HF blasting cabinet

[jsandidge]

I dont know what it is but equal amounts in the hands and the black stuff is noticably heavier than the walnut shell.

That is definitely coal slag. HF sells it as Black Diamond. It cuts really well (if you can get it to blow through your gun). It's pretty cheap at $10 for a 50lb bag. I use it all the time. I don't have a cabinet though. I just suck it up out of a 5 gallon bucket and let it fall to the ground. Doesn't kill the grass like soda does.

 

[Guest]

I have the HF cabinet too and use the cheap stuff from the farm store, it's called black something or other, might be diamond, I'll have to look. 5 HP compressor and 20 gallon tank. If you take out the screen in there (assuming your not needing it to support what your blasting) and put a long kitchen slotted spoon in the cabinet you can give a stir periodically. Sometimes the media doesn't want to fall all the way back down to the intake hose and a quick stir without having to open up the cabinet door saves time. I always have good results

 

[chuck hahn]

So I am leaning at running over to HF and grabbing 25 LB sack of this...opinions??? Not so sure of the "ground glass" media.

http://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-glass-bead-80-grit-abrasive-media-61875.html

 

[WolfworksCustoms]

The glass flows better, but costs a lot more....all depends on yer budget.....Ive used playsand (silica) and its VERY dangerous to your lungs (I have emphysema btw), well, IMO, if yer gonna use glass beads, even in a cabinet, make sure you have proper respiratory protection. That goes for ALL media btw....even though I dont use it using the Black Diamond....if yer a younger guy, please wear a proper respirator....dont matter with me anymore, I'm gonna be dead in 5-10 yrs anyway....

 

[chuck hahn]

Theres a fitting for hooking a shop vac to which suctions all the dust up and the vac filters the air obviously so thats a good feature. I always wear a dust mask at a minimum if grinding and stuff thats thrown debris around.

 

[Guest]

So I am leaning at running over to HF and grabbing 25 LB sack of this...opinions??? Not so sure of the "ground glass" media.

http://www.harborfreight.com/25-lbs-glass-bead-80-grit-abrasive-media-61875.html

http://www.harborfreight.com/50-lb-black-aluminum-oxide-70-grit-abrasive-media-61870.html

Get the black stuff and call it good. The glass stuff from HF, at least in my experience, breaks down to quick

 

[Fjbj40]

If you are going to be painting the stuff after then glass bead is not that good as it leaves a smooth surface, nothing for the paint to bite into to, especially on aluminum.

Bead is fine for paint, corrosion removal on aluminum but then you need to follow with an abrasive which will ensure adhesion. I always follow with 80-120 grit aluminum oxide at about 60-80 psi, leaves a great surface for paint adhesion.

Glass grit is also a good cleaner, more aggressive than beads but will not leave as smooth a surface and is usually way cheaper. The coal slag, I used it once, is pretty aggressive for aluminum IMOP.

I have a 90 gallon compressor with a pretty good CFM delivery rate, I think your small compressor is gonna be worked pretty hard to feed the cabinet for an extended blasting time, small quick parts no problem, but cylinders or cases are gonna be hard on it. You will be working it so hard it will get very hot and you will end up with lots of moisture unless you have a really good separator/dryer.

 

[JJ]

This one. Gave the guy 40 bucks form it and its like new.

Maybe the lousy performance is why he sold it so cheaply.

 

[Nessism]

Maybe the lousy performance is why he sold it so cheaply.

I doubt it. Lots of guys using those blast cabinets with good results. Chuck got a major deal for $40. Now he just needs to get some normal sized media and get busy. Coarse grade coal slag is not normally used in a blast cabinet anyway.

 

[chuck hahn]

40 bucks for a 180 normal store priced unit was a no brainer for sure. Im thinking it didnt work for him like this black stuff isnt working for me so he sold it. I will get the fine glass beads maybe next week and see what they do. Sucks the w2alnut shells up like noones business but they basically just bounce off and are doing nothing. Just not hard enough im guessing.

 

[SVSooke]

I have used crushed glass in my gravity feed handheld Princess Auto (the same one HF sells) for a few frames.Works great IMHO.Tried walnut shells on some aluminium pieces and yeah they don't do much.

 

[Guest]

A safety note here for those using ground glass as a blasting material. I read somewhere last year about workers in Portugal or Spain that were sandblasting jeans to give them the faded look. They were not using proper air respirators and the minute fine particles of crushed glass were causing irreversible lung damage. I forget the name of the disease but it does not take long to develop when working with crushed glass.

 

[SVSooke]

A safety note here for those using ground glass as a blasting material. I read somewhere last year about workers in Portugal or Spain that were sandblasting jeans to give them the faded look. They were not using proper air respirators and the minute fine particles of crushed glass were causing irreversible lung damage. I forget the name of the disease but it does not take long to develop when working with crushed glass.

Mesothelioma?Sounds like a good thing to avoid,wearing my proper respirator from now on.Thanks for the warning!

 

[WolfworksCustoms]

Take it from a man who has multiple repiratory issues....my lungs are so bad right now, that I cant even use a canister type respirator (cant inhale enough)....protect yourselves as much as possible. If yer just fonna use a dist mask, get the GOOD ones....pay the extra few bucks or you'll end up like me....in the 70s I breathed in asbestos dust (cutting Transite pipe with a demo saw)....after that, went to fine carpentry workin with exotic woods....mahogany, ebony, black walnut dust will clog yer lungs fast.....you young guys....I know its a hassle, ya wanna get yer stuff done and on the road....but spend the few extra bucks for lung protection....a full face canister mask is the best, but costs....but seriously....you dont wanna end up like me.....

The coal slag media has always worked best for me...various grades available and sometimes to go heavier you just need to mod/swap a nozzle/feed....its safer than the silica based, and is cheap....it might take a lil longer, but its worth the time....soda blasting is always an option, but requires specialized equipment....IMO not worth it as long as you use the coal slag gingerly....

Main thing, is to be safe.....too late for me, but if yer in yer 40s or younger, protect yerselves....please...

 

[chuck hahn]

I turn on the shop vac and no dust escapes the cabinet. Its filtered as the shop vac exhausts coupled with a mask i think its a good bet the air is safe.

 

[WolfworksCustoms]

NEVER SNEAK UP ON A SLEEPING DOG..NOT EVEN YOUR OWN

Hay Chuck....I might steal that for a sigline, lol......except Id change "dog" to "wolf".....

 

[Nessism]

I tried a shop vac on my blast cabinet one time and it sucked away a LOT of media. I think you need a proper baffling system to get the dust but leave the media in the cabinet.

 

[chuck hahn]

Shove a pod into the fitting for the hose from the inside of the cabinet. Stops that from happening.

 

[Guest]

40 bucks for a 180 normal store priced unit was a no brainer for sure. Im thinking it didnt work for him like this black stuff isnt working for me so he sold it. I will get the fine glass beads maybe next week and see what they do. Sucks the w2alnut shells up like noones business but they basically just bounce off and are doing nothing. Just not hard enough im guessing.

That black stuff is the slag, it works great when you get it feeding. I have used a lot of the HF sandblasters, no complaints. Best cabinets for the buck. Sand blasters do like a lot of air volume and pressure. It makes them feed better and work faster. Sounds like you got a deal $40. Keep the gun as close to the grate in the bottom as you can when blasting. Also if you put a shorter and slightly larger feed hose it can help. Most hardware stores sell the stiff clear flexible vinyl hose cheap.

 

[mikerophone]

Mesothelioma?Sounds like a good thing to avoid,wearing my proper respirator from now on.Thanks for the warning!

Yes, thanks for the warning, I blasted a whole bunch of parts last year in this same cabinet with the glass beads and the fine dust eventually made its way out of the cabinet (and the glass gave the piece film glass sticker cover a matte finish!) I'm now using the shop vac and it helps quite a bit.

I put some LED's and mine, but I would like to also use a larger hose and perhaps a little shorter peice too so it doesn't get stuck as often. I've been tempted many times to use screened play sand and just pony up for a really good respirator though.

Lots of of good info here, thanks all!