Has anyone built their own Sandblasting cabinet??? I have the nozzle and an air compressor and was inspired by the picture in the editorial of what looks like a wood based blasting cabinet. Any ideas or suggestions would be great as I would rather build than buy. Thanks, '****
yeah, its as eazy as it sounds. Just make sure you seal it on the outside. Don't use silicone caulking on the inside like my buddy did..what a dumb***.. He redid it with sheet metal and it works fine..Good luck.
Hey Har****, I'll fire up the scanner & send you a VERY helpful PDF file. PM me your email ... WWS
I've got a buddy in Dallas that built one from the back of a VW Bus. Works GREAT! It's got a HUGE door, the gl*** is tempered and they're cheap.
I bought the el-cheapo cabinet from HOMIER (traveling chineese tool merchants) paid 99 for it [couldnt buy the raw materials for that price]. Then I updated it with a gun and siphon ***embly, & seperator from TPtools.com. Skip the footpedal it was a needless expense. For visibility I mounted a Delta dust collector
Whenever you're sandblasting wear a good dust mask. Once sand gets in your lungs it is not coming back out.
I have used the syphon type. They work allright, but take a while. My machinest just bead blasted my headers. He has a pressure pot setup. That thing is fast! He was taking off the rust and paint about as fast as if you were spray painting it!
I'm in the process of converting a 200 gal oil tank into a cabinet. 60" wide and 2' deep! I cut the bottom section off so as to form a funnel shape to hold the sand. I'll be making the inner frame, legs and screen tomorrow and should have it standing by 5.00pm or so. I'm just going with the flow on this! Hope I'm doing it right! Any web sites with plans or ideas? I couldn't find any so I just jumped in with both feet! AS usual! Bill
Er, how does a sandblaster work exactly I know the compressed air blasts the sand onto the jobbie, through a nozzle, but how does the sand get into the nozzle to start with? Is it fed in by gravity, from a hopper, like a continual stream of sand, with a valve to shut it off when you quit blasting? Or can the air **** it up a tube like a spray gun? Dumb, but elemental
[ QUOTE ] Er, how does a sandblaster work exactly I know the compressed air blasts the sand onto the jobbie, through a nozzle, but how does the sand get into the nozzle to start with? Is it fed in by gravity, from a hopper, like a continual stream of sand, with a valve to shut it off when you quit blasting? Or can the air **** it up a tube like a spray gun? Dumb, but elemental [/ QUOTE ] The most common type **** it up like a spray gun. Just a hose that sets in the pile of sand at the bottom of the cabnet. There is usualy a weight on the end of the hose to keep it down in the sand. The presure pot works just like it sounds. There is a pot of sand that is pressureized by the air. At least that is how I think that style works. Only seen it used once. The other style I have used many times. I do know the pressure pot kicks *** though! I wonder if you could make your own out of a propane cylinder or something?
Thanks a/fx. I've long contemplated building one myself, and begrudge handing over big bucks for something I can probably knock together out of s**** in the workshop
Morrisman, a siphon blaster works similarly to a carburator, using the "venturi" principle to pull sand up into the air stream. I probably could give you a quickie explanation, but better you look it up to get it 100% right. There are blasters that use a gravity fed hopper...better cause they use less air (CFM-wise) to do the same job. A pressure blaster uses an air pressurized tank to 'push' the sand out and into the air stream of the gun. Even more efficient thaan the others, but more expensive, and complicated. It is also sensitive to moisture in the air supply, since it pressurizes the tank, it can wet the sand in it and clump it up, so it won't travel up the supply line to the gun.
Can anyone give a run-thru on the mods to the propane cylinder? any diagrams or schematics? Thanks, Mart.
try here, they have cabinets and kits: www.tptools.com/prod_list_display.asp?dept%5Fid=L2%7E142&dept%5Fname%5Fp=Abrasive+Blasting+Cabinets&mscssid=XLFUBPMRAG339GT5GRM7695XJJ67BWW7 or www.tptools.com
Propane Cylinder Sand-Blaster -Remove valve from cylinder and purge any remaining gas. I blew out with compressed air a couple of times, then filled with water a couple of times, leaving filled with water the last time overnight. Be careful on this part. The one I made was from a 20 lb. cylinder, but I have since sourced a 30 lb. cylinder so will be making another as soon as I get some time. -Replaced tank valve with a pipe ******, ball style shut off valve, pipe X. The X has the bottom port plugged to provide a cleanout if required. The one horizontal port has a hose ****** for a air line to the top (bottom of the tank in original layout), small red line in picture. The other horizontal port has a ****** for a length of sandblast hose, I used about 8. The ****** going into the tank has a 6 piece of conduit jammed into it, the top end is flattened to seal it and a bunch of holes, approx 3/8 drilled through the side to make a bit of a filter to prevent clogging. -The top of the tank is drilled for two openings, one is a ½ npt threaded insert used for hydraulic tanks. The other for ½ of a 2 pipe ******. The threaded insert and pipe ****** are welded on SECURLEY. -The 1/2 insert has a short ****** threaded into it with a T with short ******s on each side and ball shut off valves. One shut off valve has a hose ****** and hose connected to the X at the bottom to supply air to the sandblast hose), small red line in picture. The other has a snap fitting for a air line to compressor. -The 2 pipe ****** has a removable cap to fill container with sand. I used fittings for irrigation lines that allow removal by releasing two levers. -Weld an axle and leg on the bottom and install wheels (I used some wheels off a old BBQ and some s**** ¾ square tube). -Source some sand blast hose and a nozzle (the one I use has a 1/8 opening). A good source in Canada is Princess Auto. -A little bit of paint to make it pretty, Chevy engine orange was handy. -Shut off valve to compressor is main shut off, Shut off valve going to bottom of tank is main air line. Both of these are normally full open. Shut off valve at bottom on the X fitting is the sand throttle. If it starts to clog a bit the main air line to the bottim of tank can be shut down forcing the sand out the bottom of tank. -Wear a head cover designed for sandblasting to protect your eyes, ears and skin, gloves and body protection. This thing put out sand at a lot of pressure and can be quite dangerous. There are no guarantees with this design and manufacture and use are at your own risk.
Thanks Canuck! Takes a little concentration but I think I got it! Simple actually. (The blaster layout...not ME smart***! Hahaha) What pressure do you usually run this at and how much faster is it than a siphon feed? Naturally anyone planning this would have a pressure vessel qualified welder approve the design AND do the actual welding! Canuck is just showing how his was built, NOT saying that anyone can or should build one. Info is free, but common sense should prevail. Bill
Usually run around 80 - 90 PSI on heavier metal. Haven't used on light weight stuff yet. Don't hold it in one spot to prevent heat build up. Speed, you are comparing a stock Model T to a Hemi powered A Coupe. No comparison, open the valve and rust almost instantly disappears.
Whoa! That much faster? Wild! Not even too much to it cost wise... Well, the ball valves and tip will add up but not that bad. Professional welding won't even be too much! I'm building a 60" blast cabinet as we speak! Planning on siphon feed but a small pot blaster would surely be a nice addition for the really rough stuff or for outdoor useage. Think I'll start collecting the hardware for one myself! Thanks for showing how yours was constructed Canuck. Bill
I built a cabinet for my dad using 2 sheets of 1/2" plywood. He already had a kit from tp tools, and I just made the box for him, on top of an old drafting table. I cannot recall the measurements of the top of my head. I'll see if my dad can send me some pics of it or some measurements. The base of it roughly measured 4 feet by 2 feet. the box is about 2 feet tall also. I made the corners stiffer by attatching 1" x 1" strips to 'em.
A link for a do it yourself blast cabinet: http://www.ford-trucks.com/articles/november2002/blastingcabinet.php This site is one of those you have to subscribe to, but it isn't a bad thing. Some good info there. I have been using a small bench top unit from Princess Auto here in Canada. Have done numerous modifications to it and still not happy. Unit is to small for anything much larger than a 48 spindle. Backing plates were too large. Would like to go for a larger unit similar to abve link as soon as I have space for it. Hard to fit it all in a one car garage.
Hackerbill I have a friend that is using a small pressure blaster that he bought from Princess Auto in a cabinet about 4 feet wide and loves it. All the benifits of a pressure blaster and no mess to clean up. His blaster has a lighter weight blast hose than mine. My hose would be a bit unwieldy going into a cabinet.
Made mine from a bunch of s**** wood I had laying around. It's a big heavy ******* (5/8" ply reinforced with 2x4s). 48" wide x 36" deep. If you got normal sized forearms... toilet mounting flanges work great for the glove holes! Then just hose-clamp your blasting gloves to the flange on the inside. I just have mine sitting on top of an old steel desk. Didn't make a "return" of any sort though. Just scooping it up with the dustpan and dumping it back into the hopper when needed.
The Jalopy Journal
