DIY Blast Cabinet...?

[The Z'eer]

my first blast cabinet was made form a large plastic storage container......is was a bit rough but it worked...... you could have said it was a ghetto-blaster

there are loads of posts on here about blasting cabinets, unless you want something special just use a commercial one, they can work quite well with a few tweaks, one of the main ones being having adequate dust extraction. Ive got small benchtop cabinet that has been modified and works quite well. If you want a large cabint or to do large parts I'd be looking at using a pressurised system rather than a syphon system as it works much more efficiently.

you could just use the shed you've built as a walk in blast cabinet and work in a toilet tent

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Fantastic information there Are you using a pressurised system as opposed to syphon? It appears pressurised is the better option?

 

[The Z'eer]

Look into more CFM compressor wise before you spend a lot of time and effort building and get disappointed. I have two suction gun cabinets and they are only really adequate for hobby use with a 14cfm compressor on a 3mm nozzle at 90psi.
I planned on building a bigger one than the wee Clarke bench top opening jobbie then someone posted a link to a cheap version similar to the larger side door Sealey etc so I bought one of those to modify and saved a lot of time building but waste more time as I can get bigger items in!

I'm planning on buying another Dakota 90 ltr, this combined with the one I already have will give me 28 CFM or thereabouts. Will the duel compressors give enough air for the cleaning of corrosion from steel?

 

[brightspark]

suction is ok for small parts if your in no rush pressurized is far more agressive and fast providing you have a comp that can keep a 3mm jet pressurised to about 90psi without having to wait till the tank refils

 

[The Z'eer]

You know for sure that there will be lots of air going in to whatever you build; be sure to give due consideration as to how that air leaves and where it goes and takes all the dust with it. The small cheapy cabinets (like mine) are fitted with an exhaust port with a smallish filter element on them, which I reckon will start to block quite quickly. I've taken that filter off and fitted a pipe that goes to an extractor fan and that then blows outside my shed. It's kind of a "work in progress" at the minute, but it's something I hadn't given much thought to went I started out. Without a good exhaust, the cabinet will start to pressure, then you get dust squeezing out.

Indeed, yeah the removal of air needs to be considered for certain. So the likes of several domestic vacuum cleaners used as a method of extraction won't work?

 

[brightspark]

I'm planning on buying another Dakota 90 ltr, this combined with the one I already have will give me 28 CFM or thereabouts. Will the duel compressors give enough air for the cleaning of corrosion from steel?

28cfm will be ideal i have one and can well keep up with air requirements. i use a 4inch woodchip extracta on my cabinet

 

[The Z'eer]

suction is ok for small parts if your in no rush pressurized is far more agressive and fast providing you have a comp that can keep a 3mm jet pressurised to about 90psi without having to wait till the tank refils

I'm getting the feeling I ought to spend out on a pressurised system as opposed to syphon? Will this do the job adequately if given the right amount of air? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Sealey-S...016456&hash=item2cd1236369:g:AmYAAOSwkdxfxQka

 

[brightspark]

thats well overpriced just badged up as sealey . you can pick that type up for under 120 quid and just change the blast jet on it to a carbide one and its more usable . heres one Sandblaster Bead Pot Sand Blaster Kit 10 Gallon 40l Grit Blasting Sand – Vevor UK

 

[The Z'eer]

for home use you can use a smaller nozzle size and allow more time for the blasting process. also sometimes you want to do some delicate blasting too, like these steering parts for my radio controlled matchbox lorry, these parts were blasted at 25psi (with a pound coin for scale)

and at low pressures you can use insulation tape for masking without any issues

bit for most things people on here will be just turning up the pressure to remove as much material as fast as possible, if I blasted these steam engine boilers at 90psi, I dont think there would be much left of them.

Those parts have come out really well, looking very clean!

 

[The Z'eer]

thats well overpriced just badged up as sealey . you can pick that type up for under 120 quid and just change the blast jet on it to a carbide one and its more usable

So, I'm guessing the bigger the vessel which holds the blasting medium the better? i.e less sieving and refilling etc. ? What's the benefits of a carbide jet?

 

[The Z'eer]

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I made my cabinet big enough for a small bonnet or boot lid, when it came to it I had them done professionally as it just takes tooooooo long and the small pressure pot I have goes through the grit at such a rate you have to keep stopping to sieve the grit and refill the pot, dust extraction is the other problem, I have a woodists extractor and judging by the outside of the shed wall where it extracts to it does move some air but the cabinet and especially the window fogs up in no time, I have taken to blasting with the front of the cabinet open and wearing a big hood, ear defenders, dust mask, jacket, etc. that works a lot better, so don't get over ambitious, you need very good air extraction, you can add several large gas cylinders to the air supply and then be able to blast for much longer before putting the kettle on whilst it builds up air again, you won't blast anything largish with a suction system, get a blast pot and make or buy a new bottom valve,

Ideally that's what I'm looking to do, removal of corrosion from body panels, and large ones too. Thanks for recommendation, I think a blast pot will probably be the preferred choice when it comes to buying the hardware.

 

[brightspark]

10 gallons not bad for the tank size it will hold just over 25kg of media . it goes quite a way and will easily do a car wheel and a bit more before refilling the cheap pots have a crappy trigger and jet on the end of the blast hose . a strait through carbide jet is best and operate the pot from a ball valve on the air supply

 

[Wallace]

Ideally that's what I'm looking to do, removal of corrosion from body panels, and large ones too. Thanks for recommendation, I think a blast pot will probably be the preferred choice when it comes to buying the hardware.

You have to be very careful blasting sheet steel as it gets hot and distorts.

 

[brightspark]

You have to be very careful blasting sheet steel as it gets hot and distorts.

especially bonnets boots and panels i wouldn't do them

 

[MetalMonkey]

I built mine, as it had to fit an odd shaped space. I used 18mm ply for the box with a tapered hopper at the bottom.

Bought a metering valve, foot pedal, glass and gauntlets as spares from the ubiquitous ebay SBC 990 cabinets. Also purchased a genuine BNP suction gun with a tungsten nozzle,

I put in a stainless mesh base to allow the media to drain away and steel on the back wall to stop plywood being eaten (rubber would be better if you can find something suitable).
I painted the inside white and added three LED bulkhead lights - get as much light as possible inside.
Dust extraction is via a second-hand clarke woodworking dust extractor which just pipe directly outside (I plan to add a cyclone at some point).
I've got two compressors I use in tandem for blasting.

There are some extra touches such as a gas assisted lid and blow off gun, but those are the key components.
It is a pleasure to use, blasts well and never clogs.

Probably would have been cheaper to start with an SBC 420/990 and modify it, but I needed something to fit a particular space.
I started off struggling with one of the cheap syphon guns, but they never work well - once you have used the media valve set up you won't look back.

 

[Turbo]

Looking at the possibility of building a blast cabinet, I'd be opting for 18 mm ply in the construction with a sturdy frame built from timber.

Another forum member sent me a set of plans by e-mail. Not made it yet but it looks fairly simple & is made from sheets of 8x4 plywood with a comprehensive cutting list.

Message me your e-mail address & I'll forward you a set of the plans.

 

[pod70]

I've got one of the small Clarke blast cabinets that I'm fed up of tripping over for £45 if you fancy a trip to Kent (Gravesend). I'm pretty sure it's this model https://www.machinemart.co.uk/p/heavy-duty-blast-cabinet/