Do you have a sandblaster

[skyking]

What brand ,what agrigate/media. Do you use it much. Is it worth having and taking up the room.

 

[c2sedan]

I built my own afew years ago.
Cabinet dimensions are: 36"W X 24"H X 24"D.
Due to space limitations I placed the door at the front.
I just run black sand.
I have to say it is one of the most used tools I own.
Hardly a project goes by that it doesn't come into play.

 

[brianpgriset]

Trinco 36bp. Black beauty 40/60. I use it all the time. Same dimensions as above. It's worth every penny.

 

[PCO6]

I have a home made cabinet in my 2 car garage and although it's not used on a weekly or even monthly basis at times I definately think it's worth having. I plan to make a new stand for it that will have casters so I can move it outside on occassion. I set mine up for both pressure and siphon feed.

I usually purchase my media at Princess Auto and find the "Greengrit" to be pretty good for general blasting.
http://www.princessauto.com/pal/category/1000-320-415-659-182/Abrasives

 

[EOC_Jason]

I got a friend with a 36 x 24 cabinet, and another with probably like a 48 x 24 or larger...

They have glass beads and that black diamond or oxide slag stuff... Not really sure... I just know when I want to be gentle I use the glass beads, otherwise the other stuff...

They are great for cleaning off rust and prepping metal for painting... Just be aware you need a good air compressor that can keep up...

 

[A_Pmech]

I have a home made cabinet in my 2 car garage and although it's not used on a weekly or even monthly basis at times I definately think it's worth having. I plan to make a new stand for it that will have casters so I can move it outside on occassion. I set mine up for both pressure and siphon feed.

Nice work!

 

[NUTTSGT]

I bought one at Summit in the Clearance section for $75. I had to rebend a few panels but it's been nice having it.

I use glass bead from TSC, probably the same stuff availble anywhere, for aluminum and light work. I usually keep blast sand in it for everything else, which I buy at the local concrete supply house.

 

[Garage5.9]

Allways wanted one but never had a big enough compressor until now i think? Is a 60 gallon sufficent or just barley big enough ?

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

....I usually keep blast sand in it for everything else, which I buy at the local concrete supply house.

Eric, Tell us you're NOT using ordinary white silica sand or "play" sand? Sandbox sand?

To the OP you may as well hear it here: there's a condition called silicosis that is deadly and it comes from inhaling sand particles. White silica sand in particular can cause this and an ordinary dust mask will NOT protect you either.

 

[skyking]

Eric, Tell us you're NOT using ordinary white silica sand or "play" sand? Sandbox sand?

To the OP you may as well hear it here: there's a condition called silicosis that is deadly and it comes from inhaling sand particles. White silica sand in particular can cause this and an ordinary dust mask will NOT protect you either.

Thanks I'll google it.

 

[NUTTSGT]

Eric, Tell us you're NOT using ordinary white silica sand or "play" sand? Sandbox sand?

To the OP you may as well hear it here: there's a condition called silicosis that is deadly and it comes from inhaling sand particles. White silica sand in particular can cause this and an ordinary dust mask will NOT protect you either.

Ok, I'm not using ordinary white silica sand or "play" sand? Sandbox sand?

 

[EOC_Jason]

Allways wanted one but never had a big enough compressor until now i think? Is a 60 gallon sufficent or just barley big enough ?

Depends on how patient you are... A "true" 5 HP would be the preferred minimum, but the more common fake ones (5SPL or 6) that are more like ~3 HP are *okay*, you just have to pay attention and let the pressure build back up as most cabinets will use more air than those compressors can supply.

 

[canuckian]

Just bought one today! They had them on sale at princess auto. Picked up a couple bags of recycled glass beads to get me started. Though I'm pretty sure it'll soon be time to upgrade my compressor. Been looking for an excuse for a while and this just might be the excuse I've been looking for! I figure mine will run it in short bursts for now till I can find a good deal on a 60 or 80 gal.

 

[djd99]

Eric, Tell us you're NOT using ordinary white silica sand or "play" sand? Sandbox sand?

To the OP you may as well hear it here: there's a condition called silicosis that is deadly and it comes from inhaling sand particles. White silica sand in particular can cause this and an ordinary dust mask will NOT protect you either.

I am and have been for at least 20 years now but thanks for the concern, Now I'll go black to using bad silica. Oh and my dads almost 80 now and he's used silica in his blasters for well over 40 years now. Him and his partner ran a sandblasting business from late 70's up untill late 80's and there both as healthy as can be. Solely using white silica sand.

 

[Steevo]

Trinco 36/BP here too.
Love it!

What a time saver it is.

 

[bmwpower]

This is mine.

 

[skyking]

I'm jelous. How about a HF 40 pounder. $209.

 

[denis4x4]

Eric, Tell us you're NOT using ordinary white silica sand or "play" sand? Sandbox sand?

To the OP you may as well hear it here: there's a condition called silicosis that is deadly and it comes from inhaling sand particles. White silica sand in particular can cause this and an ordinary dust mask will NOT protect you either.

I was 70 when I bought my first sand blaster....really not too concerned anymore. However, i'm having my attorney prepare some release forms for those who want to watch me blast something.

 

[alberto]

I have a Harbor Freight one and just bought a Snap on one off Craigslist. I'm going to keep garnet in one and soda in the other. I've been using garnet, but if I don;t primer the parts I sandblast right away, they get a slight layer of rust that I want to clean off with the much gentler soda, as well as soda is good for just general cleaning of aluminum parts.

 

[9GUY9]

I just (today) finished redoing a homemade blaster I bought a few weeks ago. It is awesome. I have probably already used it 10hrs. I have aluminum oxide and glass bead. The glass bead leaves a nice sating finish on every thing, but takes 2x as long to strip paint as the Aluminum Oxide. The alu ox works much faster and leaves a acceptable finish for painting on every thing I have tried it on.

It has shown the weakness of my compressor, a Sandborn 3hp 60gal 10cfm. It will keep up, but runs constantly and gets VERY hot causing alot of moisture in the air. I'm sure the heat is also killing the pump. My biggest problem has been dealing with "wet" air. A regular Kobalt air filter from Lowes did not help at all. I am now using a Sharpe 606 painting air filter, but it is still letting a bit of moisture through.

 

[James E]

I have a Skat Blast similar to BMWPOWER's (although I don't have the sweet vacuum setup to go with it). I got mine about eleven or twelve years ago and love it. I go long periods of time without using it but when I do, I use it alot and nothing is better for prepping car parts for paint than a sandblaster.

99% of the time I use aluminum oxide. It cuts aggressively, lasts a long time, doesn't cloud up the cabinet and it leaves a good surface for paint.

Buy the biggest cabinet you can afford with the biggest window, biggest door and get a light source inside it. I chose my cabinet because I can fit a wheel in it and turn it around without opening the door. I figured if I needed to do anything larger, I could do it outside with my siphon unit.

Also get the casters and roll it outside whenever you sandblast. Unless you invest in a really good vacuum system, you will get abrasive dust everywhere. Be careful if you buy really cheap cabinets--they usually have really big grates in the bottom that can let small parts fall through. That's a PITA.

Buy a very good respirator. Silicosis is a crappy way to die.

I have a 60 gallon tank on my compressor. I often have to stop and let it catch up. Very few jobs can use as much air as sandblasting.

 

[isaac338]

Here's the one I built. Big enough to do bicycle/motorcycle frames and axle housings and whatnot. Basically the same footprint as the regular chinese cabinet but four or five times as big inside.

 

[J Persons]

I bought a Harbor Freight floor standing model years ago, The gun was **** so I replaced it with a Campbell Hausfield gun and now it works great. I use glass beads on aluminum parts and aluminum oxide in steel parts. I get the media from Harbor Freight, because they are the cheapest I've found. I tried the Black Beauty from TSC, but it didn't work well for me.

 

[PCO6]

Nice work!

A_Pmech - Thanks. I've used it now for about 35 years and it's worked well. I would probably do a few things differently though. The hopper should be about a foot deeper for faster drainage and I'd probably put in a bit larger window. I have glass cut at an auto windshield place and they last at least 2 or 3 years. And, as mentioned, I'd like to redo the stand and add casters ... all on my list of "retirement" jobs when I get there in a few years!

 

[NUTTSGT]

Mine is the basic Clarke unit (same thing different brand as the rest).

My venting system, which goes outside.

 

[uppster]

My Uncle went to an OSHA meeting last month to keep his Union certification. They said silica will be the next asbestos. Silica is in almost everthing in new construction from sheetrock to tile grout. The lawyers will have job security forever.

 

[metalmagpie]

You don't want to blast with silicon sand (beach sand) that's for sure. The biggest thing people don't understand is to buy 120 grit or finer blasting media, for 1/8" tips. And knock the bottom out of an old wooden desk drawer and staple on some window screen and sift your media before and after blasting. That plus dry air nearly eliminates clogs, which are the bane of home blasting.

metalmagpie

 

[Lotek]

I brought my HF tabletop blaster to work, rigged it up with a small shop vac with a hepa filter, glass beads work well for my application. Replaced the shyte gloves with some good ones, replaced the window when it got cloudy with a conveniently sized piece of glass shelving. "Official" use is glass beading diesel fuel injector tubes since GM wants them reused, and the design promotes rust at the seal area, I've used it for that twice...

 

[PCO6]

metalmagpie - Speaking of "clogs" I learned to keep a cover over my sandblaster tank (post #4 above) when its not being used. It clogged and I went through all of the usual checks and still had a problem. I decided to take the pipe outlet off of the bottom of the tank and I found the problem. A mouse had fallen into the open tank from the top and couldn't get out. Its carcass eventually made its way to the bottom of the tank and clogged it. Lesson learned!

 

[wnstwolf]

I hate reading these posts. I have a trinco that before I knew any better had silica in it and yes was piped to my compressor with PVC pipe and after taking the piece out of the blast cabinet I wiped it down with MEK without using gloves. The uneducated are doomed. I am not sure I was better off not knowing the damage I was doing or now trying to be more conscience of it? Icarumba the challanges of being a garage guy!

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

I am and have been for at least 20 years now but thanks for the concern, Now I'll go black to using bad silica. Oh and my dads almost 80 now and he's used silica in his blasters for well over 40 years now. Him and his partner ran a sandblasting business from late 70's up untill late 80's and there both as healthy as can be. Solely using white silica sand.

Oh, ok then. Nevermind to the OP. Don and his dad say silicosis isn't really an issue so you don't need to fear dying an agonizing death in exchange for doing a little DIY stuff.

http://www.osha.gov/dsg/topics/silicacrystalline/endsilicosis.html

 

[darkk]

We have a small stand up unit. Even when I had a gun with a hose and a 5 gal pail it was worth having your own...

 

[Jim Stabe]

I built my own pressure assist blaster from an old air tank and it works great. For those that don't know, the idea is you use a siphon gun and use low pressure air (7-15 psi) to move the abrasive out of the hopper and up to the gun. Hardly ever clogs and you don't have high pressure in the vessel. I have about $70 in parts to build it.



View attachment schematic.pdf

For media I use Kleen Blast 100 grit that I buy from White Cap for $12/100 lb bag. No silica, cheap and it works well. I don't have a cabinet yet but I keep looking on CL for the right deal.

 

[skyking]

Thanks guys,lots of good info.I think I will stay away from silica just to be on the safe side.I like the shop vac vent system. I used my neighbors and loved it.Wouldn't feel right using his again.........you know. Cant find one on CL so I will probably buy a stand up at HF.

 

[J Persons]

Mine is the basic Clarke unit (same thing different brand as the rest).

That cabinet is identical to my Harbor Freight blast cabinet.

 

[JasonW]

Great info everyone. I was looking at cabinets on CL the last couple days. Knew I would need a bigger compressor but thought it was about tank size rather than horse power. Anyone else have thoughts on Harbor Freight media? I try to stay out of that place, but they are good for some things.

 

[tcianci]

I have a Skat Blast cabinet from TP tools, I love it! The nice thing about a good sized cabinet is that you can fit lots of stuff in it and it's ready to use instantly. I also have a home made pressure blaster, and 2 small "bottle" blasters for little spot type work. I started out with black beauty in the pressure blaster but it clogged too much. Then I went with TP "speed bead". Now I'm using HF aluminum oxide. A little on the coarse side but it eats rust off of steel like mad. I'm using a DeVilbiss 6.5 HP 80 gallon 17.4 CFM compressor and while it does keep up with the cabinet, it's cranking quite a bit of the time. You can NEVER have enough air capacity in your shop

 

[djd99]

Oh, ok then. Nevermind to the OP. Don and his dad say silicosis isn't really an issue so you don't need to fear dying an agonizing death in exchange for doing a little DIY stuff.

http://www.osha.gov/dsg/topics/silicacrystalline/endsilicosis.html

Save your concern I don't need it and won't stop using silica either.

 

[Dan in Pasadena]

Save your concern I don't need it...

Oh, I'm not concerned about you at all since you're not.
I AM concerned about myself and others here including the original poster but he's already said he's decided its not worth the possible downside.

....and won't stop using silica either.

Well, I hope the result is NOT but since you're determined, party on, you think you know better

 

[JasonW]

Dan, thanks for the warning. Never occurred to me not to use sand for sand blasting. I am reminded of the guys who used to sand blast the old color coat off stucco homes. Haven't seen anyone doing that in years. Suppose this may be why.