Surplus center has the switches Geof
HF sandblaster
- Thread starter Captainkirk
- Start date
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I back feed mine by removing the siphon hose and placing the gun tip in/against it while covering the now exposed siphon hose connection.
MUCH safer than covering the tip of the gun, and more directly effective.
Sometimes I have to do this every few minutes.
MUCH safer than covering the tip of the gun, and more directly effective.
Sometimes I have to do this every few minutes.
Chunks of rust will plug the gun too. All kinds of debris ends up in the media tank.
I put some metal screening on the drain? plate, Catches most debris.
Cuda416
Well-Known Member
Get rid of the siphon and put a metering valve on it.
When it's set up correctly, you only need a few cups of media in the hopper. Mine works awesome. Also, make sure you have a dry system. Water separator is a must.
Mine is very similar to the one in this video. You can purchase one pre-made (not made from pipe) for around 50-60 bucks. Well worth it in my opinion.
When it's set up correctly, you only need a few cups of media in the hopper. Mine works awesome. Also, make sure you have a dry system. Water separator is a must.
Mine is very similar to the one in this video. You can purchase one pre-made (not made from pipe) for around 50-60 bucks. Well worth it in my opinion.
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James Camp
no mopar
I have the HF blaster as well, had continual trouble, i finally took hose loose at bottom drill hole larger and started with a 1.5 inch steel nipple welded on,kept reducing it down to proper size for hose, eliminated ball cut off , and using a larger diameter center hose ceramic end ,i no longer have a clogging problem, but you need a compressor with CFM to keep constant pressure at 80 pounds
pishta
I know I'm right....
what if you mount the hopper to the compressor? the jiggling of the compressor may be enough to keep it flowing? Maybe put a 1oz weight on the flywheel to really get it bucking.....I used a $5 HF siphon hose blow gun in a bag of sand and did a rim once, sand everywhere! I was wearing a respirator....the gun rusted out in a matter of days. Did I mention it was 5 bucks? probably would have lasted longer using dry media and dry air but....it was 5 bucks.
The carbide tips from TPTools.com are a serious upgrade too. The pink ceramic ones wear out quickly; I bought a 6-pack of carbide tips several years back ... and am still using the first one.
If you find you're getting frequent clogs, the "hand block" method works but it sure gets old for big blasting jobs. I fabbed a media strainer out of three layers of old metal screen sandwiched between two pieces of 1/2" plywood with a big hole in the center. It's great for filtering bigger chunks of slag and rescuing the occasional small hardware that slips through the grate.
Pick up cheap pairs of slip joint and needle nose pliers and permanently dedicate them to your cabinet. Holding small parts in your hand will wear out that other glove very quickly, and at $22-30 apiece (also a TP Tools consumable), it's easy to see why pliers are preferred.
Picked this big beast up in 2010 off of Craigslist. Next to my 7' oven, it's the single best investment in my shop I've ever made.
If you find you're getting frequent clogs, the "hand block" method works but it sure gets old for big blasting jobs. I fabbed a media strainer out of three layers of old metal screen sandwiched between two pieces of 1/2" plywood with a big hole in the center. It's great for filtering bigger chunks of slag and rescuing the occasional small hardware that slips through the grate.
Pick up cheap pairs of slip joint and needle nose pliers and permanently dedicate them to your cabinet. Holding small parts in your hand will wear out that other glove very quickly, and at $22-30 apiece (also a TP Tools consumable), it's easy to see why pliers are preferred.
Picked this big beast up in 2010 off of Craigslist. Next to my 7' oven, it's the single best investment in my shop I've ever made.
And the foot pedal is a definite plus.
Big_John
In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
I did the Skat Blast siphon mod and it worked better than the original and then I got rid of it and put a metering valve on it. Night and day difference.
I did some of these mods. It's deeper and easier to change the glass now. You just use a cup or two of media and every once in a while you toss in another cup to replace what has broken down into dust and sucked into the vacuum.
Cuda Al
Well-Known Member
I like to put nuts, washers and small hardware on a coat hanger, makes quick work and no loosing parts.
Screws and bolts I put in a coolant bottle, also works for painting them later.
If you need to do the threads also I have cut the side out of the bottle and use it the same way.
Alan
Screws and bolts I put in a coolant bottle, also works for painting them later.
If you need to do the threads also I have cut the side out of the bottle and use it the same way.
Alan
Scamp Rhonda
Well-Known Member
Lots of great info there. For the 1/4" carbide tip it says you need 10 to 15 cfm. Do you know if you can get by with less than that? Thanks much, Steve
My compressor is a big 100 gallon workhorse from the 80s. It has to be regulated down to 90 psi, and lowered again at that air drop for softer metals. I can't help with your question.
Captainkirk
Old School Mopar Warrior
Big John, do you have a link to the YT mod videos you mentioned?
just go to you tube and type in harbor freight blast cabinet mods. there are several one. the one that is the 7-10 part episode is best.
Captainkirk
Old School Mopar Warrior
I did that. There's a bunch of them. Watched a few so far but mostly...meh. I'm looking for the 7 part series he mentioned.
I believe this is the gentleman, that was being referenced in Big John's video.
"Uvision Media" is name of channel.
My cabinet is made out of an old chest freezer and works well but will try some mods that are mentioned.
"Uvision Media" is name of channel.
My cabinet is made out of an old chest freezer and works well but will try some mods that are mentioned.
That looks like it would work well. Having the supply right on the bottom like that is gravity fed. Leaving it a siphon and it has to work against gravity. Do you have yours like that? Does it work a lot better than the siphon?
Cuda416
Well-Known Member
yup, that's how mine is. Only problem I have had was a piece of crud made it's way up into the gun. I literally use about 3 cups of material. I'll take a picture later.
went back to you tube and looked. the title is "tacoma company upgrades" by rays garage.
Cuda416
Well-Known Member
Here are the mods I've done. Pretty simple stuff. Could do more but who has time for that?
Regulator, not really a mod, but required nonetheless.
Power for small halogen lights. They get nice and warm and help keep things dry. The plug inserted into the outlet is the shop vac connected to the back.
Here's the metering valve. probably 25-30 bucks in parts from the plumbing aisle. Works AWESOME.
Here is a shot of the material at the bottom. There's about a cup down there, a cup inside the valve/tube etc, and the ledges/sides inside the actual cabinet.
If I were to change anything else, and i might, it would be to make a smooth transition fro the media to fall back into the bottom. A lot gets stuck.
I also have but not shown, the kit from Eastwood that includes the gun, hoses, and foot pedal. The pedal is nice and a "hand saver" to say the least.
Incidentally, though it looks like an HF unit, It's not. At least I've never seen a HF unit that was welded at the seems. It's very close and the metal is thicker. Almost makes me wonder if it's a US made unit that was copied by the Chinese.
Regulator, not really a mod, but required nonetheless.
Power for small halogen lights. They get nice and warm and help keep things dry. The plug inserted into the outlet is the shop vac connected to the back.
Here's the metering valve. probably 25-30 bucks in parts from the plumbing aisle. Works AWESOME.
Here is a shot of the material at the bottom. There's about a cup down there, a cup inside the valve/tube etc, and the ledges/sides inside the actual cabinet.
If I were to change anything else, and i might, it would be to make a smooth transition fro the media to fall back into the bottom. A lot gets stuck.
I also have but not shown, the kit from Eastwood that includes the gun, hoses, and foot pedal. The pedal is nice and a "hand saver" to say the least.
Incidentally, though it looks like an HF unit, It's not. At least I've never seen a HF unit that was welded at the seems. It's very close and the metal is thicker. Almost makes me wonder if it's a US made unit that was copied by the Chinese.
Big_John
In my defense, I was left unsupervised.
@4spdragtop was correct. There are a bunch more out there doing basically the same thing. The one I posted did it the cheapest way (I liked that) and covered what I needed for mine.
Besides the metering valve, I dropped the inside grate down for more room (handy for wheels), made the glass easier to change and now have a dedicated vacuum to collect the dust.
A few years ago, I did a mod with a flood light in the corner to replace the fluorescent light mine came with. That was a great improvement too. It just uses a water resistant type flood light fixture that seals the bulb to the socket.
Captainkirk
Old School Mopar Warrior
This is an industrial grade compressor. (at work) Not like my little cheapie at home.
What's the small brass fitting in the bottom pipe for?
Phreakish
Well-Known Member
Bag says coal slag, and its black. Not sure what it is, but it works!
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