Barrel Blaster....Mr. McDavid and his cabinet both top notch!

jonnymac44

jonnymac44

Joined
Sep 27, 2007
Messages
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Well, when I got home from the show in Vegas a few weeks ago, I knew there were lots of shop supplies and tools that were on my shopping list. I needed to replenish steel, handle materials, belts, etc. I also knew that I wanted to upgrade my little cheapo blasting cabinet.

The Econoline models get great reviews and those like Brian Fellhoelter and Mike Snody who have them say the love 'em. That was just a bit out of my price range for the moment, so I decided to give Michael McDavid a call at Lake Buchanan Industries and get a quote for his Barrel Blaster and fifty pounds of 80 grit garnet media shipped to CA. Besides, I had also heard a lot of good things about the Barrel Blaster and decided to give it a shot.

The cabinet arrived as scheduled today in good shape. It's packed very well and is made of good quality materials. Nice and sturdy! Assembly was straightforward and really easy. Hardware and parts are all packaged neatly and clearly labeled. If you can't get this thing put together in a few minutes you probably shouldn't be using an air compressor anyway!!;)

The unit closes up nice and tight and just like many of the reviews say, it does NOT leak!! I was thrilled when I fired it up and didn't see a cloud of media floating around the shop. It probably helps that the garnet is a very low dust media just like Michael said it was.

All said and done, the cabinet works exceptionally well and is a great value. It's also made right here in the US down in Texas, yet another plus. The 80 grit garnet is just aggressive enough and does exactly what I wanted it to, at least on the steel and G-10 pieces I worked on today.

I'm really happy with it and would recommend it in a heartbeat. It would have been nice to see it come with ceramic nozzles, but Michael offers a pack of three for a reasonable price, so it's not that big of an issue. Now a few requisite pics.....

Assembled and in it's new spot..

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Doesn't have a very big footprint, not much bigger than my old China cheapo...but it's got LOTS of room inside, and the grate is welded in place, swings up on hinges to allow access to the hopper, and is very heavy duty. Nice.

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Gotta love buying domestic when you can....

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Cabinet sits nice and steady on the shop floor. Legs adjust for leveling very easily:thumbup:

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Vacuum port works very well, haven't had a chance to plug in the light yet, but looks to be of good quality.

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That is sweet, I see what you are saying about how much size it has. Interior looks much bIgger than the el cheapo harbor freight I use. What size compressor are you running? That's what is killing me, I don't have a large tank compressor. Nice purchase!!!
 
I'm in the same boat as Juice. I've had my eye on one for quite a while but don't have the funds for a big comp..
 
Nice looking blaster. I like the way you can easily replace the view window too. I don't care how careful you are they always seem to get hit and frosted up.
 
Very neat.. I'll get one of those someday when I have a compressor capable of 80 psi 12 CFM or more.. probably when I get a utility hammer or something.
 
I know what you guys are saying, believe me. My compressor should be bigger too, but it's working well for now.

I have a 30 gallon Craftsman that's rated for just under 7 CFM at 90 lbs. so I can't blast for too long before the compressor needs to catch up. I'm not doing major production work in my shop so it's not that bad. I'm only working on a knife or two at a time. It's a bit of an annoyance but it works.
 
jonnymac44 said:
I know what you guys are saying, believe me. My compressor should be bigger too, but it's working well for now.

I have a 30 gallon Craftsman that's rated for just under 7 CFM at 90 lbs. so I can't blast for too long before the compressor needs to catch up. I'm not doing major production work in my shop so it's not that bad. I'm only working on a knife or two at a time. It's a bit of an annoyance but it works.
Click to expand...

If thats the case I may go ahead and get one and save up for a bigger compressor later. How long would you say it takes you to blast a couple of 8"-10" blades? Thanks in advance Jonny.
 
Darrin,
With my setup I could get one whole side done, then the compressor would kick on and take about a two minutes to get back to pressure, then I could do the other side. I might wait for the compressor to load up again one more time and do a quick once over on both sides to ensure good coverage. I could do two blades that size in about 10-15 minutes.
 
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