Sandblasting cabinet

[cletrac (RIP)]

I figured I needed a place to sandblast where I could contain the sand so I modified this old water tank that blew out of the truck one day and split open. The second time I used the sand it got so dusty in there that I couldn't see what I was doing. I put a 220 volt ventilation fan out of a barn in the filler hole and added the piece of ducting to blow the dust outside. I also added a couple of 300 watt lights. Now I could see what I was doing and am in clean air when blasting.
One thing about containing the sand, every cat on the farm wants to use it as a litter box. I rigged up that screening box and put it against the side of the tank. I'm putting a hopper on the inside of the tank so you scoop the used sand into the hopper and it runs down over the screen. Now I can keep the cats out of the sand. That screen thingy is something out of the oilfield that I picked up at the dump. It's a fairly heavy plastic grid with stainless screen on one side and works like it was made for the job.
The fan moves enough air that all the fine dust goes out the door so I can reuse the sand a number of times.

[Geoff Winnington-Ball (RIP)]

You could always just rig it to turn on the lights and the fan the moment a cat walks in - might take you days to find the cat again but I guarantee it won't be back!

Of course, the word might get out in the local kitteh kommuniteh that there's a price on your head... lotsa sharp fings out there....

Nice work, though!

[cantankrs]

Hi David,

Great thinking and great work! Just wondering how many cfm your compressor puts out to run your rig?

Also I've heard of people connecting 1 or more compressors airlines together to get the required volume on a job.

I've seen blasting done in a sea container.

And I've heard of someone making a blast cabinet out of an old fridge that still had good magnetic door seals.

But dust extraction and lighting and your health are the next problems as David touched on.

Garnet is 'meant' to allegedly be non-toxic (how many decades will it take to really tell - like mobile phones) where as common as muck silica sand could give you a permanent dose of silicosis.

Stay Safe

Regards

Alex

[cletrac (RIP)]

Alex,
I've got a 5 hp and a 3 hp compressor hooked together to run the blaster and they'll just keep up at 100 psi. I've got a 4 cylinder one with a 7.5 hp motor but haven't got it running yet.
Getting rid of the dust when blasting is very important. Even if you had grit that wasn't dangerous, I can't imagine the fine paint and rust dust would do your lungs any good. I wear coveralls, a breathing dust filter, ear plugs, and a sandblasting hood with replaceable Plexiglas lens. With that fan on the cabinet I'm working in clean air, but you can still get the stuff blowing towards your face when it bounces off the work.
When I need to blast something that won't fit in the tank I do it outside with the used sand and just let it go.
I bought $130 worth of sand and used about $100 of it blasting the four wheels for my C8 so you can see why I need to reuse it as many times as possible. With the cabinet I might be able to use river sand instead of bought stuff as the dirt won't be such a problem.

[maple_leaf_eh]

Over on canadiangunnutz last month there was some discussion of using plastic beads for blasting gun parts. The guys using it were in Edmonton and found a big-time industrial supplier who sells it by the fifty-pound bag.

[cantankrs]

Thanks David, Good info.



Alex

[rob love]

All of my sandblasting, both on the indoor cabinet and out in the blasting shed, are done with regular yellow sand. Here in shilo, the top soil is only about 6 to 12" thick, and under that is all sand. I will harvest it after a couple of dry days. Of course, any moisture will cause the sandblaster to clog. I usually keep about 6 garbage cans full of it dry and sifted. I have not paid for a bag of sand in years. The results are very good overall. The silica might be a bit better, but not $8 a bag better.

[cletrac (RIP)]

I did about 5 hours of sandblasting on C8 stuff today {5 seats etc} and am impressed with the cabinet. When I was done I blew my nose and there wasn't a trace of dust. Before it didn't matter how careful I was I made mudballs when I blew my nose. I'm sure the lungs will appreciate this.
I reused the sand 8 times and it wasn't much dustier than when I started. The dust gets sucked out the moment it's created. I'll be able to reuse the sand until it just disappears. The old pocketbook will appreciate this.
Now I just shovel the used sand into the hopper then shovel the sifted sand into the blaster tank. Before it took as long to do this as it did to use it up. Now it just takes a few minutes.
I threw a piece of sheet metal on the tank floor to keep from blasting through the plastic tank.