What is the Advantage and Disadvantage of 20 Gal Sandblast Pot

:shrug:Hello,

I am thinking of buying a sand blasting cabinet and would like any comments from ones you have used or seen... pros and cons.

I would not be blasting anything really heavy, but I've seen a used one that has an expanded metal floor. Which seems a bit flimsy. The floor was quite dented. It also would be hard to load because you have to lift things quite high and put them thru a lid at the top, or a door on the side.

I have seen some on the internet with an inside turntable and rails to roll things inside. Those features seem good ideas. I have also seen one that opens something like a clam shell. Let me try to explain...In the theater of your mind picture a box with a hinged lid. Now turn the box upside down and open it. What was the lid is now the floor. A cabinet like that should be really easy to load.

Thanks for any suggestions and comments.

Dan Re: sand blasting cabinets pros cons

I have had 2 of the cheapies, and they are really handy. In no particular order:
1. As noted above, watch the air requirements. ALL of them take a lot of cfm.
2. Make sure the funnel section in the bottom has steep enough sides that the media slides down to the pick up tube consistently.
3. Get a light inside.
4. Make sure you can get replacement nozzels for the gun. Ceramic lasts longer than steel but they all wear out fairly quickly.
5. Check that the door is large enough and strudy enough to seal well. My current one uses a plexiglass top that hinges open. It flexes too much to seal well.
6. Use a dust collector or at least a shop vac if at all possible. Re: sand blasting cabinets pros cons

The two most important features that I can think of are lighting & dust removal.
Having at least two good lights in the cabinet is a must. Before I installed additional lights, I was constantly taking a part out, finding spots that got missed and putting it back in. If you can actually see what you are doing it is a big advantage.
Dust removal plays a big part in seeing what you are doing too, but once you get that dust out of the cabinet, you want to make sure it is not going to destroy the vacuum or your lungs. Get the right kind of vacuum that will trap the dust properly. I recently upgraded the vac that came with my cabinet to include a HEPA filter that can be washed off & reused. I have a T&P Scat Blast 960 cabinet.
Always use glass protectors. These are clear plastic sheets that stick on the inside of the glass with adheisive strips around the edges. They take the stray, bounce-back blast to keep the real glass clear. Re: sand blasting cabinets pros cons

I took an old five gallon plastic bucket and drilled two holes in the lid for a couple of pieces of pvc pipe that my shop vac hose would fit on. on the inlet side, feeding from the cabinet, I let it extend to the bottom of the bucket and into a few inches of water. the outlet side is just to the top of the lid so that the vacuum pulls the exhaust from the blaster through the water and the water abrorbs the dust. ..Works like a charm, but the lid has to fit tight for it to work properly....when you get through, just pour out the water and wash out the bucket for the next session....
Two points to remember. 1. ALWAYS wear a particle mask when blasting...You just can't stop all af the dust from escaping and you don't want any "Black magic" in your lungs. And B. Don't put but a few inches of water in the bucket or the vacuum will pick it up! Re: sand blasting cabinets pros cons

Well, if I had the bucket here I would snap a few photos of it...I'll do that when I get to my shop tomorrow.
I used a cat food bucket that has a lid that seals tight, and cut holes in the top for the hook up pipes...I just glued them in with some epoxy. I bought a small 1/4 horse shop vac from "wal-mart" so I could just make it a dedicated fixture. It cost every bit of ten bucks! and it doesn't pull as hard as a big shop vac...just enough to keep the dust evacuated. You can vary how much suction there is at the cabinet by how much water you put in the bucket....I have never changed the little paper filter in the vac, because the water does such a good job of catching any dust and debris. Plus, I don't wind up with a shop covered with dust! Well I've been blasting parts everyday for 20 years and I can tell you that
the information given on this thread so for is well meaning and very helpful from one amature to another.
With experiance you will find many different kinds of media that have different
resaults.
You can start with a used under performing cabinet and throw good parts at it until you get the desired effect or you can start with top of the line high
performance equipment that really works.,costs about the same in the end.
The first choice comes with a lot of angst, grief and wasted money.
If you're willing to spend for a quality setup let me know and I'll put you on to the company that made my job easy. I would not buy a siphon blasting set up. I instead, purchased a quality pressure pot from what was formerly TIP mfg, and is now BRUT mfg. ($350 or so when I got it) I built my own cabinet from plywood, that is attached to the side of my shop wall. I have a small sealed bearing motor exhaust fan right thru the wall that will clear the cabinet in about 10 seconds under the dustiest conditions. I cut two holes in the cabinet and attached some inner tube material to them with a hole I could stick my gloved arm thru. It seals around my arms and is handy to stick small parts in and out of. My cabinet is lined w/ some rubber matting that I got from an old newspaper office, ( it was used in the printing process) so the wood lasts forever. I have a expanded metal floor over a tapered plywood cone to run the used media into a bucket for reuse. The entire top of the cabinet is hinged and lifts up to put things in or take them out.
The pressure pot is my preference because it requires less air than a siphon system to do a good job, and, if I have a large item to do outdoors, I an run it outside and use it there. I have a quincy 60 gallon, 4 cylinder compressor that performs flawlessly (about a grand). I prefer to use the tungsten nozzles, as they last a very very long time. ($37 each)
The largest "downside" is that I have to periodically refill the pressure pot, which means emptying the cabinet into a bucket and running the sand thru a screen into the pot.
MOISTURE is the enemy, no matter what you do, and the best thing I've found is to run the air thru a coiled copper tube submerged in a bucket of coldish water, before it goes thru a moisture trap. That way, the moisture all condenses and can be trapped and removed. Works VERY well for painting too. IT is the BEST THING SINCE SLICED BREAD for cleaning castings up, bar none. Beats pulling wire wheel strands out of your leg! Just my two cents. Kelley I have a blasting cabinet I bought about five years ago from harbor freight. It works great for me, I run it on craftsman air comp's. I bought this perticular one cause it only takes 5 cfm at 903's of air to push it. I have up graded the hand held gun in it so I could get nozzles for it a little easier. I have a shop vac hooked up to it. I have blasted everything from car parts to cast iron pots. Would not trade it for nothing under the sun. works just has good as them high dollar ones in my opinion. I have done used just about all brands out there with work and friends who have them. just my 2 cents. I have a blasting cabinet I bought about five years ago from harbor freight. It works great for me, I run it on craftsman air comp's. I bought this perticular one cause it only takes 5 cfm at 90#'s of air to push it. I have up graded the hand held gun in it so I could get nozzles for it a little easier. I have a shop vac hooked up to it. I have blasted everything from car parts to cast iron pots. Would not trade it for nothing under the sun. works just has good as them high dollar ones in my opinion. I have done used just about all brands out there with work and friends who have them. just my 2 cents.

I've got a craftsman 20 gal that I got off craigslist used for about $100. It's dual 110/220 but as it turns out, there is basically no advantage to running it on 220v. Maybe it runs the motor a little cooler? But it definitely does not generate any more air at 220v.

My compressor keeps-up fine. I've seen tutorials that recommend modifying the harbor freight cabinet to use a pressure pot (link) but I see no need with the compressor I have. At most I'll give it a second to catch-up, or give it a break after several minutes of continuous operation to cool down.

Thing is -- if you blast a coin door, or marquee bracket, or something on rare occasion... you're not putting it through the same workload as somebody who is doing old car parts all day long. theres several types of blast media out there to pick from.

the most popular are good old silica sand and crushed walnuts.

walnuts work ok but take forever. the plus side is they wont make the metal as hot so less chance of warpage and they arent as agressive. Think of it as fine grade sandpaper.

good glass beads work great. Really quick, aggressive, but if you get the nozzle too close or take too long in one section, you can accidentally warp, deform, or pit the part youre trying to clean up.. Think of it as midgrade/coarse sandpaper.

aluminum oxide also works well. thats the krap other people might call black sand or black diamond. Its SUPER AGGRESSIVE and can really fuck stuff up if youre not careful. However with care, it can be the most awesome because its so aggressive, you blast quicker. think of it as like 40-60 grit sandpaper. SUper aggressive.

pros and cons to each. Ideally youll want something all purpose but keep in mind if you plan to blast something delicate youll want to use a finer media with less pressure. I've had my eye on this compressor for quite some time, it goes on sale around the holidays ect... but you need a 220v outlet to run it. it's a beast


Kobalt 3.7 HP 60-Gallon 155 PSI Electric Air Compressor: $499.00 (non sale price)

-Cast iron, twin cylinder, oil-lubricated pump features one-piece cast iron crankcase, thermally stable cast iron cylinder body, aluminum head and machined cast iron valve plate, automotive style ball bearings, and durable stainless steel reed valves
-Heavy duty induction motor for maximum performance and efficiency, 208-240 volt
-Large capacity, 60-gallon ASME vertical tank provides more air for longer tool run times on air tools such as ratchets, impacts, spray guns, hammers, etc
-155 PSI max pressure, 13.4 SCFM @ 40 PSI, 11.5 SCFM @ 90 PSI , 3.7 running HP



http://www.lowes.com/pd_-...p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&facetInfo=Kobalt

tho reading the reviews gives me mixed thoughts on this unit, it looks nice in person; guess it's a gamble once you get it home


Btw sorry not trying to jack the OP's thread, i'd be using this for blasting, and spraying mainly and the occasional automotive repair. Wish the blast cabinet from harbor freight wasn't as expensive >.<

I also planned on using what ever media HF had and mainly to do lots of small parts with the occasional coin door/autopart.

Your pancake compressor will not cut it. It does not have enough volume in the tank. I use a cheaper 2hp 150psi 30gal craftsman air compressor. It does not have enough volume to blast continually but will go 5-7minutes and you'll have to wait a couple of minutes for the compressor to catch up. Eventually I'll buy a bigger compressor but got this one on trade for something else and it works ok.

Add to that, the sound of that pancake compressor constantly running is deafening.

I have the little Porter Cable pancake compressor and for anything other than nail and staple guns, it's useless. You can't run a paint gun or media blaster with it. If you don't want to spend a lot, check Craigslist for used compressors. Beware though, you might have to fix what you buy. I kinda got ripped, although really..it still turned out to be an ok deal.

I bought a 40gal horizontal tank Craftsman compressor thru Craigslist. I got to the house, in the bad part of the town. The seller wasn't home, but his wife came to the door in barely a t-shirt/gown. Wasn't half bad, except she looked like a druggie. They had these massive dogs that she had to put inside before I went into the backyard. The compressor was in a dark shed, she took me back there, etc.. I got weirded out for sure, and the husband/owner came home, came back there, then pulled the compressor out of the mess of a shed. As he's pulling it out, he slips on the wooden ramp, landing right on his back in a split second. It was like something out of a cartoon, except creepy. Plugged it in, heard it run, paid the low price, got the heck outta there.

Next day, started messing with it, and found it wouldn't pump any air. I took it apart and found that the cylinder sleeve was badly worn and the piston was worn out around the edges so that there was NO compression. I had to order $50/parts from Sears online, but after replacing the sleeve, piston/ring thing, O-rings, a brass fitting, then put a better valve on the bottom, it was still a good deal. I just didn't plan on fixing the thing. I did get a really nice/long hose that I don't think they planned on selling with it, so that sweetened the deal a bit in the end.