Projects Visibility in Blast cabinet - any tricks ?

When replacing the thin acetate sheet behind the gl***, it was a pain in the neck (literally) trying to do/undo the screws around the frame from the inside of the cabinet. I flipped the screws around and put some locknuts on the inside and wing nuts on the outside. A piece of the self-adhesive spongy tape takes up any gaps.

 

I probably get an hour out of each tear off.

 

The gl*** was hinged on The Davis sand blast cabinet that I had in the school shop I taught in and They said to and I did use Saran wrap to cover and protect the gl***, Depending on how close to the window they were working in the cabinet it could last quite a while or just a few minutes. That cabinet had a big dust separator on the vacuum system to collect the dust plus a cloth bag on the outlet.
I've got one of those Cyclone dust separators for mine that I plan to run in line with an old shop vac I have with the outlet of the shop vac running to a dryer vent outlet thing to vent outside the shop.

 

I’m my cheap HF blast cabinet I use the protective sheets on the gl*** and 2 layers of window screen. Was on there 20 years and still the same tear off.

 

There is a lot of good information to be had here. I only blast with gl*** beads, so I don't have much of a dust problem but I will try the window screen method to see if it helps me to keep from changing the plastic film more frequently.

 

I have to agree here.
You have used up the medias life expentency.
Try new media and turn down your air pressure.. when changing out your media , thoroughly blow out the cabinet.
If you use cheap media , do not expect it to last long.
I have had many skat blast cabinets and good luck with the clear lenses that they sell.
Vic

 

I work in the sign industry, so I use the LED modules for channel letter signs. They are 12VDC and have 3M double sided tape on the bottoms. Cleaned the top inside of my blast cabinet and stuck 6 of these LED modules inside, drilled a small hole with a rubber grommet to p*** the 2 wires through, then wired a 12VDC,60Watt to 120VAC LED Power Supply to the modules and to an extension cord on the other end. When the LED modules get messed up from sand, I rip em out and toss some new ones in. I've had this set up for 10 years and have only replaced the LED's once.

 

I have had good luck with Ballotini "impact (gl***) beads, 70-140 sieve size. They clean well, keep metal erosion low, and last quite a while before they pulverize down to pumis. It all depends on how dirty the parts are that you are cleaning. I try to degrease & wire wheel as much heavy rust & dirt as I possibly can off the parts. I get mine from Grainger part # 2W580. Up here the 50# pail I bought today was $69.10. They have other grits available also.

 

Dan Gelbart on YouTube suggests using the gl*** that is manufactured to cover the infrared scanner at the cashier checkout. Says it is super resistant to scratches, impact resistant and inexpensive. I looked for the exact video where he mentioned it but I couldn’t remember which one.

 

Old thread but I welded on some huge metal casters to the bottom of my cabinet so I could roll it outside when I use it. Face it into sunlight for great illumination and run the shop vac without worrying where the dust goes, keeps it all outside.

I added a beefy expanded steel floor under the cabinet to set my buckets of sand on, so it's incredibly heavy but not top heavy/ tippy to move around. Have been very happy with this setup. I would always get dust everywhere when I ran the cabinet inside.

 

Not much discussion of the importance of media. Life expectancy, effectiveness, cost…anyone have an opinion based on trial and error?

 

The plastic media is more for removing paint. I know when I was in the Air Force that’s all we used and it didn’t really work on corrosion except for the heavy deposits. I think the baking soda and walnut shells is for aluminum.

 

I just got my HF cabinet up and running in the last 2 weeks.

I bought it for a 100 used, but looked like new. Best part it's an older one so it means the main body is one piece so it doesn't have all the seams of the new ones.

I took it apart, cut the heavy center support off of the sides, so now I can lift the center support and take it out anytime I want incase I drop something down into it. Also doing this gained me an extra 1" deeper in workable height.

I then took and removed the factory foam sealer and then scotchbrite to the seams and joints and urethaned them and re***embled.

Went to harbor freight and bought a Bauer dust separator, then off to home depot and bought their black Friday 16 gal. 5 horse shop vac for 60 bucks ( this thing is awesome!) and I was off and running.

I have no problems seeing inside the cabinet. Was going to do some other mods for dust control but see no reason to now. It will actually almost pull the gloves to full attention when you turn this vacuum on then you can just slide your hands easily into them...

Seriously I HIGHLY recommend using the Bauer and buying that cheap vac for these cheaper cabinets.....


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I recently had a guy tell me he quit using the mylar and plastic films and started using a new piece of gl*** and he reported it worked pretty good, a piece of regular gl*** is not expensive and sometimes free , a gl*** cutter is cheap and cutting gl*** is not hard, I'm sure it gets cloudy also but it's something I intend to try, I'll let you guys know how I come out. HRP

 

At the shop I used to work at, this is what we did, cut up old storm windows and swapped out as necessary. No plastic sheets, but we did have a piece of steel screen that stood off the gl*** a bit.

They didn't last forever but they lasted quite a while, it definitely worked.

 

Old thread but an important one. And it doesn't appear a good final solution was reached yet. Here is what I am doing and still young but /i think it will keep my visibility clear for a very long time.
I built my cabinet of 3/4" plywood, has a cone shaped bottom with 4" aluminum blast gate to dump old blast media. I vent it using my dust collection system that serves my wood shop.

I cut an air inlet hole in the top right end of the cabinet. Just have a wire screen there but very little if any media escapes there.

Then I built this box that feeds the dust collection conduit so mainly dust goes there, limits media.


This setup keeps dust to near zero. Doesn't bother my visibility at all.

The widow was another thing altogether. I first just used a piece of Plexigl*** and bit the bullet on frosting. I use fly ash from Tractor Supply, a good combination of low price, long life, low dust, and good performance. But it takes out a Plexi window quickly. I got maybe a couple hours runtime until it was so frosted I couldn't find a corner of window with any visibility. With the 20" x 32" Home Depot sheets I use costing $26 a pop, I had to find another way to extend its life.
I figured I needed some sort of soft crystal clear sheet which would just bounce off the grit and not suffer any damage. I asked my wife if she knew of any such material and she came up with this. She can't remember where she got it but my guess is a fabric store since that is where she gets most of her sewing stuff. This is the perfect consistency; soft enough to not be affected by the grit but firm enough to hold its shape and not flap in the breeze. It measures a nice thick 0.015", is 36" wide and this roll was 54" long so I get 2 coverings per roll.




I first routered a dado the depth of the plexigl*** in my 3/4" plywood door. The window is held in by 1/2" strips of plywood.

On the inside I eased the edges of 1/4" x 1/2" sticks with a quarter round router bit so the plastic won't tear. I tape the plastic sheet temporarily over the routered stick rim, stretching it as tight as I can by hand. Then I screw another set if 1/2" plywood boards to capture the edges of the plastic sheets. As the boards are screwed down the pull the sheet very tight.

This leaves the soft sheet spaced about 1/2" from the Plexigl***, totally protecting it. I have done a small bit of blasting with this setup and I detect zero damage to the plastic. X my fingers!

 

With cameras getting so cheap anymore, what about mounting a camera inside the box protected of course with a disposable lens, and just use your phone or other screen for viewing? I may play with this in my blast cabinet.

Currently I have m***ively bright LED coil bulbs in there, but when the sandstorm is kickin it is still hard to see what you are doing. Monitors are so cheap anymore, I am thinking about replacing the window with one. This is nearly 2026. We should be driving flying cars by frickin now.

 

I've gotten to where if I can see what I'm doing, better stop for a bit.

 

Use just enough media to make it work and when it starts getting to dusty dump the media and add fresh.

 

But . . . .that involves computers. In hate computers and they hate me.

 

Plastic is soft and the blast medium dulls it quickly. Get some 1/16 gl*** the proper size from the local shop and it'll last longer.

 

Computers lie. That is what my wife tells me about our checking account balance after she goes to the casino. Cameras don't need a computer, just a wifi interface. Like a nanny cam but without the ****py diapers and awkward moments driving the teenage cheerleader home. A buddy bought a welding helmet with a camera instead of a view thru screen. It makes welding very simple. You can see the puddle, in color, without flash or distortion. I now hate my welding helmet. And I need a nanny, don't have kids so that is an issue in itself.

 

I have a Harbor Freight unit and have never really had much of an issue with seeing what I’m working on. The light that came with it never worked, so I hang a 1000W single halogen light overhead. Really not much dust with the gl*** bead I use. A simple Rigid vac hooked up to a cheap dust collector seems to do the trick. Hardly anything ends up in the vacuum. Broke the gl*** once, and was $40 to replace, and two months later that one broke (my fault both times). Still is in there with some clear tape. lol! Got tired of the tiny bolts and nuts that held the gl*** trim ring in place, so added rivnuts to the metal box section. So much easier than trying to reach in and underneath to hold those tiny nuts.

 

I've never tried it, so I have no idea how well it would work, but there are super thin tempered gl*** "screen protectors" for tablet computers and cellphones that are very cheap and are made to stick to a smooth surface, I wonder if a pack of those used as window protectors in the blasting cabinet would hold up better/longer and be easier to see through than sheets of plastic.

 

Tell me about it. I have pretty good eyesight - Lasik and cataract surgery - don't need gl***es for anything but I do need a lot of light. Welding is really difficult. All I see in the helmet is a bright light, can't see the puddle at all. I get a good bead and good penetration by 'feel', many years of experience. But my biggest problem is staying on the weld path. I need to stop every few seconds to see if I am welding the joint or meandering off somewhere else on the part! That TV mask sounds great. Am going to look into it.

 

At work we have aquablasters, which use water and media (gl*** beads, I believe) for blasting. The window has a windshield wiper to keep the window clear, the table rotates, and the pressure it puts out will clean away all the corrosion and marine growth we deal with during a submarine overhaul. Expensive piece of equipment, but it delivers!

 

I've found the biggest problem with "not being able to see clearly" is tied to the vacuum that is connected to the blasting cabinet to pull out the dust. When I can't see very well, the vacuum filter is usually plugged.

 

If you remember the old overhead projectors from school the plastic roll used on them works pretty good in protecting the gl***.

 

I looked up video welding helmets on Amazon but didn't find any. Did see all the 'new generation' reality helmets that claim to show real colors during a weld. Prices varied from $39 to over $500. I bit the bullet and bought one for $80 that had almost unanimous 5-star reviews. It came yesterday and I tried it out this morning. My life is changed!! I can see the weld puddle and bead clearly in real color instead of an almost black, green tinted filter. Great product.

 

Show us what you bought or the ad on amazon.