Harbour freight sand blasting cabinet

[csp]

I had a bench top HF cabinet, I gave it away when I got my TP960.

I wouldn't have ever bought a bench top to begin with, so good choice to give it away.

Not sure how that's relevant here though.

 

[Jswain]

I don't know what changes you have made since this thread began. You cannot pull from the bottom using a gravity feed with a system that was designed for a siphon feed. You need a good quality siphon feed. Also the media you are using is VERY abrasive. Choose your media based on what you will be using it for.

This siphon feed is from Metal Finishing Supply Co in Brookfield Wis, but many media places sell similar. I got mine from Temple Associates but they have been sold to another company now so I don't know what they have. Also with most of the HF units, be sure to reseal all the joints or you will forever be cleaning up leaky media. Get some quality gloves too because the ones with the HF cabinets don't last. Also consider having a custom floor cut for it because those bend and fall apart quickly too.

The flexible hose sits above the media. The right side of the metal hose goes to the gun feed. when the gun siphons air, that air is pulled down the flexible hose and enters the steel tube near the bottom. That means the air only needs to lift the media an inch or so before it enters the air flow. The way you have yours now in your original photos, the air siphon has to lift the weight of a column of media feet long, and fight the hose resistance too.



see https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/blaster-cabinet-media-flowing-like-a-wave.490525/ or https://www.jalopyjournal.com/forum/threads/hf-blast-cabinet.1052821/

You can definitely pull media from the bottom as he has it in his OP, many people do and it is a great upgrade from the suction tubes when working properly

I don't know if the OP has said it already but in that style gun changing the ceramic nozzle sizes I found made a huge difference in suction. You can get a 4 pack in various sizes I believe 6mm worked best on mine but unsure.

The best would be to upgrade the gun with a triggerless design but you may already have the pack of nozzles to try out

 

[RZ Guy]

There is 40 billiondy videos on YT to modify HF sand blast cabinets. I watched them all. I was going to modify mine then found one on CL that had pretty much all the mods I was going to do. So mine was sold and I bought the one in the video below. So now there is 40 billiondy and one videos on YT. After bringing it home I then had to make it work. PO spent some $$$ on mods but it required some "adjustments". I am no blasting expert but this one works quite well now.

 

[FredWanaker]

the one I have with a upgraded siphon feed works as well as the very expensive one I used to use in the machine shop. I have the air too. The only difference is the cabinet size and quality. The gloves are commercial too. The floor is a commercial floor cut to size. One needs a lot of air for a bottom feed to make it work right, and the air has to come in at the right spot as well. A siphon feed gun is not going to lift 3 or 4 feet of media on a consistent basis. The siphon has to be right near the bottom. Also the HF cabinet is going to over pack at the bottom. I have to constantly blow media down from the cabinet corners and sides, and back pressure it media occasionally because the cabinet is so poorly designed, that is why some people put vibrators on them. But it gets the job done, and I did not have the space for an industrial cabinet. I am also in my 70's now and have much less use for one since my younger years. When I pass, someone will get a real deal with my cabinet.

 

[1507dennis]

Your pick up tube is way way way to large!!!!!!!