Featured Technical My Media Blast Cabinet

Thought I would share with you guys my media blast cabinet.

This started as 275 Gal. fuel/oil heating tank, from back in the day.
It was built by an old-time welding shop near me, sometime in the 1950s.
My dad talked him out of it in the late 1960s and bought it.
It was in my dads garage until the early 1990s and used for many, many projects.

It was moved from his garage to my shop around then and has been in my shop for 35 years or so.
It is used virtually every day for something from small stuff to external transmission components etc. and even bigger stuff.
It is used a lot!

The smaller access door, in the door is for longer stuff like drive shafts, sway bars etc. that won't fit in the cabinet.

I just recently cleaned it out and updated it, so I took some photos to show you guys.

It is siphon feed and use initially 300LBS of gl*** bead.
I get about 1 year of use before I need to change media.
Gl*** bead around here cost with tax, is around $420.00 for 300LBS.
May sound expensive but in reality, that's costing me about $35.00 per month of daily constant use.

The gl*** is hardware store, like 1/8" plate gl***, like you would use for a screen door and is dirt cheap and I have them cut a half dozen or so to size at a time.
I may replace the gl*** 2-3 times a year, doesn't get etched bad over time, maybe due to the size of the cabinet and the media not beating it up so much, not sure?
I don't do anything to protect the gl***.
I have only broken one gl***, smacking it with a part in 35 years.

Lighting now updated from the brightest incandescent outdoor flood lights that were available to 3 350 watt LED all gl*** outdoor flood light bulbs.
Holy cow is it bright in there now!

Exhaust is a Dayton furnace draft inducer blower that runs at about 3000RPM and exhausts outside the building through a drier vent.

Best part, I can sit down on a chair and blast to my hearts content for hours, instead of standing up or sitting on a real high stool, like with store bought type cabinets available.

My 44 year old air compressor "Nelly Bell", I am sure is not so impressed running for hours at a time though!

This piece of equipment has been in service for more than 70 Years and still going strong!

Don't know how I would ever survive doing the kind of work we do, without it!

Bill

 

That's ginormous!

 

I'd love to have one that big! Cool!

 

That what she said

 

Would be interesting to see the compressor & know the cfm requirements

 

Compressor is a Champion 5HP, 2 stage, 80 gallon, 3 phase electric.
Bought it new in 1982 and still going strong with only minimal repairs over the years.
Don't recall the CFM rating, but not real high compared to today standards.

Generally blast at around 90-100PSI or so depending on what I am blasting.
I will admit, I will crank up the pressure depending on what I am blasting or in a hurry.
I do try to limit that, as it wears out the media faster with high pressures.

Bill

 

Thats really nice for a home built unit. Keep in mind, the death sentence for air compressors is when you use so much air that the unit can't keep up and never shuts off to cool. They need that break to cool off the valve springs, wimpy thin things that don't like too much heat. Nice unit there though!

 

Awesome blasting cabinet! I envisioned building one from a fuel/oil tank many times over the years but never got around to it. It might happen soon though. My blasting cabinet was one of the things s****ped in a insurance settlement after a recent fire when a power line came down causing a fire in a out building.
My old 5HP 2 stage 80 gal tank compressor has been working great since 1984 with only basic yearly maintenance. That's just about the right size for my needs as well. Like you I have spent a lifetime finding out what works the best for my blasting needs.
It looks like your set-up will last another 70 years. Nice piece of equiipment!

 

It is stuff like this that you don't see in any Hot Rod magazine--great job. But I have to wonder if a pressure system would be better than the siphon feed. Well maybe a little quicker, I am not sure.

 

OK, guys. No excuses. In most places where it gets cold, these tanks come up Free every year as people switch to other heating methods. Let's see your version! (Or be one of the "go to" guys in your club).

 

Billy, we know you are in Washington. Are you near the flooding? Hoping not.

 

I didn't expect to see a nice clean shop and VERY well built blast cabinet and installation when I started reading your post! BIG feature is allowing to sit vs stand, like I have to. AAA+

 

Nah, a few road closures around a little creek locally known as Salmon Creek. More like Orca Creek the last couple of days.