Tabletop Sandblast Cabinet

R

RJ Martin

Joined
Oct 26, 1998
Messages
933
I'm looking for a good, inexpensive tabletop unit to dedicate to ceramic bead blasting. I need 80 PSI, a filter (not necessarily a vacuum unit) and a decent gun. Anyone have suggestions on which to get or not to get?

TIA

RJ Martin
 
No experience myself, but I've read that the harbor freight cabinets are a good way to make a giant mess as they don't seal up well.

--nathan
 
RJ Martin said:
I'm looking for a good, inexpensive tabletop unit to dedicate to ceramic bead blasting. I need 80 PSI, a filter (not necessarily a vacuum unit) and a decent gun. Anyone have suggestions on which to get or not to get?

TIA

RJ Martin
Click to expand...

Since money is no object for you RJ ! :D Try www.tptools.com ....their guns are great and basically can change all parts should it need a part change unlike those POS Harbor Freight Guns and cabinets. Years ago I bought a boat anchor cabinet from HF and the gun's hose cracked like a few months later, pretty much welded on psycho glued on or something so got a new gun from Tptools.com

Here is a benchtop model:

http://www.tptools.com/p/2566,367_Clarke-Bench-Top-Abrasive-Blast-Cabinet.html
 
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A tube of silicone should effectively seal up a leaking cabinet.
 
RJ- I think the ones from HF suck ass. Hard. I've got one and it was a waste of money. Even after making a stand for it, and fabricating a deeper hopper, it still sucks. I moved it out of the shop as a matter of fact.

TP tools stuff is NICE. I've seen several of their cabinets in fab shops, and they are the cat's meow. They did have a "blasting buddy" bench-top that had their deep hopper, sifter, easy media change-out, filter, etc.... Their new bench top doesn't look like the one they used to carry.

Except for the one they used to carry, I think you will always run into trouble with too shallow of a hopper with the bench top models.

Just for the folks that don't know what I mean, a shallow hopper does not allow the blast media to readily sink back down to the siphon tube, and it keeps the media right under what you're blasting.... so you're constantly blasting media into it....which in turn, blows it right back at you, the part, and the window. :grumpy:
 
ok here is a newbie question. i've used bead blasters before cleaning auto parts and they do a bang up job. but hpw are they used in knife making? can u finnish a blade with one? clean up after forging?

jake
 
I have the red table top Harbor Freight cabinet RJ. I like it a lot for the $99 price tag. Some of the hardware could be improved on like the handles and hose connections which I did upgrade but they work fine and certainly did for a good while.

I'd just suggest going to a store and getting one you can examine on the spot. I bought one mailed to me and ended up having to make a 100 mile round trip to Tulsa to the store to return it and get another one not dented anyway so if its convenient I'd just swing buy during a sale. Our local Atwoods sells the exact same cabinet for the exact same price by the way. It didn't have them when I bought mine but it sure would have saved me a trip to Tulsa since Atwoods is half a mile from me.


STR
 
strahd71 said:
ok here is a newbie question. i've used bead blasters before cleaning auto parts and they do a bang up job. but hpw are they used in knife making? can u finnish a blade with one? clean up after forging?

jake
Click to expand...

I think unless you use some ungodly PSI (over 150) Bead blasting isn't gonna remove much forging scale. Perhaps with some crazy low grit silicon carbide media or something then maybe.
 
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I bought a Grizzly cabinet with the 2 side doors. I first modified it by bolting angle to the edges of the doors so they stayed flat. That plus a shop vac hooked in the back, fixed the leaks. Then I jacked one side up so the grit slides to the low side. I made a mount for the end of the suction hose so it stays in place on the low side. I also added a ball valve at the air inlet and replace the gun with a older one from work. I added an exterior florescent light that sits on top the window. In other words all I used from the original was the basic box. But, I only paid $50 for it at their yearly dent sale. Seems to work good now and I mostly shot garnet for grit. It will put a finish on hardened D2
 
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