What Sand Blaster? Thanks Jeff!

Barnyard

Barnyard

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Now that I have a 5 hp air compressor with and 80 gallon tank I'd like to add a portable sand blaster to clean up sheet metal and heavy iron. Any recommendations?
 
The portables waste a lot of sand. I'm planning to make a blast cabinet from a home heating oil tank, as soon as the promised tank appears. Ed
 
Barnyard":3o3ujjnt said:
Well, I reckon that would rule out blasting my trailers and Jeep bodies.
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Unless you turned part of BOB into a cabinet. Plastic sheeting can make good walls and floor. Would not need a roof unless you were blasting the rafters.
 
I recommend the "Texas Blaster" info @ Texas Blaster.com , it is made in USA ( imagine that ) and is a very heavy duty unit. Cost last year was in the $500.00 range
Berlin
 
Bill,

Take a look here http://www.tptools.com/. Sand blasters galore! Might be worth a trip to Canfield. They have several set up in their showroom, they are very knowledgeable, and great to deal with. If you don't want to drive to Canfield, give them a call, ask for Jim, he has been great each time I've visited the showroom.

If you decide to come to Canfield, I'll meet you with donuts. Ed is far enough away that he should not be lurking in the shadows waiting to snatch the donuts. :)

Also, anyone traveling near Canfield, it might be worth a short side trip to stock up.

Bill
 
Bill Hudson":m8lzmex8 said:
Ed is far enough away that he should not be lurking in the shadows waiting to snatch the donuts.
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I think Ed is already gassing up his truck!

I will keep that one in mind, but Canfield is a five hour drive. I'd have to leave at two in the morning to get the fresh donuts and Ed may still beat me to them! :lol:
 
Barnyard":3p1gnms7 said:
Bill Hudson":3p1gnms7 said:
Ed is far enough away that he should not be lurking in the shadows waiting to snatch the donuts.
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I think Ed is already gassing up his truck!

I will keep that one in mind, but Canfield is a five hour drive. I'd have to leave at two in the morning to get the fresh donuts and Ed may still beat me to them! :lol:
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Its a 12 hour drive, for me. Probably cheaper to get donuts, locally! Besides, lo cal donuts are better for my waistline! :D :D Ed
 
I'll add my
2cents.gif
(you knew I would). At one time I thought I wanted a sand blaster for the same reasons as you. However that desire went away after borrowing one from a friend to use one weekend. My blasting was in the heat of summer and I quickly found out that when you are sweating, sand will stick to you. In fact sand will stick to you from head to toe and every (and I mean every) place in between. You have to wear a hood that you can't hardly see through and you have a whole lot of cleaning up afterward.
Also a 5 hp compressor won't keep up with most sand blasters. Make sure you check the required CFM and make sure it will match the compressor output. As the nozzle wears the blaster will require more CFM.
Anyway, after my experience I take my parts to a real sand blasting guy when I need blasting done. Out in the shop I use a 4" angle grinder with a heavy duty wire cup brush to remove rust and paint. It works good but does make a dusty mess. I always wear a dust mask to keep my lungs clear. Remember, that old paint may contain lead.
Good luck and let us know what you end up with.

Rick
 
I got a 5gal siphon feed and a small blast cabinet that holds about 8 lbs or so. I use them with a 5 hp compressor and they work ok. I just got the cheap one at Rural King here about 3 yrs ago. It is better to have the CFM but a single or double stage compressor does make a difference and a 2 cylinder works faster. I have a 3 cylinder now and will be trying out here shortly. I do know, when it kicks on, it does not run very long at all.

Make sure you get a pair of heavy coverall's, a respirator, ear plugs, and a good upper body mask before you start. Safety equipment is a must for me.



Good Luck,
 
Thanks for the input guys! I used to blast Jeep bodies using a friends blaster and gear so I already know about the safety end of it. I just thought I'd see if there were any brand recommendations out there. Looks like it could be more of a user's preference.

This will be done outside using a canopy frame with side walls to cut down on wind but with no top. I will probably have a cheapie tarp to walk on and catch the sand so I don't have to clean up so much.
 
I wear a tyvek suit with hood and booties (Lowe's for about $10). Then ear plugs (those blasters are noisy!), respirator, blasting hood (Northern Toolhttp://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200239524_200239524), And finally a pair of blasting cabinet gloves that reach the elbow.http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200132324_200132324 After getting sand "EVERYWHERE" the first time, this system really keeps things pretty clean and safe. This suit setup IS hotter than hades, though, and I am using a commercial air compressor at a paint shop, and it even has a hard time on hot summer days...trips off now and then.

I blast outdoors with a unit similar to this http://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200229924_200229924. I hang a large tarp from a line of trees, & sweep the concrete in front then lay another tarp on the ground. That allows me to sweep up the sand more easily. I pour the sand through a screen (also Northern Toolhttp://www.northerntool.com/shop/tools/product_200320831_200320831) to get the big stuff out. I can reuse the Playground Sand (~$3/bag from Lowe's) several times before it is pulverized to dust.
 
ricky racer":i435pods said:
I'll add my
2cents.gif
(you knew I would). At one time I thought I wanted a sand blaster for the same reasons as you. However that desire went away after borrowing one . . .
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My experience exactly.

I have a blasting cabinet that I use regularly. It pretty well contains the dust and media. My last project, I used the e-tank then finish pieces in the cabinet. Some things don't fit in one or the other or either.
 
I have a small portable unit that I picked up at Sears. I've done a whole 54 blade, Cyclone seeder and several rims so far and I love it.
I do all my blasting at work after hours with endless air pressure, usually out on the gravel parking lot so the mess dosn't matter. I've found that the play sand picked up at most hardwares works just as well as the Black Beauty stuff at TSC

Yes it's a mess to use but I'm usually that way after work anyway.
 
Very interesting information in this thread, thanks. Right now I use the 4 1/2 inch grinder but been thinking about a small blaster. Don't do a lot, but the even with the grinding done outside it's a dusty mess with little shards sticking everywhere, but sounds like a blaster would be the way to go for bigger items.
Video for us please, Barnyard, on how it works for you.
 
I'm on the list of "tried it, didn't like it". I have a fellow not for away, that has a large commercial blasting outfit and does my blasting very reasonably. After hooking up with him, I gave my portable blaster away. I do use my cabinet quite often, though. If I were looking to buy one, though, I'd certainly check out TP Tools, as Bill H. suggested. They're pretty much an industry leader in the blaster business.
 
My cabinet was made by Trin-Mac. An unusual feature is a front door. With the front door, I rarely open the side. It is much handier for loading/unloading, many fewer steps when you open it up. One nice thing about the front door is that you can open it without spilling any media. The side door spills a little every time it opens. It is very similar to this one:
http://www.netmachinery.net/cgi-bin...esults_format=long&db_id=7804&query=retrieval
I got it second hand. The front door probably was an extra cost option.
 
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