oh gawd nnnnnnooooooo!!!!!!!!! ](*,)
Home made sandblast cabinets..lets see them
- Thread starter 4spdragtop
- Start date
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oh gawd nnnnnnooooooo!!!!!!!!! ](*,)
Here are some inside pics, I put my 340 air breather inside for reference. Got the lights hooked up, all I need is some big clamps for the gloves. The clamps from my other cabinet are too small.
sheetmetaldan
Well-Known Member
Hi all I mostly lurk here. I`m an E body guy. I found this thread a while back and I just made myself this sandblast cabinet and thought I would share the results. Cost me about $25.00, five for the gloves and 20 for the lights the barrel was free and all the other material used I had on hand. Tomorrow I plan on giving it a try and cleaning up some valve covers.
Sweet post up the plans for it and how does it work?
sheetmetaldan
Well-Known Member
Well I gave my blast cabinet a whirl and as far as the cabinet goes it works great,however my sandblaster is not that great either my blast media is insufficient "red oxide" or my siphon fed blaster sucks or both! I tried removing that wrinkle black finish on some cast aluminum valve covers with poor results. I had better luck blasting rust off of a proportioning valve.
Here is what I did to make the cabinet:
cut two 4" holes for arm openings and used 4" galvanized pipe tabbed onto some flat metal and secured with screws. (note) a 4 1/2" or 5" opening would be better but 4" was all I had. two hose clamps hold the gloves onto galv pipe stubs. Silicone around any openings.
The square view port was something I fabbed up myself out of some 2"X6" 26. gauge galvanized angle I had, but you could screw/seal the plexi-glass right to the barrel.
My shop vac hose fits one of the threaded barrel openings perfectly just shove it in. Air and media hoses go in other threaded opening just drill plug out to proper size and thread it in.
Some old propane gas grill grates or metal shelving inside barrel makes a nice removable work surface.
The base frame is uni-strut with 3/8 rod sleeved with conduit and the barrel is held in place with some sheet metal hanger stock.
The door was made of plexi glass, plywood would work just as well weatherstrip the outer edges. Cut a vent in door it to allow air in as the shop vac sucks air out. (sandwich some filter media between the door and vent to help keep media in cabinet). A simple nut and bolt will hold the door shut
I used a bathroom sink drain at bottom of barrel to sweep media into a bucket for reuse. If you would want to have media automatically recycle a large funnel shaped hopper would need to be cut in bottom. What I did is good enough for my needs.
Lowes had the 3 hockey puck style under cabinet mount lights for $20 bucks. Need 2 1/8" hole saw for these.
Harbor freight had the gloves for around $5.00 they are ok but longer gloves would be an improvement.
I know you can buy cabinets cheap enough but this cost me hardly anything and I have the satisfaction of making it myself.
Here is what I did to make the cabinet:
cut two 4" holes for arm openings and used 4" galvanized pipe tabbed onto some flat metal and secured with screws. (note) a 4 1/2" or 5" opening would be better but 4" was all I had. two hose clamps hold the gloves onto galv pipe stubs. Silicone around any openings.
The square view port was something I fabbed up myself out of some 2"X6" 26. gauge galvanized angle I had, but you could screw/seal the plexi-glass right to the barrel.
My shop vac hose fits one of the threaded barrel openings perfectly just shove it in. Air and media hoses go in other threaded opening just drill plug out to proper size and thread it in.
Some old propane gas grill grates or metal shelving inside barrel makes a nice removable work surface.
The base frame is uni-strut with 3/8 rod sleeved with conduit and the barrel is held in place with some sheet metal hanger stock.
The door was made of plexi glass, plywood would work just as well weatherstrip the outer edges. Cut a vent in door it to allow air in as the shop vac sucks air out. (sandwich some filter media between the door and vent to help keep media in cabinet). A simple nut and bolt will hold the door shut
I used a bathroom sink drain at bottom of barrel to sweep media into a bucket for reuse. If you would want to have media automatically recycle a large funnel shaped hopper would need to be cut in bottom. What I did is good enough for my needs.
Lowes had the 3 hockey puck style under cabinet mount lights for $20 bucks. Need 2 1/8" hole saw for these.
Harbor freight had the gloves for around $5.00 they are ok but longer gloves would be an improvement.
I know you can buy cabinets cheap enough but this cost me hardly anything and I have the satisfaction of making it myself.
grimreaper
Cross Member
That black coating on MP valve covers is stuck on really well. Try some other items before making any judgements as I'm pretty sure you will find other coatings and rust are more easily removed than the stuff on those valve covers.
Get rid of that red oxide and get yourself some Black Beauty (black slag) in a fine grit. It's a fairly aggressive media and will remove everything.
What pressure are you blasting at?
What pressure are you blasting at?
make sure siphon hose isnt clogging up. I would say 75 psi minimum, and use good media like cudachick said(women are always right
rayer
rayersheetmetaldan
Well-Known Member
Thanks for the suggestions I`ll try the black magic does Harbor Freight carry it there is one not too far from me? I am using a 30 gallon compressor and crank up the air all the way probably around 80-90 lbs pressure I guess.
I saw a homemade soda blaster link at another forum looked pretty cool and simple. I may try that too just for the heck of it. This guy used them to clean up some carbs they looked great when he was done! I`ll pass it along if anyone is interested.
I saw a homemade soda blaster link at another forum looked pretty cool and simple. I may try that too just for the heck of it. This guy used them to clean up some carbs they looked great when he was done! I`ll pass it along if anyone is interested.
What I buy is called "Black Beauty" like the horse :-D but any black slag media should work. I live in the boonies so I have to drive to a masonry place -- gotta drive for EVERYTHING lol -- but I think Tractor Supply sells it. Be careful not to buy anything coarser than fine though or it can tear up your metal.
It sounds like your air pressure setting is adequate (I'm guessing you have a regulator) but you may need to adjust it up or down depending on the metal and what you're trying to remove.
It sounds like your air pressure setting is adequate (I'm guessing you have a regulator) but you may need to adjust it up or down depending on the metal and what you're trying to remove.
Make sure you have a water seperator in line as well. If the media gets wet, your toast!
AlV
Crabs in a barrel
Here's my cheepo setup :glasses7:
I could add gloves to the access port but I was really keeping it cheep and used a set of sleeves that I cut off an old sweatshirt.
here I cleaned the trans cross mount in this thread
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showpost.php?p=1970298460&postcount=111
I could add gloves to the access port but I was really keeping it cheep and used a set of sleeves that I cut off an old sweatshirt.
here I cleaned the trans cross mount in this thread
http://www.forabodiesonly.com/mopar/showpost.php?p=1970298460&postcount=111
Why not just get some longer leather gloves and wear them while you're blasting? A dedicated el-cheapo pair of needle nose pliers (to hold small stuff) will prolong their life a bit. :-D
AlV
Crabs in a barrel
That sounds like a plan. I'll stop by HF to see what they have in a gauntlet style and pick up a needle nose on the cheap. Thanks!
silvadful
Well-Known Member
heres mine. it out side so no room lost. just an old packing crate. bit o ply
for door. perspex window an cpl old sheets roofing keep the water out.
some old wet weather pants put your arms through and
at standing height no bending over looking down. still need lights an vacum. gets hard to see quick. cut hole in bottom that can close up when using it then open to sweep sand into bucket. put an ol concrete
block in there to rest stuff on. work in progress.
for door. perspex window an cpl old sheets roofing keep the water out.
some old wet weather pants put your arms through and
at standing height no bending over looking down. still need lights an vacum. gets hard to see quick. cut hole in bottom that can close up when using it then open to sweep sand into bucket. put an ol concrete
block in there to rest stuff on. work in progress.
cool!
Always happy to help Rob! :-D I've also got a cheesy dedicated pair of slipjoint pliers in mine too to hold larger bolts.
If you have a bunch of washers to blast, string them on a piece of wire and twist the ends together into a big loop. With a little practice, you'll get to where a quick flick of the wrist will send the one you just blasted to the other side of the loop and bring up the next one in line. When you get that same side on all of the washers blasted, turn the loop over and blast the other sides. It's a lot quicker than picking up each one, and eliminates the possibility of dropping them into the hopper.
An old dishwasher's silverware basket with or without a lid also makes a great cabinet accessory. They're sturdy, and the holes are usually big enough to blast small parts and hardware through without letting all your stuff fall out. Billy helps me with some blasting sometimes and he prefers a small metal coffee can with a bunch of holes drilled through it, but I find it too dark inside and the parts bounce all over the place. It also tends to pulverize the media (creating more dust than necessary).
I don't know if I've mentioned it yet in this thread -- there's a lot of blast cabinet threads out there lol -- but TPTools.com is a great source for everything you might need in the way of blasting accessories. In fact, I need to place an order for some end seals and a shaker ... a prior owner of my 5-footer siliconed the inside of the hopper and it's trapping the media so some maintenance will be happening in short order.
If you have a bunch of washers to blast, string them on a piece of wire and twist the ends together into a big loop. With a little practice, you'll get to where a quick flick of the wrist will send the one you just blasted to the other side of the loop and bring up the next one in line. When you get that same side on all of the washers blasted, turn the loop over and blast the other sides. It's a lot quicker than picking up each one, and eliminates the possibility of dropping them into the hopper.
An old dishwasher's silverware basket with or without a lid also makes a great cabinet accessory. They're sturdy, and the holes are usually big enough to blast small parts and hardware through without letting all your stuff fall out. Billy helps me with some blasting sometimes and he prefers a small metal coffee can with a bunch of holes drilled through it, but I find it too dark inside and the parts bounce all over the place. It also tends to pulverize the media (creating more dust than necessary).
I don't know if I've mentioned it yet in this thread -- there's a lot of blast cabinet threads out there lol -- but TPTools.com is a great source for everything you might need in the way of blasting accessories. In fact, I need to place an order for some end seals and a shaker ... a prior owner of my 5-footer siliconed the inside of the hopper and it's trapping the media so some maintenance will be happening in short order.
Very cool. I keep getting the clean side on that ring deal... LOL
I use a piece of cardboard when doing bolt heads. Punch holes with a screwdriver and push bolts through. Holds them long enough to clean thoroughly and they don't fall all over the place. Sometimes the board gets heavy with all those bolts stuck in it.
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