Thoughts on Mac sandblast cabinet for $250?

[gba2331]

I’ve been casually looking and this came up for $250. What do you think? What should I look for when I check it out?

I don’t have any specific use cases, just general parts cleanup etc. A bench top unit would also work for now, but I figure this would be better long-term (assuming I get the right compressor to drive it). Space isn’t an issue.

Thanks!

 

[Jswain]

Looks good to me, there's not much in them to go wrong other then consumables.

 

[Norcal]

I paid $200 for my Harbor Freight model, which has better then average interior lighting, but the Mac looks as a better build, but funky lighting.

 

[finn]

That’s a sweet deal. TP tools, who makes the Skat Blast cabinets, has new pickup tube, guns, and tips for reasonable prices.

The owner used to occasionally post here.

I picked up a lightly used Skat of about that size, with a dust extractor, for $500, and I was elated. New, mine is about $1600, and I don’t think that includes shipping.

Stay away from the Harbor Freight replacement rubber gloves. I bought a pair for an older, smaller HF cabinet and they dry rotted before I used the cabinet six times.

Invest in some clear plastic sheets to protect the window. Without protection, the media frosts the window and you then loose all visibility. I use sheets made for that purpose, but the PO of my cabinet found something at Menards that he said works well, but is much cheaper.

You need a dust extractor. I used a small shop vac for my old cabinet but it’s useless compared to the **** extractor, even after I cobbled a makeshift cyclone separator.

Don’t use regular sand. It kills your lungs and is too dusty compared to beads or slag.

 

[Norcal]

What is people's opinion of coal slag blast media?

 

[finn]

What is people's opinion of coal slag blast media?

It’s pretty aggressive, which could be good or bad, depending on what you’re cleaning.

Not much dust.

I pre screened it with the screen my cabinet came with, and some wouldn’t pass through the screen. I think there are two or three grits available. I would start with the finest, although I don’t know what I used, as the bag was long gone.

 

[nadogail]

For the price, if I had a use for it; I would be wanting to look at it.