[WANTED] Sand blaster

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Blast cabs and small air compressors do not mix...you needs AIR for any cabinet. Been there.
 
I agree, need a lot of cfm for a sandblaster. I finally broke down and bought a 24 cfm @175 compressor and never regretted it.
 
Benchtop Blast Cabinet
I have one (blast cabinet) very similar, had it for nearly 20 years. Works great! I run mine on a 30gal. compressor
husky-portable-air-compressors-c302h-c3_1000.jpg
 
I have one from Harbor Freight & it takes all my 60 gallon Husky can take. Dust collection was a big issue for me. Had to go online & find a good CFM collector.
 
Upgrade the gun in the typical cheap blast cabinet, way more efficient. Still need a substantial compressor. Add an air tank to aid with volume,and gives air a little time to cool.
 
Definitely need something for moisture removal too. Water is the devil in any air lines.
 
Small blasters can work, if you will only be blasting smaller parts. I have a full size blaster and a big compressor because I do a lot of body work and I powder coat. Although I will readily admit that probably 80% of what I do could go in a smaller blaster. If you had a smaller blaster, anything bigger you could have done professionally. Here in Topeka, there is a monument company (ie gravestone etching) that will sandblast for $1 per minute. That sounds like a lot, but they can do a whole rear axle housing in about 20 minutes. I do like the looks of that barrel blaster. TWO IMPORTANT THINGS YOU MUST DO!!! First you must have a vacuum system to pull the dust from the cabinet. Otherwise you will not be able to see what you are doing. A shop vac might work OK, but the filter will clog fairly rapidly (maybe in an hour or so). Second, You must protect the INSIDE of the glass on the front of the cabinet with plastic liners. After a while, the media will etch the liner to the point where vision is difficult. Then you just take the glass out, and replace the liner and clear vision is restored. If you don't use liners, you'll etch the glass. Then, when you can't see any more (and it won't be long), you are buying glass, not just cheap plastic liners. I get my liners from TP Tools, the same company I bought the cabinet from. Also, carbide tips on the gun will last WAY longer than plain steel or ceramic. They are WELL worth the extra cost. USE A MASK OF SOME SORT.
 
For an inexpensive dust collector, use a fireplace ash vacuum. They have a really nice filter in them and do not create any dust. The filter can be cleaned over and over again. Regular shop vacs do not do a great job, even with the cartridge filter installed.
I have a real dust collector in my big blast cabinet but I use the fireplace vac on my small benchtop cabinet.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0060EUA32/?tag=joeychgo-20

For small cabinets you can buy a roll of acetate used for old projectors. You can find this cheap on ebay since very few people use projectors anymore.
For bigger cabinets you can buy acetate rolls in any length you need. Its expensive but much cheaper than buying pre-cut individual sheets.
 
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A lot of people forget to regulate the air when blasting. Media blasting does best between 70-90 PSI. That helps smaller compressors keep up, too. Mine is only a 30 gallon tank Lowes compressor with a 2 cylinder inline pump. If I keep the trigger held a long time, sure, it won't keep up. But short controlled shots and it does ok. I wouldn't mind having a bigger one,l though. It's easily justified. I agree 100% about doing the Skat Blast upgrade. This is what I put in mine. @CudaChick1968 was nice enough to recommend it. It works MUCH better than the gun that came with it. I don't have any moisture control on mine whatsoever and I like in the humid south. It still does a pretty good job.

USA Cabinet Gun & Pickup Tube Upgrade Kit
 
I have a filter and regulator on my cabinet,i leave the valve open on filter housing just so it leaks a tiny amount. It helps immensely. And if too much water is coming out, its time to give it a rest.
 
I have an old bench top blaster you can have -- pick it up or cover the shipping.
TPTools.com has gloves and your local glass shop can set you up with some laminate (two thin sheets affixed to raw glass) which is a bit heavier duty than raw untempered.
 
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