Thinking about buying a sand blast cabinet for the shop. I own a 40# pressure pot that I have been using outdoors that does a really good job for me. My problem is using it outdoors I lose all my media. I don't mind on large parts like frames etc. but when I want to blast smaller parts I would rather do it in a cabinet where I can recover the media. My question is how do these cabinets work?? Do I hook my pressure pot up to them or are they the siphon variety where I pour the media into the cabinet??? I am also looking for suggestion on what to purchase as well. I would like to be able to have a cabinet big enough to do wheels in. Thank you all in advance for any help & I hope you are having a great memorial day.
got mine from one of the super sales at local Harbor Freight-item # 93608-big enough for wheels-siphon style-I use glass bead- have smaller 6.5 HP compressor/ 30 gal tank-works good for me to do aluminum intakes, removing paint from wheels, interior door frames, etc. like anything, it depends on how you plan to use it and how deep your pockets are.
Your first concern is your compressor. I am going to make an assumption that if you drive a pressure pot, your compresser is big enough for a cabinet. I bought and gave away one of those Harbor Freight cabinets. The steel is adequate for the home shop but thei light, to use a techinical term, sucks I suggest that your cabinet purchase be driven by the use.If you plan quite substantial usage, buy the best made cabinet you can large enogh for twice what your initial plans of usage. Next, you will want to consider a water trap, oil drier, and pressure regulator. When I built my 62, I had access to a couble lung Snap On compresser and very large cabinet. Could have done a convertible door in there, certainly model a, T doors. Other than that, let your wallet be your guide. I suggest doing the right one first, saves money having to do it again. As to media lost using the pressure pot, try blasting over a large tarp, then you can reclaim media. A small house hold strainer will filter out most debries large enough to clog tips.
I just recently bought one of Harbor Freights large table top cabinets for small parts. I also bought 50 lbs. of glass beads. It is a suction type cabinet. What a piece of crap!!! As soon as the glass bead was emptied in the cabinet it started running out the supposed sealed joints. I have already lost half of the glass bead and the tip was so soft it hardly works now. I have a decision to make, do I try to reseal the joints or scrap this piece of junk. I own two 80 lb. capacity pressurized sand blasters and they work fine as long as the humidity is low.
I found this on your local craigslist............ http://chambana.craigslist.org/tls/2391052215.html Also, you could make your own............ http://www.hainesengineering.com/rhaines/plans_sandblasting.htm If none of that works, go here............... http://www.tptools.com/ Oh, and as far as keeping your media contained with your pressure pot blaster, I threw together this and it works great! Really light bisquene (about $3 for 200 sq ft) and a HF tarp on the ground.
get a good one. ours is from a tool comany in ohio. cant remember the name right now. i think our cab is 48x36x36. we also bought a 2 ft extension cabinet and the wall vent. keeps the dust outside. buy some extra gloves and the acetate shields for the glass. tp tools, thats it, goin on 5 years now. still works great.
I bought Harbor Freight and am sorry for it. Spend the money and get one from TP or Eastwood. Don't waste your money on anything but the best! That's my 2 cents and I'm sticking to it!
I got the Tractor Supply Store 99 dollar benchtop model. It works very well for small parts. Nothing bigger than an intake but the metal floor screen is weak at best. Still it is good enough for small resto work.
I just put my HF free standing unit together the other day, I hooked up my vacuum to the port on the side, then about 5 seconds later the glass imploded. Make sure you have the vent on the back open. One more thing to add to my list of idiot moves.
I bought a Scat blast cabinet 12 years ago and it's still working good. Every once in a while I cover the glass with acetate to protect it from the media and replace the tip on the siphon gun. My only complaint is static electricity, no matter how I ground it I get zapped when my elbow hits outside the gloves.
i have an old cabinet that a friend gave to me. it was pretty shot so i replaced the glass , new gloves and cut a hole in the bottom to attach a flex tube to that drops into a covered 5gal. bucket to recover the media. i found that getting the spent media out of the cab. helps keep the dust down to a mere sandstorm instead of something worse. I also cut a large hole in the side so i can push my deadman in whithout disassembly. made up a rubber flap arrangement to block the opening keeping the sand inside. i also rigged up an old shop vac as a dust removal vac pulling the dust out of the cabinet through an auto air filter. (clean this and the vac filter often!!) i can blast inside the garage with no dust cloud at all.
I'm looking to do the same. This Summer, I'm considering replumbing my compressor's lines, dedicating one line for sandblasting to the back wall with a tee between the outside blaster (behind garage) and a cabinet. TP is the way to go, and I'll just wait til I have the scratch saved up. (Curious if the wall vent was from TP as well. I can't seem to find my catalog.)
We have an ACE blasting cabinet in our shop. It has been here about 15 years now. Works great http://www.ace-sandblasting.com/blast-cabinets.html
Shop? as in home shop or business shop? Here is the more expensive, but nicer ones. http://www.badboyblasters.com/index.html
Built several cabinets following TIP Tools DIY plans; but used scrap sheet steel instead of plywood. Sized them to where and what they would be used for. Cheap to build and works well. You can't begin to imagine how much you will use a cabinet until you have one in your shop.
I bit the bullet and bought a Tip cabinet system many years ago when they were on sale at Carlisle. Best tool I ever bought. It comes with it's own dedicated shop vacuum. Mine is about 4 foot wide. I say to save your money on the cheap toys and buy a real tool. It seemed like a lot for a hobby tool at the time but I am so glad that I stepped up. I have never complained about it being too small. I have replaced the gloves and of course the nozzles many times over the years and it's nice to have them readily available. I put mine upstairs in my garage. All that I have to do is turn on the compressor, open the air valve and start blasting. You will use it much more if it does not require a bunch of set up time. Yesterday the cap retainer clips for my old Mallory dist looked funky. Solvent didn't work so 60 seconds in the cabinet and they look new again. Save your money and buy a real tool and not a toy. You'll be much happier down the road.
Set it on a piece of sheet metal and stand on that. Should take care of the static. Or, connect a jumper wire from the cabinet to you.
Zero is the name of the cabinet i own and let me tell you it would be the last one you will need to buy.Any serius shop has one and love it,try it and you will understand.They are spendy but well worth it,in todays times you see them often in close down sales.Keep your eyes peeled,paid 750 for mine and it is like new.
I purchased a Trinco brand for my tool and die shop more than 10 years ago. This has proven to be one of my best buys! They are out of Michigan, have excellent customer service and plenty of replacement parts one could ever need.
Check your local tool liquidiator also. A couple of years ago I bought an Empire 24" x 48" cabinet with dust collection for $700. About a quarter of the retail price. Very good quality cabinet.
I know people who have had these, they generally were poorly assembled, a bit of silicone or even duct taping the joints seals them up but you will need to find a source for a replacement ceramic nozzle that is of better quality. I had a Snap-on unit and was pleased with it. I am looking at a TIP unit now, sold the Snap-on quite a while ago due to being short sighted. The TIP units are about half the money of the Snap-on, sometimes even cheaper but are comparable quality. Changing media in them is difficult but possible if you are working with alot of different metals. Most of the TIP units use a vaccum to clear the dust, Snap-on used 2 small fans with big cloth catch bags. I think the fans removed less usable media than the vaccum would, but not certain of that.
I have a TP Tools cabinet.....the anniversary edition. It has been great. They always have a shipping deal going on.
i have a snap-on cabinet i bought about 10 years ago. has a fan and dust collection bag built in. can fit a wheel in it, but it gets crowded with one in there, but it's doable. have blasted a ton of stuff in it over the years. the bottom of it is tapered to a 'v' shape with a 'drain plug' so changing media is pretty easy.
Got a 960 TP.Been great.Buy as big as you can afford,and room for. Absolutly change to carbide nozzles,keep extra window shields on hand. Upgrade the vacuum.The base one is ok but does not keep with real rusty,dusty stuff.Worth the extra $.
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