Blast cabinet

[Ol'fogasaurus]

In one of the videos on modding the HF cabinet it showed the "The Dust Deputy® DIY" (http://www.oneida-air.com/category.asp? ... ust-deputy) and was very kind about it.

Prepping for painting is one thing I have not had to worry about, mine is more getting rust and skrod off .

I took the light cabinet off (I'm typing one handed, left hand only, as I sliced a chunk of skin off cleaning the glass shield to put another shield on. Since I am on blood thinners it doesn't want to stop bleeding so I have to hold my hand up and it aches like blazes ) today to checked sealing (I did have some plastic sitting in the box so I replaced it which I already mentioned). It turned out that there was a build up of media around the door which kept if from sealing properly as I was opening and closing the door a lot checking on things while working.

I also am going to do some resealing of the joints and seal some places that I hadn't done before. Sealant is cheaper than media isn't it.

As I said, I was advised to do the same thing you are doing; no glass protector and replacing the glass when needed. Supposedly it ends up costing less in the long run.

Good to know about the guns you prefer. My original gun is still good, not wearing out nozzles too fast but I do want to replace it before too long, maybe with a foot control.

I hope someone is getting a benefit on this long string about something so simple.

Thanks for all the comments and help. Who knows, someone else may gain from it and something new may come up that we should talk about too. Keep the comments coming.

Thanks Lee

[fusername]

well I finally got a compressor that can keep up with the cabinet last year, and I am setting the shop back up at the new place and I am going to re-visit my cabinet mods. My light has not failed yet but it is so dim it really doesn't matter. I have some waterproof LED rope I bought and used as interior lighting that I will use my last roll of to light the inside of the cabinet. The sticky stuff is pretty dang sticky, and since it is water proofed by a rubbery gell covering I think it should be un-affected by inderect blasting. HEad on might eat away at it, but I'll just avoid that.

A note on the HF setup: my gun ate the threads off the end of hte gun maybe the third time I took the head off. completly ruined it, and is now unrepairable. glass bead got into the the threads and gummed it up instantly so be carefull about that! I bought a used gun and will be retro fitting it in.

I also had an issue w/ the air line kinking a lot in the cold, solved it with a longer line of nicer material when the air hose that came with it exploded in the cabinet. that stuff can't take the pressure in the cold so replace it right away!

[SCOTTRODS]

Oh Lordy... I have replaced my gun twice since Lee posted his last entry... I use a cheap northern tools blast gun and they have replacement hose at the location I visit... Not free, but I do a lot of blasting prep for powder coating. Glass bead is nice for cleaning up already bare aluminum, and cleaning hard chrome pieces... but removing anything more, I always go to Aluminum oxide media. Blasting powder coating is a waste of time, usually, unless it's a very small item and you have patience... Stripper needed in that case. Removing rust can be pretty inexpensive if you buy the coal slag or Crushed glass. I also took my search mind out and found Tungsten Carbide Nozzles for my guns (on ebay for a very good price), so they last about 10 times longer than the stuff the Cheap guns come with.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

I had almost forgotten about this string as it has been so long since it was used.

I have yet to have gun problems. Maybe someone up there is looking out for me . Now that I have said it when I get home the gun will take a dump on me .

On of my friends who owns a machine shop also said that he recommends getting rid of the protective film. To buy it in bulk is so close to the cost of the tempered glass it is not worth the bother of putting the stuff on and not being able to see what you are doing. Just remember to get the proper tempered glass.

I have yet to use the "Oxide", I am still using glass beads. I use my cabinet often but mostly for smaller jobs. I did let someone use it one day and when I came back most of the paint was removed off the back wall as he was using it to prop up his work. I usually put something in to do that in order to keep it closer to the center work area and not set up rust conditions (it is wet in the PNW). The guy ended up getting his own cabinet and also buying a soda blast setup for some of the larger stuff he builds.

Soda blasting takes longer to do and makes a mess outside. Also, on a calm day the rising soda cloud can make your area look like a nuclear explosion has gone off .

Lee

[SCOTTRODS]

I don't know about tempered glass for these things... If you ever break it, you will wish with all your heart that you had purchased Plate glass instead. I sometimes hit the glass while moving things around in my cabinet... Afraid I'd have a bit of contamination instead of just a cracked piece of glass until I got it changed out.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Maybe I got it wrong; I was told about doing it well over a year ago as I remember so maybe I got confused. What ever it is, don't' use standard window glass.

[Piledriver]

Tempered "safety" glass is somewhat harder and tends to break into little relatively harmless cubes rather than potentially thousands of tiny sharp shards and glass dust. That's why its used in cars for everything but the windshield.
Strongly recommended.

The cubes would be easy and safe to filter from the media, although I honestly have yet to see the window break in use.
(Mandatory "get one": stainless mesh cooking strainer, cheap and easy, also screens paint chips and other blast junk out, we dump and screen media after every use, only screened media goes back in)
Also great for filtering out dropped screws.

We use some HD metal screening (like window screen, dog resistant or something) over the grates in our blast cabinets at work, allows working or even blasting tiny parts on the deck, does need replaced occasionally but it can last for years. This also keeps larger blast residue like large paint chips on the deck rather than clogging nozzles. (when we clean off say tin, it comes off in layers sometimes when you get under an edge)

Another tip is a bit of ~1/4" silicone rubber sheet with holes drilled in it for holding screws/bolts etc as you blast.
The rubber bit in our cabinet has been there long before I started 13 years ago and looks no different--rubber mostly bounces glass beads off unless you are really trying to dig a hole in it with 80 PSI.

Might be an idea to try a rubber coating, or even glued on silicone sheets inside the cabinet of some sort over the paint, maybe something like a few layers of plasti-dip would hold up to incidental blasting? Better than rust in your junk. Cut it to size and slap it on over some contact cement.

We mostly clean small stainless steel parts of vacuum systems but we have another cabinet for dirty/rusty stuff.
We do a lot of parts at 40 PSI or less as they frequently cost a lot more than the cabinet, minimizes erosion and distortion.
Media lasts a long time at 30-40 PSI (glass beads) but with a big nozzle and plant air it still gets done in a hurry..
Its all about airflow/velocity, not just pressure, just like using a grinder or cutoff wheel, let the media do the work.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

"Might be an idea to try a rubber coating, or even glued on silicone sheets inside the cabinet of some sort over the paint, maybe something like a few layers of plasti-dip would hold up to incidental blasting? Better than rust in your junk. Cut it to size and slap it on over some contact cement."

ou made some good points 'Pile. I am going to do that... just haven't got around to it. Too many other "distracting things" that seem to be more important at the time. I am usually pretty good about staying away from the rear wall but with large things that is not going to happen. I really should get my lazy fanny in gear and get serious about some of the mod I want to do and some of the mods you have suggested.

The screen I had thought about especially when working on small parts that could drop through the grading. When we get home in April there should be some action on protecting my investment.

Thanks for the "'puts" guys.

[fusername]

you could probably cut up some old jeans and hang them around the sides to protect the paint, i wouldn't think the media would go after cloth too well.

coming from an engine builder background, I always used the cabinet to clean off the paint that comes on new parts to re-spray them and remove surface rust & varnish from con-rods and stuff. That is why I only ever needed glass bead as a media. However my uncle bought a model A two years ago and I live closer to him now so he will probably buy a bag of something more aggressive and try it in the machine to clean up his old "sheet metal" which is closer to casting, the stuff is good and thick (and rusty!) We will see how it does.

[Ol'fogasaurus]

Fuser, I wear my old jeans in the garage. By the time I get done with them they aren't good for much of anything.

Using more aggressive media is going to wear things out faster.

Glass beads works pretty good but you also have to be patient with that media as it isn't as fast working as other media.

Sand blasting was stopped being used on old cars back when I was a kid. The reason being that (supposedly) it compacts the old metal and makes it rust easier or so I have been told.

There are other forms of media that will also work like walnut shells.

Lee

[Clatter]

This thread was really useful to this guy who just got a ratty blasting cabinet for free.

Thanks for taking the time to share info guys.