blast cabinets .

[paccity]

been looking for a decent smaller bench top blast cabinet . just big enough to fit saw parts. what do yiu think about the hf units. for a little over a hundred i might roll the dice on one , has anyone used one and how do they work. i understand you get what you pay for. but 4-500.00 is steep on some of the other's i've priced.

 

[Bill G]

I have been looking myself. I know little to nothing about blast cabinets but I would surely be more interested in the quality of the blaster, sand pot and compressor than the steel cabinet around the part. I think the cabinet is irrelevant to the process

Bill

 

[Bubbles Up]

I use the blast cabinet at my work for all my blasting needs.For a hundred bucks you cant go wrong as you can resell and get at least 1/2 to 3/4 your your hard earned back. One of the key things is the blast media i have used glass, soda, gem, and sand it depends on what you are trying to remove and the finish that you want on the metal.

 

[Bill G]

I use the blast cabinet at my work for all my blasting needs.For a hundred bucks you cant go wrong as you can resell and get at least 1/2 to 3/4 your your hard earned back. One of the key things is the blast media i have used glass, soda, gem, and sand it depends on what you are trying to remove and the finish that you want on the metal.

Kinda what I was saying the cabinet is irrelevant

 

[LegDeLimber]

Don't know anything about the HF one,
but the few grit boxes that Ive been around all needed some common "wear parts" ,
i.e. the gloves, window glass, nozzles
and of course whatever medium you use.

If you can, check for availability of the parts and if something is a "standard" size
or an oddball.
Maybe someone here knows if any standard sizes exist in these things.

A decent, steep enough taper in the bottom so that the medium keeps cycling
But that quickly adds height to the unit though.
A screen in the bottom to catch the dingleberries and keep them out of the gun
will save a lot of hassle.

Take a look at the door to see if it shuts snug, if not,
it gets messy and that fine grit drifts into EVERYthing around.
(common weather stripping can help there)
A vacuum hook up is awfully nice too.

An interior light is almost mandatory (in my mind).

A source of DRY air is a big plus for using the cab too.

Sorry for not having a direct answer to your question,
or if you've already considered all of what I mentioned.
just hoping to help anyone who's reading, with what I can recall.

 

[Cantdog]

Kinda what I was saying the cabinet is irrelevant

I hate to be dissagreeable... but I dissargree.....there are two major things that are overlooked when looking at small blast cabinets that become very obvious after you've been blasting for a short time......One is the return air filter....on small inexpensive cabinets these are generally quite small and will clog with media and the crud you're blasting off very quickly......and this is when the second thing becomes apparent...the cover seals..the air from the nozzle still has to go somewhere if the filter is clogged and it will take a lot of media and crud with it, out through less than satisfactory seals...it will be in your pockets, pants, shirt sleeves, up your nose and everywhere else you can imagine...glass bead is VERY fine and will escape any where there is a chance. So to me at least the cabinet and return air system ( or lack thereof) is paramount in selecting a small blaster. Some of the other things to look at are (1) the availibility of replacement nozzles of differing sizes...(2) a light on the inside....(3) the ease of replacing the viewing window as this will get frosted rather quickly and that makes seeing what you are doing very hard.

The old addage "You get what you pay for" certainly holds true in the small bead blaster.....BTW I have a Cheep, leaky one with a small filter LOL!!! Works good except for all the afore mentioned draw backs.....

 

[thinkrtinker]

We have an older 30 x24 bench top that uses glass bead. Previous posters mentioned a return filter, a shop vac with a yellow drywall dust bag contains most of the mess and provides plenty of suction to keep the dust in the cabinet. Even so we have ours in an area that is easily cleaned. I helped a gunsmith friend set up a HF blaster and low quality was evident in the construction--flimsy. We mounted his to the wall with pivots to accommodate a wheelchair. As previously mentioned, make sure the glass can be cut at a local shop. The blast gun and replacement nozzles are available from Grainger. The two most valuable tools in our shop is a 1" wide belt sander and the blast cabinet. Hope this helps.:msp_thumbsup:

 

[blsnelling]

I find the design of the cabinet to be very important. It's the main reason that I threw my old one out last night, instead of repairing it. There was not enough of a funnel to the floor of it and it would constantly let the pickup run out of medium. So, I'm in the market as well.

 

[mad murdock]

Check out TP tools in OH, they have a good website, and catalog. They make the SkatBlast line of cabinets and they are reasonably priced for a well built cab! We have 2 stand alone SkatBlast cabinets where I work, one is nigh on 30+yrs old, the other we bought abt 9 yrs back (new) so we can run glass beads in one and plastic in the newer one. Thy are both plumbed on the same vacuum canister. Don't get HF unit, you will not save that much and for what you do save you won't like the quality, IMO.

 

[thinkrtinker]

I find the design of the cabinet to be very important. It's the main reason that I threw my old one out last night, instead of repairing it. There was not enough of a funnel to the floor of it and it would constantly let the pickup run out of medium. So, I'm in the market as well.


on a bench top remove half the bottom screen and use your hand to supply media to the suction

 

[barneyrb]

I have the HF 42202 and have found it adequate for my usage. There are some modifications that need to be made and here is what I did;
1) ALL internal joints where they lapped 2 pieces of metal got a bead of JB weld to seal up
2) REMOVE all factory sealing internally and see above
3) The square upright air intake on the right rear (when standing as if you were blasting) got stuffed with a couple of shop rags to keep contaminants out of cabinet
4) I bought a generic automotive cone air filter (3.5" diameter and it came with base bracket to screw to cabinet for mounting purposes) and used this for dust removal (mounted inside on left)
5) Hooked it up to a dedicated shop vac for dust removal (tube opening on left)
6) I bought one of those elcheapo florescent drop light and mounted it to the top (inside) with some minerallac straps (electrical item) for lighting

As I said for my usage with a little time and effort it works just fine.......too bad it requires mods but to an Engineer the world is a toy box just full of substandard toys....

THanks,

Randy in a duck blind with nothing flying.......

 

[gulity1]

Take it from someone that does not play with "toy" blasters My cabinet at work I drive complete car haulers in tractor or trailer at one time its 35x100 or so. Clean dry air is the killer any moister in the air like a humid day will go form hero to zero in minutes. yes that little change from night to morning sunrise humidity will change how it blasts We use black beauty (slag from steel mills) its very course. We run it at about 150psi with 2.5 hose I run though about 1600 lbs of media in a good day if it runs that long. With all that said I think that clean air and part avaliabilty is the number one key. Would you buy a brand new strunnk saw for your only main falling saw if was cheap, Hell no aint there no parts that saw Its fine to use for GTG and sitting on the shelf but not for everyday use. As far as dust and mess that is part of blasting Do not put the cabinet anywhere in the house your wife will shoot you for sure Or use your saws on you and your wood thats no good now is it? I know alot of guys that will blast out in the yard/garage with a pot type blaster with soda or sand, cleans up easy and if not just wash it away becasue it is innert wont harm anything. Or there are the hand held type kinda like a paint gun the cup/pot holds about 2 pounds. good for spots or small parts maybe use a perferated steel garden table?

Food for thought you will only use it what 30 minutes every 2 months? A cabinet type setup is limitted to what you can fit in the door may not long enough for long bars? dont know Add the size of the cabinet and about 2 ft on all sides pretty large foot print. The up side is its all contained.

If you need something blasted send to me Ill take care of it The down side is it leaves a very ruff surface finish

 

[buzz sawyer]

I've had one of the $100 models from Tractor Supply for about two years now. I don't have the room for a larger unit. I have no experience with more expensive units.

It has an internal light but small exhaust filter. The door seals are decent but I ran a hose from my dust collector to the exhaust filter and it keeps negative pressure inside.

Yes, the bottom slope is inadequate. Adding more media (glass beads) helped but I still have to redistribute the media occasionally during extended cleaning - not a big deal to me. I also leave the pick up hose free so I can move it to where the media has piled up.

I removed the grid on the bottom as it just seemed to take up space. The main housing of the Mall 2MG fit but was a little cramped.

The cleaning tip is ceramic and I haven't seen any wear yet. Hoses and gloves are holding up well.

The door window appears to be plexiglas or similar material and it came with a replaceable mylar shield and spares. After I used the last one, I just went without it. The door window door eventually got blasted so I clean it and hit it with a coat of clear polyurethane now and then. That keeps it as clear as I need it.

Definitely not a tool for high production but it's more than adequate for my needs.

 

[torinocobra]

Check out TP tools in OH, they have a good website, and catalog. They make the SkatBlast line of cabinets and they are reasonably priced for a well built cab! We have 2 stand alone SkatBlast cabinets where I work, one is nigh on 30+yrs old, the other we bought abt 9 yrs back (new) so we can run glass beads in one and plastic in the newer one. Thy are both plumbed on the same vacuum canister. Don't get HF unit, you will not save that much and for what you do save you won't like the quality, IMO.

I can second this. I use my shop vac so I can see, it has a light, feeds well, seals well, I can easily trade out media depending on what I am using. It doesn't take up bench space and is a good size. And consumables (window shield, nozzles, ets) are readily available and cheap. TP Tools has been great.

 

[graybear13]

As I read the replies, I noticed that there was no mention of using a respirator to keep from breathing the sand dust. Silicosis is a very nasty condition that will make your life miserable and kill you in the end. I have a home built blast cabinet with a shop vac attached and it still gets dusty. Do I wear a respirator? You had best believe I do! Be safe with these things and live longer.

 

[Ironhand]

I have a smaller unit I originally bought from Eastwood. It's blow-molded plastic. It works great for chainsaw and motorcycle sized parts. I bypassed the whole filter clogging issue by venting it directly to the outside of my garage and added a cheap flourescent undercabinet light inside it. My only gripe is the plexiglass cover which gets beat up quickly by the media, requiring replacement.

 

[Scooterbum]

As I read the replies, I noticed that there was no mention of using a respirator to keep from breathing the sand dust. Silicosis is a very nasty condition that will make your life miserable and kill you in the end. I have a home built blast cabinet with a shop vac attached and it still gets dusty. Do I wear a respirator? You had best believe I do! Be safe with these things and live longer.

I've never used sand because of that.TSC has blast media too cheap to use any other.
Built my first cabinet out of an old discarded floor type display case from a deli.Worked great but couldn't fit a MC frame in it. Built the next one out of plywood and it's 8 years and still working. I did opt for a 60lb. pressure pot under it, big difference. I also have the small desk type from TSC and it works good for all that I do with it.The inside light sucks though.
On the large cabinet I installed a 4' shop light on top with plexiglass seperating it.Added a hookup for shopvac.

 

[toolfreak]

Have you checked MSC industrial supply or ENCO. They have some good models. We have a bead blaster at the shop that came from MSC, works great!

 

[pioneerguy600]

I have a floor model blast cabinet sold up here by Princess Auto, it does everything I need it to, doesn`t clog,leak or give me any grief. It has an interior fluorescent light built in, 3" vent adaptable to a shop vac and will hold a full bag of blast media. The safety glass in the top is protected by replaceable clear Mylar sheets. Several came with the cabinet and it can be bought as replacement parts or in a roll that would make dozens of pieces, just peel off the beat up one and replace with a new self adhesive one.

 

[Zombiechopper]

I have the counter top smaller model that Jerry has from Princess Auto. I have a few years of use on it now. The top door seals leak like crazy ( I tape em shut for a lengthy job) The return air filter is useless. I run a shop vac next to the lid to keep the dust down.

But, it was CHEAP. So, I would still recommend one. Just realize they need some improvement, like replacing seals, a better filter etc. The biggest issue with any of them is having enough air to feed them. You need a serious compressor to do them justice. I'm running a single stage 2.5 horse and it is horribly underpowered for blasting. Also, DRY air is essential. You need a moisture trap, it's not an option.