HF blast cabinet..

[PoorOwner]

I just put together the HF blast cabinet last night. The fit and finish is actually quite decent, it does NOT have 500 screws and rivets like the mail order import kind that ships in a flat box, that you have to put each panel together.

The hopper and cabinet was its own piece, all was needed was put them together, and the legs.

There were a couple HF stock numbers for the cabinet, I insisted they gave me the higher stock # which must be the latest version. (also had the mid shelf to add some stablity). I heard some recommendation on here to caulk the joints, mine already was caulked all around and I see no need to do so. Maybe I will around the outside seams of the hopper just in case.

I didn't hook up the gun it came with, I am going to order the skat gun from TPtools.

I bought a mover's dolly at HF for cheap, stole the casters and made a 3/4" plywood cart for the cabinet, this raised 4.5" so I cut the legs by that same amount. The legs are anchored down and won't flex around now.

If you know any tips to use this thing just let me know. I am have a shopvac I was going to throw away due to weak motor, maybe I will use on this for a while.

 

[jimvannoy]

I have a HF blast cabinet. Been using it for several years. I had to seal all the seams real good. I tried it out of the box and it leaked everywhere. After I sealed it I had no more problems.

 

[-lecroix-]

Caulking the seams and upgrading the pickup tube and gun to the TP unit is all that is needed to make this el cheapo a performer!

 

[Franz©]

Line the inside of the box with rubber sheeting. Most media coming from the gun will only strike the interior of the chamber anyhow. If the media impacts a hard surface it fractures. Media hitting a soft surface drops energy, and doesn't fracture, or fly around inside the box. It also produces a hell of a lot less dust, and extends media life.

If you're going to use a vacuum for dust, make up a water trap to grab the dust before it gets to the vacuum. Otherwise the filter on the vac will clog quick.

 

[DanC]

which model HF cabinet did you get??

 

[Vincent Vega]

What are you using for a Compressor.

 

[RonRock]

which model HF cabinet did you get??

Yeah, me to.

 

[PoorOwner]

it's this one, I think they only have this model at the store these days.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=93608

 

[banzaitoyota]

read my thread on the mods to the HF cabinet

 

[1fastvx]

Can you post a link to it? I cant seem to find it via the search funtion.

Thanks,

John

read my thread on the mods to the HF cabinet

 

[PAToyota]

There was actually a guy out at Carlisle trying to sell a blast cabinet made out of that corrugated plastic board that they use for politcal campaign signs and such... Advertised as "lightweight" and that you could "fold it up" when not in use...

If I was that desparate, I'd just grab a cardboard box from the local grocery store and set it out at the curb when I was finished...

 

[z28toz06]

Line the inside of the box with rubber sheeting. Most media coming from the gun will only strike the interior of the chamber anyhow. If the media impacts a hard surface it fractures. Media hitting a soft surface drops energy, and doesn't fracture, or fly around inside the box. It also produces a hell of a lot less dust, and extends media life.

If you're going to use a vacuum for dust, make up a water trap to grab the dust before it gets to the vacuum. Otherwise the filter on the vac will clog quick.

what kind? where did you get it?

 

[edl]

ditto...more info on the rubber sheeting pls...

 

[PoorOwner]

Here is the HF unit, legs shortened, just put one coat of rustoleum safety red on the wood cart, put silicone inside and out, waiting for the TP gun. This one doesn't have as much screws, seams and assembly as some of the import ones out there.

 

[Vicegrip]

Make the cabinet from wood and coat it with 2 or 3 coats of latex paint to reduce busted glass bead. Franz@ has a a good point and idea. You can glue inner tube thickness rubber sheet inside metal cabinets.
for myself I never found that water traps got much of the dust and stink all to hell if you forget to dump it out. I use an air over pro extractor grade vacuum motor mounted on the top of a 30 gal oil drum. This type does not have the dirty air cool the motor. I keep the entire vacuum out of the shop and use 2 layers of beach towel as a pre filter over a standard shop vac filter. make a wire frame that the towel will **** up against and make the towels a good bit larger than the frame and put a large ball bearing ball or 3/4 inch nut in the towels. Every time you turn the vac on the towels will **** up against the frame and stop 99% of the dust. When you turn the vac off the towels fall away from the frame and the dust cake falls off of them when they fall away from the frame. Sounds complex but it is easy to do and works well in the home arena. Add a slightly modified ceiling fan remote control and you have a quiet but powerful remote shop vac and NO dust in the shop. Good for welding fumes and beer far?s too.

 

[PoorOwner]

I would think some EDPM pond liner would be good to use as the rubber franz is talking about. Not sure how to buy a small quantity though..?

 

[Franz©]

Yuze guyz are workin the old man too hard!

Rubber, I have a few rolls of rubber I picked up from a gasket shop that was going under. You can use anything even a large truck innertube. The whole trick is to remove the force from the media grain without breaking the grain.
NO, rubber undercoating won't work, it just allows a layer of media to build up and become an impingment surface, and that is worse than hitting steel.

I like the concept of water traps. OK, so they stink if you forget to dump them, hey, just add it to the wife's list of cleaning duties. Yea, I know, but while you're unconceous you ain't gonna be worrying about media blasting.

There are a whole encyclopedia full of problems regarding dust and exhaust air, and very few cheap solutions to them. There is also the problem of replacement air to the cabinet to compensate for the air being exhausted. They all have to be accounted for and dealt with in a cabinet situation.

Another problem is the window. The cheap and dirty way to keep it from becoming frosted glass is to stick a piece of clear contact paper on the inside from the beginning, and replace the contact paper when it gets chewed up. You can also add a single layer of window screne mounted half an inch in front of the glass. The screne will stop 90% of media from hitting the glass, and you don't see it when using the cabinet.

 

[Danglerb]

I've heard HVAC places have rubber sheeting, some guys buy the thick nitrile pads to make liners for the hood in there cars.

 

[Franz©]

I knew I'd written on this subject before~
http://z6.invisionfree.com/ToolBoxTalk/index.php?showforum=28
Between the two posts on media blasting you'll either gain a bit of knowledge or have a lot of questions.

 

[PAToyota]

A good source of rubber is commercial roofers. If you talk to them, they will save scraps of EPDM and such from their roofing jobs rather than throw it out.

 

[Vicegrip]

EDPM in 3 foot wide strips as long as you want from Home Depot sold by the foot near where they sell shower pans.

you are right the concept of the water filter is good but they do not have a high fine particle trap % in real life unless you use a back draft spray type. A bucket working like a bong lets all dust that is not at the air water interface past. A down draft spray system is very complex and beyond the rational use profile of the weekend user. Vortex pre filtering with a high % trap post filter works well. The vortex device can be rubber lined to reduce erosion by the media.

 

[PoorOwner]

The cabinet capacity is 40 lbs, but does that mean I need to fill it up with all of 40 lbs, does it made any difference to use 20 lbs at a time?

 

[russlaferrera]

The cabinet capacity is 40 lbs, but does that mean I need to fill it up with all of 40 lbs, does it made any difference to use 20 lbs at a time?

No it's the capacity of 40#, not what is needed to operate the blaster. All is needed ,is an amount of media to be sucked up into the gun.

 

[banzaitoyota]

Can you post a link to it? I cant seem to find it via the search funtion.

Thanks,

John

http://www.garagejournal.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1583&highlight=bead+blast+cabinet