Question:
I've decided to get one of these to facilitate my "hobby" of rebuilding
rusty old junk. Can anyone advise as to good suppliers and what I ought
to look out for? I see some reasonably priced stuff (around $300) in
Hemmings Motor News.
My compressor can deliver about 14 cfm free air at 160 psi. Will this do?
Answer:
-I have dealt with TIP Sandblast equipment in the past. They advertise
in Hemmings. They are very good to deal with. If you are going to
one of the flea markets they usually have specials at a cheaper price.
I have been using a small syphon model I bought from them several years
ago. It is too slow and I wouldn't recommend that type. I will be
upgrading to a pressure blaster in the near future. The TIP cataloge
I have is several years old. It lists a model 99 that requires 7-15CFM
@ 80PSI. That is max for my compressor, and that is the one I like.
Your compressor must be a 5 HP or higher, so you have a larger selection.
The TIP number is 1 800 321-9260 fax (216) 533-2876.
I built a wooden box about 5'X3'X3' for small parts blasting. Lined
it with old truck inner tubes. You can recover most of the media and
reuse it 2 or 3 times.
-An Eastwood catalogue would be a good start.
My blast cabinet is an old '50s style fridge, the sort with a
handle-operated door lock. It's mounted on a 2' high plinth of welded
steel tube, with a folded sheet funnel underneath to recover the grit
into a bucket. Inside the cabinet are more bits of welded steel tube,
so as to allow the internal mesh shelf to be moved around or removed
entirely. There's also a bar across the top to allow me to hang things
from S hooks.
The top of the cabinet has a large hole, covered by simple plywood
baffles. Ventilation is important, as if you don't give the air an
easy exhaust path, it can blow grit back out through the inlet holes
or even blow the door off its latches (the Mk1 version was a disaster,
because of this). Lighting is by two bulkhead fittings, covered in
cling film (saran wrap) as grit protection.
The door has the glove holes, window (cling film covered acrylic) and
blast nozzle entries. These are a 2" disk of rubber sheet, with an X
slot cut in them and a cloth flap on the inside.
My compressor is rated at 12cfm and isn't really big enough. It works
OK, but not for continual use. The "pressure pot" blaster I use is
much less demanding in airflow than a siphon type, but it's still
thirsty.
Using the right grit is important (Eastwood is a good source of
information). Try to find a local source, as shipping costs will
otherwise be high. _Don't_ use sand - it's not much good for most
purposes, and it has a health hazard (silicosis) due to the small
fragments it produces.
-I have had excellent results withe the cabinet I bought from Truman
Industries (they use an abbreviated name in their advertising) in Ohio.
High quality and easily assembled.
I use plastic beads for gentle cleaning, glass beads for general cleaning
up , and I use abrasive sand (flint shot) for severe clean up.
Don't buy hte vacuum attachment: Go to Walmart and get a shop vac instead.
DO buy the accessory kit wiht the interior light--it's worth it.
I installed an electrical box with a switch and a duplex receptacle on the
outside of my cabinet. When flipped on, the light and the vacuum both
start up. That's real convenient.
Buy a clmpressor from Sam's Club or Walmart. I bought a vertical 5 or 6
horse model (Sanborn or Coleman) for under $400.00. It's fine for
ordinary use. If you are runningn production o f12 hours a day five days
a week, it won;t stand up to that, but for hoime owner or hobby use, it's
fine.
Let me know how you make out.
