Educate Me on Sandblasters (Update)

[Augus7us]

Hey Guys,

I am rebuilding a drill press and need a sandblaster to strip crud and paint off of it. Ultimately I will get a decent blast cabinet and use it for some knife making stuff as well.

I've never used a sandblaster but the concept is pretty straight forward. I've read up on some cheaper models carried by Harbor Freight and Home Depot and am satisfied one of them would do what I need it to. I think I have settled on the 110lb model HF carries.

I normally don't go for the cheapest when buying tools but I'm in a pinch with this one and don't want to spend a lot of money at the moment. I almost bought the thing tonight but the kid at HF was being lazy and didn't want to move some boxes and get one down for the back so I left. I did some more looking when I got home and saw Tractor Supply has a similar model for about the same price but also had several models that were nearly $2000. If I buy the one from HF or TS is there anything I am really going to regret or hate about it? Its only going to cost me about $100 so I'm not going to be too broken up about it if I need to replace it down the road.

Also is this serious overkill? For $20 less I could get one about half the size but I figured for $20 I might as well just go with the bigger capacity.

Thanks

-Clint

 

[kuraki]

The blaster is the least important part of blasting. Your compressor is the most important part. Blasters are all essentially just a cabinet and a siphon gun. Having a compressor capable of doing 8 or 9 cfm at 90 psi is what will make it or break it.

 

[NC Biker]

I have no experience with HF sandblasting unit, but I can tell you will be disappointed with any unit if you don't have enough air to move sand. The compressor is the key to sandblasting.

 

[Augus7us]

Yeah I should have mentioned I understand the air requirements for a blaster.

What I'm really concerned about is if I buy this unit from HF for $100 and someone tells me down the road the one at store x for $150 is ten times the sandblaster as the HF one. As long as I'm not missing out on something like that then I'm ok with burning a c note on it.

-Clint

 

[NC Biker]

Like Kuraki said, there is not much to a blasting cabinet. It's a sealed box with a handle and pickup tube. I suppose the HF unit might leak, but nothing a tube of silicone caulk won't take care of. I'm sure the lighting sucks and you won't be able to see anything real quick. Some hook up a shop vac to the cabinet to clear the dust, but you need some sort of filter system for the vac. I blasted the entire chassis and all the suspension parts of a Triumph TR3 in the backyard with no cabinet and just a 30 dollar handle picking up sand straight from the bag. It would leave a pile of sand that I just scooped up and poured back into the bag to reuse. My cabinet was a pair of goggles.

 

[HSC ///]

The HF leaks or will leak where you need a seal the most,
I used one at a friend's shop, it will work even when it leaks slightly

 

[kuraki]

I have an HF one. I just replaced the cabinet seal with closed cell foam for sealing doorways. Works great. I've never had a problem with the gun itself, only the vinyl tube it comes with. Bigger, more rigid tube is a nice upgrade.

I've used big industrial quality cabinets at various jobs over the years. The only benefits they've had over a cheap HF are better seals, media agitation, and quality dust collection systems. But to get those features you're talking thousands of dollars, not hundreds.

 

[Drew Riley]

I've just recently come down this road...

I bought the HF cabinet on sale for a good price, thinking I could make it work, and while I've now got a pretty decent setup, I REALLY wish I'd have just bought something a little nicer (like the barrel blaster) and been done with it. The time, effort, and money I used to make my cabinet usable, would have been better spent on a slightly nicer rig.

Now, if you're dead set on the HF cabinet, here are a couple of tips: When assembling the cabinet, use a quality caulk and seal EVERY SEAM. Scrap the white weather stripping off of everything. It's worthless. The only area you need any weather stripping is the door. You can use what they provide, but I'd double it up, or better yet, get some quality weather stripping that's a little thicker and more durable.

Now, you'll need to modify the gun to make it work. Take it to your belt grinder, and start grinding the tip of the gun. Don't stop until you reach the back of the handle. Now, take the pile of dust you just made, and throw it all in the garbage. The included gun is USELESS.

I bought this one on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Campbell-Hau...&sr=8-1&keywords=campbell+hausfield+blast+gun
It's leaps and bound better, and not very expensive.

Down the road, if you want to spend some more money, Tocoma Company makes a nice "upgrade kit", but for what it costs, you might as well buy a barrel blaster or some other nicer setup if you want to spend all that money up front.

I also added some supports to my legs as there a little flimsy, especially with the cabinet full of abrasive. I also recommend some sort of regulator/filiter setup to keep your pressure down and your media dry. This goes for ANY blast set up.

Now, finally, the MOST important thing is your compressor. You NEED as many CFM as possible. 12-14 would be good, but more is even better if you can swing it. Get the biggest compressor you can afford. I've got a 60 gallon upright, and sometimes I wish even it were bigger. Now, you can get buy with a smaller compressor, but you'll spend most of your time waiting for the tank to fill.

 

[Drew Riley]

I have an HF one. I just replaced the cabinet seal with closed cell foam for sealing doorways. Works great. I've never had a problem with the gun itself, only the vinyl tube it comes with. Bigger, more rigid tube is a nice upgrade.

I've used big industrial quality cabinets at various jobs over the years. The only benefits they've had over a cheap HF are better seals, media agitation, and quality dust collection systems. But to get those features you're talking thousands of dollars, not hundreds.

Interesting. I had nothing but problems with the hose and gun that came with mine. Either it was kinking and collapsing, or it would balloon out and burst after a couple of weeks. At the very least, I think think a hose change is necessary, but I've had better luck with a different gun than what came with the unit.

 

[HSC ///]

that barrel blaster looks great! I would buy that and not even look at the HF one

 

[kuraki]

That stuff is hit or miss. Either I got lucky or you unlucky.

 

[robgmn]

I used to sell blasters and cabinets, and can tell you it is far more than "air volume capability".

If you want system that will work and make you happy you bought it, you want a pressure pot, not a siphon system.
A pressure pot plus a cabinet, plus decent nozzles is a start. Get into foot pedal control instead of a ball valve or dead-man, and the happiness increases.
I can tell you how to do it all, but the starting budget will not be $150.

The question is: do you want to spend $150 now, then $200 more to be happy, or $200 now and be happy?

 

[HSC ///]

I used to sell blasters and cabinets, and can tell you it is far more than "air volume capability".

If you want system that will work and make you happy you bought it, you want a pressure pot, not a siphon system.
A pressure pot plus a cabinet, plus decent nozzles is a start. Get into foot pedal control instead of a ball valve or dead-man, and the happiness increases.
I can tell you how to do it all, but the starting budget will not be $150.

The question is: do you want to spend $150 now, then $200 more to be happy, or $200 now and be happy?

what is an example of a pressure pot system?
what would you suggest is a suitable purchase?

 

[Augus7us]

Hey Guys, thanks for the responses.

I do want to clarify, I'm not buying a cabinet just the sandblaster. Right now I need to strip this drill press down for paint before it gets too cold.

Drew you pretty much nailed what I read on the HF site about issues. Most said it works fine but complained about the hoses and the gun. I figured both of those are easy enough to upgrade if they tank out on me.

I read enough on here and elsewhere to rule out the HF blast cabinet, when I do eventually get one. I buy most of my stuff used and my shop is fairly decked out with all quality stuff, but in the $100-~300 range all the sandblasters seamed to be about the same. If you've read any of my past posts on tools you'll know i have a hard and fast rule of no HF powertools in my shop. Clamps, wire brushes, calipers, etc I'll buy from there because they are cheap enough to be disposable but that's it.

-Clint

 

[Augus7us]

I used to sell blasters and cabinets, and can tell you it is far more than "air volume capability".

If you want system that will work and make you happy you bought it, you want a pressure pot, not a siphon system.
A pressure pot plus a cabinet, plus decent nozzles is a start. Get into foot pedal control instead of a ball valve or dead-man, and the happiness increases.
I can tell you how to do it all, but the starting budget will not be $150.

The question is: do you want to spend $150 now, then $200 more to be happy, or $200 now and be happy?

Robgmn as I mentioned in my last post I am definitely a buy once guy but in this case I'm trying to finish this project quickly and on a budget because I'm shutting my current shop down this year and need to get this finished. I also don't have a lot of use for a sandblaster aside from the occasional project like this or small knifemaking tasks. If I want to blast a car frame or something down the road I'll probably look at upgrading.

But, like Harbeer, I am interested in hearing your thoughts on what to look for in a good blaster. I saw one by a company called Pirate on Tractor Supply's site and they were almost 2k. I'm curious if you are talking about something like that.

-Clint

 

[12345678910]

Hey Guys, thanks for the responses.

I do want to clarify, I'm not buying a cabinet just the sandblaster. Right now I need to strip this drill press down for paint before it gets too cold.


-Clint

I've had good lock just going to a blasting shop and paying cash for little jobs like that.

 

[robgmn]

what is an example of a pressure pot system?
what would you suggest is a suitable purchase?

Robgmn as I mentioned in my last post I am definitely a buy once guy but in this case I'm trying to finish this project quickly and on a budget because I'm shutting my current shop down this year and need to get this finished. I also don't have a lot of use for a sandblaster aside from the occasional project like this or small knifemaking tasks. If I want to blast a car frame or something down the road I'll probably look at upgrading.

But, like Harbeer, I am interested in hearing your thoughts on what to look for in a good blaster. I saw one by a company called Pirate on Tractor Supply's site and they were almost 2k. I'm curious if you are talking about something like that.

-Clint

A "pressure pot" is a cylinder full of abrasive that can be pressurized at high pressure to force abrasive into a stream of lower pressure air that flows externally to the pot (super-simple diagram below).
The benefits over a siphon feed are more consistent abrasive flow, lower air consumption, ability to blast at low pressure, more overall control.
A drawback is not being able to blast non-stop for hours on end since the pot needs to be refilled at some point.

The system by Pirate looks similar to a system I used to sell at a much lower price (and mine was better as it had an air-operated foot pedal to control the flow). You could build one that works just as well as the Pirate for much less by sourcing the parts individually and selling.
You could get started with a simple pot from Harbor (or similar vendors) and then build upon it.

Do you have a cabinet? If not, you're not going to enjoy blasting AT ALL unless you wear a full protective suit suit and have a respirator system. For cabinet-free blasting that is safe, I'd recommend something super-simple like a spot blaster that catches the abrasive as you go. It does small areas at a time so it will take a bit longer, but it works effectively (I used mine once to blast a 36x48 piece of glass that wouldn't fit in my cabinet, and it's sat on my shelf since. It might get used again on a minibike my son and I are restoring).
They go for about $50 online and look like the picture below my "diagram".

 

[Augus7us]

I've had good lock just going to a blasting shop and paying cash for little jobs like that.

Hey Count, I hadn't really thought of paying someone to do this since I've never had to sandblast something, I always got by with wire brushes or sandpaper. The other thought is I doubt I could get this done for under $50, its a big drill press and there are quite a few parts I'd like blasted. And for that money I could put another $60 or $70 with it and get my own blaster and 50lbs of abrasive.

A "pressure pot" is a cylinder full of abrasive that can be pressurized at high pressure to force abrasive into a stream of lower pressure air that flows externally to the pot (super-simple diagram below).
The benefits over a siphon feed are more consistent abrasive flow, lower air consumption, ability to blast at low pressure, more overall control.
A drawback is not being able to blast non-stop for hours on end since the pot needs to be refilled at some point.

The system by Pirate looks similar to a system I used to sell at a much lower price (and mine was better as it had an air-operated foot pedal to control the flow). You could build one that works just as well as the Pirate for much less by sourcing the parts individually and selling.
You could get started with a simple pot from Harbor (or similar vendors) and then build upon it.

Do you have a cabinet? If not, you're not going to enjoy blasting AT ALL unless you wear a full protective suit suit and have a respirator system. For cabinet-free blasting that is safe, I'd recommend something super-simple like a spot blaster that catches the abrasive as you go. It does small areas at a time so it will take a bit longer, but it works effectively (I used mine once to blast a 36x48 piece of glass that wouldn't fit in my cabinet, and it's sat on my shelf since. It might get used again on a minibike my son and I are restoring).
They go for about $50 online and look like the picture below my "diagram".

Thanks for the response robgmn. I appreciate the education. You are right I'm going to get coated with sand without a cabinet, however I doubt I will like it any less than messing around with wire wheels and paint thinner. What would you say the average price is for a decent pressurized pot blaster like you describe?

Don't get me wrong, I don't see myself using this on daily or even weekly basis but I do have a few projects in the future that I will use it on plus the knife stuff. That and the truth is I've become a tool junky and I have no problem spending $130 to get setup and try my hand at sandblasting

What grit would you guys recommend for general purpose and paint removal?

-Clint

 

[robgmn]

what is an example of a pressure pot system?
what would you suggest is a suitable purchase?

Robgmn as I mentioned in my last post I am definitely a buy once guy but in this case I'm trying to finish this project quickly and on a budget because I'm shutting my current shop down this year and need to get this finished. I also don't have a lot of use for a sandblaster aside from the occasional project like this or small knifemaking tasks. If I want to blast a car frame or something down the road I'll probably look at upgrading.

But, like Harbeer, I am interested in hearing your thoughts on what to look for in a good blaster. I saw one by a company called Pirate on Tractor Supply's site and they were almost 2k. I'm curious if you are talking about something like that.

-Clint

Hey Count, I hadn't really thought of paying someone to do this since I've never had to sandblast something, I always got by with wire brushes or sandpaper. The other thought is I doubt I could get this done for under $50, its a big drill press and there are quite a few parts I'd like blasted. And for that money I could put another $60 or $70 with it and get my own blaster and 50lbs of abrasive.




Thanks for the response robgmn. I appreciate the education. You are right I'm going to get coated with sand without a cabinet, however I doubt I will like it any less than messing around with wire wheels and paint thinner. What would you say the average price is for a decent pressurized pot blaster like you describe?

Don't get me wrong, I don't see myself using this on daily or even weekly basis but I do have a few projects in the future that I will use it on plus the knife stuff. That and the truth is I've become a tool junky and I have no problem spending $130 to get setup and try my hand at sandblasting

What grit would you guys recommend for general purpose and paint removal?

-Clint

You DON'T want to be messing with sand. Silicosis is not your friend
Aluminum oxide and silicon carbide are safe, however expensive when used for single-use purposes. Other options are baking soda, nut shells, glass bead.
Grit sizes between 80 and 120 are good for rust and paint removal.

I've been out of the loop for a while on prices of parts.
I'll call my old supplier tomorrow and get and idea for you on converting the basis pressure pot (less than $100 unit) to a unit like I've described.

 

[BushwickBill]

if I was you I would look into paying to get this sandblasted and getting a cabinet later. I work in the automotive restoration field so we do a good amount of blasting we have a spot blaster the same one pictured above we use it almost never, we had a pot that we sold, and we have a cabinet that we use almost daily if it don't fit in the cabinet it goes to the sandblaster. you said you are trying to get this project done and on a budget and my guess is by the time you buy a blaster abrasive and protective equipment it will be cheaper to pay to have it done. Blasting is with out a doubt going to be more miserable than a wire wheel and thinner which we use a lot also and protective equipment is the most important part of a blaster that is not a cabinet a pair of goggles will not cut it you will need a good hood designed for sandblasting and as using it for knives later well you will want a cabinet for that