My really cheep, I mean inexpensive, blast cabinet

[mighty13d]

OK so I really needed a blast cabinet and yet i wasn't willing to spend the $300-500 on one. So with a little bit of ingenuity I came up with a very VERY inexpensive substitute. Here is my solution:

I took a large plastic storage tote for my booth and cut two arm holes in it. I cut the sleeves off an old work shirt and glued/taped those on the inside and around the holes so that I can stick my arms in through them to keep the sand from flying out.

I then cut a hole large enough for my air hose to go through in one end.

I took the cover and cut a large hole in that and bolted a sheet of plexiglass to that. I also figured out that using stepped drillbits will break plexiglass if you try to drill holes in it. I then sealed around the inside of that with tape. So here are the pics!

I mentioned this at the meet this month and I know that I got at least one funny look but once I throw some weather stripping around the top to seal it, it will be great.

I also do have a little issue with the sand being really dusty because I have used it outside before and swept it up to recycle it. So after I use the little containter's worth of sand, I stick my shop-vac's hose in one arm hole and suck all the dust out! works great with the extra dirt bag in my vac.

Feel free to flame me, but the plexiglass cost $6, the tote I already had along with the duct tape, the shirt was on it's way to the rag pile, I did have to buy some more super glue $1 and the bolts with washers were about $2. $9 isn't too bad for my own booth!!

 

[Billy Ricks]

Good idea. About the only things I might do differently is use rubber gloves, a filtered exhaust port, and seal the lid like you already mentioned. Nice use of things you had on hand though.

 

[mighty13d]

Good idea. About the only things I might do differently is use rubber gloves, a filtered exhaust port, and seal the lid like you already mentioned. Nice use of things you had on hand though.

I do want to make a filtered exhaust post and seal it. I have had my friend down here helping with some blasting and I just stick the hose in the corner and throw an old t-shirt around it to keep the sand in. Works good if someone holds the lid down lol. With 1 person, tons of dust gets out.

 

[dpep]

I absolutely love it. :clap:

I use those cheap plastic boxes for all kinds of things myself. They are the perfect complement to duct tape.

 

[Billy Ricks]

I absolutely love it. :clap:

I use those cheap plastic boxes for all kinds of things myself. They are the perfect complement to duct tape.

Don't forget the flannel, that completes the look. And I really do like it, not poking fun.

 

[spyug]

Yankee ingenuity at its finest

Well done sir.

cheers,
Spyug

 

[wazz]

I absolutely love it. :clap:

They are the perfect complement to duct tape.

A true craftsman Don





BTW, Nice job on the cabinet

-greg

 

[Guest]

I think it's great! Could you maybe sew some gardening gloves on the ends of the sleeves?

Only thing for me if I was to do it is... where do I find a cheap container big enough for my frame!?

 

[mighty13d]

I don't need gloves on the end because when I blast the aluminum it doesn't really bother me and I have some thin leather ones that I wear when I crank it up for steel. The sleeves are thin enough to let some sand through them so I think that eventually I will end up either putting some thicker material on there for sleeves with gloves or actually buying a real blast cabinet!

It really works good for what it is though. As you can tell though, what I use for a blasting gun is actually a plant sprayer for fertilizer and stuff like that. When I blasted parts of my frame, I took the gun part out and put the frame on a large tarp and blasted it that way in the driveway. You have to use a cheep welding shield and stuff when you do it that way and you make a mess all over yourself, but it works

 

[Planecrazy]

I would second the vote for replacing the flannel (though I love the look, hehe!) with long, heavy, rubber gloves. Then, cut a hole for your shop vac hose to go through, duct tape it up, and turn it on while your blasting. This ought to do two things for you... First, it'll suck out the sand as you're working so keeps the interior cleaner and less dusty. Second, by creating a "vacuum" effect in the container it ought to prevent dust and sand from blowing out the crevices (and all over the place).

Oh, one last thing ... if you DO use the shop vac and find it's not getting enough air (which could overheat the motor) you could also add a section of hose outside the cabinet that has some "pass through" holes drilled or cut into it. The sand and dust will still be sucked into the vacuum, but additional air will be allowed to flow through the vacuum while you're not actually blasting. This will protect the shop vac from overheating.

Love the ingenuity!!!

Regards,

 

[mighty13d]

I don't want to suck out all the sand. I sift it and re-use it.

 

[Planecrazy]

I would second the vote for replacing the flannel (though I love the look, hehe!) with long, heavy, rubber gloves. Then, cut a hole for your shop vac hose to go through, duct tape it up, and turn it on while your blasting. This ought to do two things for you... First, it'll suck out the sand as you're working so keeps the interior cleaner and less dusty. Second, by creating a "vacuum" effect in the container it ought to prevent dust and sand from blowing out the crevices (and all over the place).

Oh, one last thing ... if you DO use the shop vac and find it's not getting enough air (which could overheat the motor) you could also add a section of hose outside the cabinet that has some "pass through" holes drilled or cut into it. The sand and dust will still be sucked into the vacuum, but additional air will be allowed to flow through the vacuum while you're not actually blasting. This will protect the shop vac from overheating.

Love the ingenuity!!!

Regards,

I don't want to suck out all the sand. I sift it and re-use it.

Well, then cut the hole for the vac nice and high. You'll get the dust out and retain all the other advantages without sucking out the sand you want to reuse!

Regards,

 

[mighty13d]

lol yeah I will. i'll put a piece of fabric over it or something to keep the sand out. Thanks for the helpful hints guys. I can't wait to see if someone else makes a better one, especially if it's cheeper!

 

[Beaker]

Brilliant mate - you have done very well indeed!! Like the idea of adding the vac as well. All we need to think of now is a way to sift the sand and feed it back to the gun!!

 

[tkent02]

Perfect for about once a year I want to blast, don't want to blow the money or waste the space for a real one. Really good thinking.

 

[Zooks]

I think it's great! Could you maybe sew some gardening gloves on the ends of the sleeves?

Only thing for me if I was to do it is... where do I find a cheap container big enough for my frame!?

An old fridge works well. It's fairly common. You buy a cheap blasting gun from a hardware store, a pair of shoulder length chemical gloves and strip the interior out of an old fridge. I've seen it done a few times. It works quite well.

I've got an old dishwasher here that I am going to turn into a blast cabinet (stainless steel liner will last forever). I'll cut a window in the door and glue in a sheet of clear perspex (plexiglass) and I'm good to go.

I belong to the VJMC and one of the local guys in the club has one of those large fibreglass tubs (like they use for dog washing) that he has turned into a blast cabinet.

I've also seen 44 gallon drums used quite often. They're cheap (free), large and robust.

 

[Zooks]

BTW - mighty13d, good work. I love recycling like this. Very innovative.


Type - homemade blast cabinet - into google pics and you'll get heaps of ideas.

 

[mighty13d]

thanks guys. I got laughed at a little when I first voiced my idea for making something like this. I made it anyway and holy crap, it works good for what I need. I usually have a few little things that i can't use the wheel on my bench grinder to do and stuff like that maybe once a month avg for the year so this works perfectly. I turned it down to 40 psi for aluminum and it comes out nice and clean without going deep. I then hit it with a green brillo pad and about 15 seconds with some steel wool and check ou the results:

BEFORE:

AFTER:

That took me about 5 min start to finish and very very little elbow grease involved! I might not polish it up any better than that. I think it looks great just like it is. That would have taken forever to try to dig all of that paint off from it by hand.

 

[Billy Ricks]

I have a set of stock 350Z wheels I've been wanting to polish and sell. I had thought about sending them out to be blasted but this just confirms I need to build my own cabinet.

 

[Zooks]

mighty13d - that would be referred to as 'brushed aluminium' in the trade. Nice job.