don't Buy New." eBay is the ONLY way to go. Look up Surplus Supply stores and keep "lurking" for as long as it takes. I had to wait for over three months but $499... instead of $1,100, for an UNUSED Cyclone, was worth it IMHO.

IMHO look for a "clam-shell" + side-door... and at least 40-48" x 48."

UNUSED Cyclone Sandblast Cabinet & Dust Collector

............ New = $1,100 US... SALE = $499 US

BTW the advice above about buying a "Pressure" unit instead of "Syphon-type" is great too.
Yup... I got an UNUSED Maxus 125 lb. Pressure blaster on eBay for less than 1/3 retail too ($125.)

NOTHING beats a good eBay deal IMHO. :thumbup:

Then you can use the pressure pot with the cabinet instead of just having slower, less powerful syphon-feed... and the pressure-pot is MOBILE for bigger jobs as well. IMHO ADD extra back walls to the cabinet if you're unsure of gauge thickness and strength for some media like steel shot (maybe for Shot-peening OEM con-rods?)

My $0.02¢
 
#13 ·
Look for one with a large vent connector and easy to clean filter for the big vac hose, most of those little blast cabinets and some of the big ones come with a small connector and filter that does not move enough volume of air. They tend to plug up quickly and some of them are a PITA to clean in addition to not moving enough air.
 
#15 ·
That's good advice from Sanctifier!
Also look for traditional auctions in your area. I finally picked up a 48x48 Scat Blast for $700, and a pressure-blaster for $75. I went high on the cabinet, but it was the 4th auction where I tried to win one. Still got a good deal on it, and a killer deal on the Eastwood pressure blaster! :D
I do need to upgrade the dust collector. It's basicly a shop-vac motor with a bag filter. It's ok with a siphon feed, but not adequate for pressure-blasting.
My workplace has an awesome pressure-blast cabinet. You would'nt believe how fast it works! An intake in 10 min. Yes, I've gotten spoiled! But then again, it's a $4000 system. :rolleyes:
Some of the hi-end cabinets have a media separator that will separate the dust from the re-usable blast media. That's a worthwhile option if you use it ALOT.
My basic recommendation is to get a nice cabinet, and then upgrade to a pressure-blaster and a better dust collector. :thumbup:
 
#16 ·
I purchase da used George Olcott blast cabinet. It has a media reclaimer and a separat vacuum filter unit. It's quite big (I'll measure it tomorrow and post the dimensions). I don't have it hooked up yet, but it should work good. I plan on using glass bead media in it. I read recently that boring bar shavings/chips work well. I'll have to try that at work.

tom
 
#17 ·
I worked for an aluminun casting company and they had to prep the steel molds for the coating material before any molten aluminun could be poured into them. They used the excess aluminun saw chips. I did blast some car parts and it worked excellent, left a super nice finish and there was very little heat build up.
 
#19 ·
The longest chip was about 1/4" long, 1/16" wide and 1/16" thick. They used large band saws to cut the excess aluminun off the castings. I think the blades were 10 tpi. The chips suprisingly lasted for several weeks. The molds had about 1/8" coating of release agents by the end of the week. After they were blasted it did leave a super nice finish. When you produce close to a million parts from each mold the main concern was that the blasting material could not remove any steel or damage the interior finish.
 
#22 ·
I found a used Trinco blast cabinet from an engine shop which was closing. It is a great piece of equipment.
Each media you use will have a recommended pressure rating. Ask the supplier about the pressure recommendations. Of course you can run at a higher pressure, but the media will not last as long.
I will gather a number of parts to be cleaned(rust, paint, whatever) and use a media called barshot. It cleans metal like nobody's business, but does not leave a smooth surface. After I have everything cleaned, I empty the cabinet and shoot everything with glass bead. This step leaves a very smooth surface ready to be wiped clean and painted.
I have purchased media from http://www.grandnorthern.com/. I can pick the media up when I am traveling so I don't have to pay for shipping.
Good luck.
j.L>
 
#24 ·
By peening I mean the sand (or other media) will strike the metal like millions of tiny peening hammers and distort the surface causing it to stretch or "grow". When one side of a thin panel is stretched in this manner it causes the entire part to warp unless it is thick enough to withstand the stresses. A good example would be a Mustang trunk lid that I literally destroyed a few years ago with a sandblaster. I was aware of the warping problem but had little experience with metal as thin as that and even trying to be careful I managed to warp it so badly I had to scrap it and buy a new one. :mad:
 
#25 ·
I once bead blasted a pair of old Corvette valve covers at the shop, took'em home and they wouldn't fit back on the motor. I took'em back and this time blasted the insides of the covers and they rebounded or warped or un-pinched or ? and fit after that.

I would be hesitant to buy a cabinet that folded up when not being used as I picture it blowing media out all the joints all over the place.

Don't use silica sand. It's worse than smoking a pack of Luckies an hour on your lungs.

Were I work part time, we sell two kinds of media, one is a sand quartz mixture (as I recall, I'll check) and the other is a fine weld slag. The body shop guys in the area buy it.

Wear a respirator or the better of the 3M masks - the ones with the metal strip across the nose and two bands. I don't like the Harbor Freight masks as I don't want to be the first one to open the bag and breathe polluted Chinese air...lol
 
#26 ·
Dugg said:
I don't like the Harbor Freight masks as I don't want to be the first one to open the bag and breathe polluted Chinese air...lol

You may be saying that for a joke but with all the poison goods (GOODS?) coming from China lately, everything from pet food and toys to mouth wash and tooth paste, I have to wonder what may be in those masks. I would not use, nor never would use, those masks and I would not be at all surprised to find they are more dangerous than some of the things they are used for, coming from that place you just never know!
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top