Bead Blast cabinet plans??

[HUSTLESTUFF]

I was wondering if anyone has made their own bead blasting cabinet. I had used my friends for a couple of years but had to give it back when I moved. I'm looking for a fairly large(long) cabinet so I can blast grilles from time to time. Eastwood has a nice plastic one for around $500, but I was wondering if it would be worth it to build my own. Love the site. I'm almost finished with my dream shop. 36 x 80 x 14h

 

[motorheadjohn]

Hey Mike, didn't know you were a member here too!!!

TP Tools has cabinet plans and the parts/supplies/kits for building a blast cabinet of plywood.

Here is a complete kit

And here is just basic syphon-feed parts

 

[Luckydevil]

Someone had a good idea the other day and said they used a cheapo cabinet from harbor freight and then just threw away the gun part and replaced it with a high quality one.

Both of these are benchtop models for under $100.
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=45411
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=38440

a couple more larger ones for $299
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=47603
http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=39170

 

[imported_banzaitoyota]

Here is my $99 Cabinet from Homier (same unit Harbor Freight sells for $299)

 

[imported_banzaitoyota]

TP Tools supplied the gun, siphon tube and seperator, Harbor Freight for the Reglator and the dust collector was purchased at lowes. BTW: the dust collector is much quieter than a shop vac

 

[mikeyr]

I used TP plans and kit and made it exactly the size I needed

Advantange of building it yourself is that you can change the size of the plans to make it bigger or smaller as needed. I tried using a shop vac and it was too noisy and I could not see inside well enough, I went back to TP and purchased one of their dust collectors, HUGE difference, expensive and so worth it !

 

[motorheadjohn]

Someone had a good idea the other day and said they used a cheapo cabinet from harbor freight and then just threw away the gun part and replaced it with a high quality one.

That's what I did. Tossed the HF gun without even trying to hook it up...I simply assumed it would be junk and got a good one.

I cleaned a [plastic] Roadrunner grill in my cabinet with walnut shells but it was tough to reach several areas and the grill barely fit. I think buying or building a better cabinet will be the long-term solution.

 

[HUSTLESTUFF]

Thanks for all the links. I drew up some plans and will probably use tp parts. I wanted to put an extension for doing grilles and will put a door on one side and a hole in other using dzeus fasteners to either attach cover or extension. What type of dust collector is that from Lowes? I'll have to look. Would you use foot or trigger control? I've used the foot and liked it.

 

[imported_banzaitoyota]

I have the foot pedal, dont care for it. I am just going to mount a ball valve to control the air flow

 

[Old Bikes]

Hello all-

I have access to a Harbor-Freight type of blast cabinet. I have used it over the years but not really impressed with its performance. I want to retro-fit it with a GREAT GUN. Any suggestions?

ALso, i have a 60-gallon compressor. Wondering if any of you have installed another air tank in-line to increase volume?

What media do you recommend for blasting primarily steel parts?

Thanks for your expertise!

Chris

 

[rwhite692]

Hello all-

I have access to a Harbor-Freight type of blast cabinet. I have used it over the years but not really impressed with its performance. I want to retro-fit it with a GREAT GUN. Any suggestions?

ALso, i have a 60-gallon compressor. Wondering if any of you have installed another air tank in-line to increase volume?

What media do you recommend for blasting primarily steel parts?

Thanks for your expertise!

Chris

You can improve on the HF blaster (and many others) by converting it to a bottom-feed "venturi" arrangement as opposed to the siphon type pickup tube:

If you have enough compressor, converting to one of these type guns, and running 1/2" hoses throughout, will get you some really awesome performance, as well:

Mike at Tacoma Company is a great guy, extremely knowledgeable and his stuff is priced very reasonably. He sells a kit specifically for upgrading the HF cabinets, because so many folks are in the same situation as you describe.

In my case, I was building my own blast cabinet and knew that I wanted to use this type of venturi arrangement. The last one I built when I lived in NY, circa 1988, used a siphon tube.

I also got my gloves, glove flanges, and gun from Mike:

I am using an abrasive blend of 50/50 crushed glass and garnet and find it works very well for typical paint prep/light rust removal. Mike mentioned that blasting pressures should be kept to between 50-60 PSI, higher than that just accelerates the breakdown of the media without much change in productivity.

Here is the cabinet I made, it is 30x30x48. The stand is 2" aluminum welded square tubing. Four 100W equivalent CFLs are in a box over the top located over an additional window.

Rather than use a foot pedal air valve, I used a 110V 1/2" NPT solenoid valve (5/8" internal ports) and a foot switch pedal.

Use clear film as already mentioned, to protect your viewing pane. I bought my film from Grainger, it is made for blast cabinets, is crystal clear, and is WAY cheaper than the stuff TIP sells (might be the same stuff).

Grainger item number is 3JT12
It is qty 20 precut sheets which are 12x24
It is made / sourced from blast cabinet manufacturer Econoline
$20.36 for 20 sheets, can't beat it....

Rob