Bead blasting cabinet, which one, nozzles, etc?

jonnymac44

jonnymac44

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Sep 27, 2007
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Well, I have been looking for an air compressor lately because I wanted to try out some fine bead blast finishes on some knives. I was chatting with an older buddy of mine who said he had a compressor I could have. I pictured a little two gallon pancake compressor, but to my surprise he pulled the tarp off of a 30 gallon 5.5 HP no oil electric craftsman that runs at up to 9.5 CFM and was built in 1996 or so that has never been used! I was stoked, checked out all the fittings and fired it up. It works great! Very cool and generous gift for sure:thumbup:

This evening I started looking for blasting cabinets. I didn't really want a cheapo from Harbor Freight, but I also wasn't looking to break the bank. A while back I had been looking at the Barrel Blaster for $300, but the specs and one of the reps from the company said that it requires 12 CFM to operate, which is a bit above what my compressor can do. A buddy of mine directed me here to Northern Tools

http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/category_abrasive-sand-blasters+abrasive-blasting-cabinets

They have some nice looking cabinets that are American made, and I was looking at the $199 model. It says that it requires between 7 and 15 CFM to operate, and when looking further I found out that it needs 7 CFM when using a 3/16" nozzle and the 15 CFM is for when you are using a 1/4" nozzle. I don't know much about blasting cabinets and haven't even used one since building hot rods back in the late 80's early 90's. Could I potentially put a 3/16" nozzle on the Barrel Blaster and make it work? Are the nozzles? universal? Where is a good source to get replacement nozzles?

One or two of the reviews of the cabinets said that nozzles had to be replaced every 30 minutes of use or so? Is that common?

Finally, where do you guys who blast get your media? Best price and quality...

Lots of questions on this topic, sorry:o

Jonny
 
Nozzles do need to be replaced often unless you get ceramic ones, which is what I do.
Ceramic lasts 5-6 times longer if my memory is correct (WHich is what I use). You get what you pay for in Bead blast cabinets, I have two harbour freight cabinets ($150) units and I really dislike them. Puny nozzle gun in them, I had to pay another $100 to get a decent nozzle gun for both of them. I was allowed to pick the bead blast cabinet at work and I am really pleased with it.
It is a TP tools blaster (Skat blast unit) we got the 960, which is probably overkill for your application. But they have much smaller units. We got our media from tptools also.
But for my home shop I just get the media locally at harbour freight and or Northern tools.
Skat blast does sell on ebay and I have seen occasional scratch/dent merchandise go for reduced prices and or free shipping.
PS Your small air compressor will be a hinderance for any decent sized blast cabinet though.
CW
 
TP Tools is the place to get supplies.

I have 2 Harbor Freight Cabinets, and think the cabinet itself is fine for what I paid.

I used them until the guns wore out, and put in decent guns from TP.

Spring for a foot operated unit if you can, a lot more pleasant to use.

If all you are doing is the occasional small parts, like a knife, that compressor should be OK.
For a lot of blasting, a bigger tank, and more CFM is called for.

I use a carbide nozzle and silicon carbide abrasive, and have been running the same nozzle for 2 years.
So, well over 200 knives so far.
I didn't open it up, but from the outside, it still looks new.
 
You will probably find that 30 gallons is enough to run the blaster for the short periods it takes to blast a knife. The problem with the cabinets is leakage around the seals. It's usually caused by the filters getting clogged. A machine shop told me to attach a vacuum to the cabinet and it will make a world of difference. The other option is to replace the stock filter with a much bigger one on the outside of the cabinet. It's not difficult to rig up a big 8" round car air filter.
 
My blast cabinet has a vaccum attached to it and it works great. Still dusty while blasting but clears out very quickly if you stop blasting to look at your piece.
 
There is an auction up in Chico on feb 17th that has one for sale. Not sure on the size, but you could try calling Ashman auction co. and inquire.
 
Thanks for the info everybody:thumbup: I'll check out TP tools for some nozzles. Probably will pick up the $199 model from Northern and get some ceramic 3/16" nozzles.

Thanks!!
 
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