Getting my sand blasting set up right - It's driving me crazy !!

[rtbcomp]

There's a lot more to this game than squirting grit at a lump of metal if you're going to do any volume. You need space to keep new grit dry, space to store spent grit, space to keep incoming work and even more space for finished work.

You can't be doing with sweeping up and sieving grit during a job, so you need enough grit on hand to complete the job and do your cleaning up between jobs. The more work you get the more time you spend on the phone and dealing with customers, so you consider setting someone on. This kicks in a whole raft of health & safety rules and extra insurances.

 

[tedmagnum]

If it's any help, I have two bags of J-Blast superfine in a Clarke cabinet with the original suction gun and a 3mm ceramic nozzle, the pickup tube is loose in the cabinet and just poked in the top of the media. Air is from a Clarke SE16C150 compressor feeding through a spray gun filter regulator/water separator @ 90psi. Filtration is an Earlex wet/dry vacuum with a wet type filter and a Hoover vacuum bag as an additional filter on a large bore hose connected to the Earlex exhaust port. Vacuum is ported into the r/h side of the cabinet with a foam "Ram-Air" filter on the l/h side, the original case air filter port is blocked off.

The 3mm nozzle helped immensely as the compressor cannot keep up with anything bigger and 90psi seems to work well with the J-Blast. Lifting the pickup tube out of the cabinet bottom made an improvement to the feed once poked in top of the media. A good flow of air into the cabinet with Vaccum is essential to keep the dust down and prevent the gloves popping off. A old pair of pliers live in the cabinet for holding small parts to save wearing the gloves out.

You have a very similar set up to me then.. Maybe the nozzles will change my life !!

If fit a disc near the end of the pickup tube it will prevent the tube burying itself in the media.

Brilliant idea.

In this Sealy cabinet its bolted to the side and sits right at the bottom of the well. I'll sort that out too.

However, the vacuum tube has another tube next to it with a couple of holes drilled between them.. Not sure why, I presumed it was to to stop airlocks or over pressurisation perhaps ?

 

[tedmagnum]

suction guns are ideal for low volume small object cleaning but the minimum for a-reasonable production rate would be a pressure pot with minimum of 28 cfm output and not large objects

Looks like I might need to upgrade then ..

Where does the spending end !!!

There's a lot more to this game than squirting grit at a lump of metal if you're going to do any volume. You need space to keep new grit dry, space to store spent grit, space to keep incoming work and even more space for finished work.

You can't be doing with sweeping up and sieving grit during a job, so you need enough grit on hand to complete the job and do your cleaning up between jobs. The more work you get the more time you spend on the phone and dealing with customers, so you consider setting someone on. This kicks in a whole raft of health & safety rules and extra insurances.

I'm learning that the hard way. luckily I'm a closed door business. I buy and sell online and my the faster I can work, the quicker I can turn a bike around to sell.

You're dead right though. ******* about for hours trying to blast some simple components is really slowig me down.

I'm going to need another shed...:/

 

[Wallace]

My Clarke cabinet came with a range of nozzle sizes, did your Sealey? Might be worth trying the smallest if you haven't already as although my compressor is rated at 14cfm the free air displacement is a lot lower and not really big enough for blasting hence the smaller nozzle helps.

Not having seen it I would take a guess the additional tube with holes on the pickup is probably to allow a flow of air into the media in an attempt to prevent clogging. My Clarke cabinet has a tube spot welded to the outside of the pickup to do this, originally the tube was laid in the bottom of the cabinet under the media and would surge quite badly and lifting it out of the media made a big difference as one end of the outer tube is then open to allow air in.

 

[tedmagnum]

I bought my cabinet second hand. Just one nozzel which I've been using for six months.

I've ordered a set of mixed sizes. Sounds like it could be my problem.

Yes, my selaey sounds exactly like your Clarke. I'm going to pull that vacuum pipe right out and sit it on top with a disc welded on as someone suggested earlier.

 

[clarkey31]

Hi there if i was you i would find a local blaster and see what they charge you might be supprised on cost and the time it will free up for you to do the other stuff.. I run a resto and blasting company, I started off with a small cabinet and cheap blast pot but couldnt do stuff fast enough to make it pay so soon had to spend lots of money on a big set up
My blast pot

and the compressor to run it

And we work in a 20x20 room we do a lot of complete cars etc but also do lots of work for bike builder most of these had there own blast cabinets but just bring stuff to us instead of wasting there time using there's.

 

[stormin]

I bought my cabinet second hand. Just one nozzel which I've been using for six months.

I've ordered a set of mixed sizes. Sounds like it could be my problem.

Yes, my selaey sounds exactly like your Clarke. I'm going to pull that vacuum pipe right out and sit it on top with a disc welded on as someone suggested earlier.

That one nozzle will be well worn by now. The resulting larger internal diameter means the air velocity is a lot lower. This reduces the effectiveness of the venturi to pickup and introduce grit. It also reduces the grit velocity and impact energy at the workpiece.

 

[rtbcomp]

Hi there if i was you i would find a local blaster and see what they charge you might be supprised on cost and the time it will free up for you to do the other stuff.. I run a resto and blasting company, I started off with a small cabinet and cheap blast pot but couldnt do stuff fast enough to make it pay so soon had to spend lots of money on a big set up..
...
And we work in a 20x20 room we do a lot of complete cars etc but also do lots of work for bike builder most of these had there own blast cabinets but just bring stuff to us instead of wasting there time using there's.

Pretty much my experience and the way to go. I own my premises and don't have room to expand, so I was limited to what I could get in my 8' x 6' blast room. I really started by accident, I bought the stuff to do my Landrover as it was cheaper than sending the bits out, then people started bringing me stuff. I ended up with 6 months on the dole so decided to become self-employed blasting. Because I had zero rent, 100% rate rebate and working tax credit it was a vaible proposition. I'm in the process of winding up due to retirement and I won't miss it!

 

[tedmagnum]

The benefit of me only doing motorcycles is that all the parts I do fit in a small cabinet. The frames I have powder coated and they blast them in house.

 

[brightspark]

The benefit of me only doing motorcycles is that all the parts I do fit in a small cabinet. The frames I have powder coated and they blast them in house.

in that case use a pressure pot with 3mm nozzle and use -2 x 14cfm comps coupled together. the only thing u will have to do is buy a decent 4inch woodchip extracta to suck the crap out and stop the cabinet -becoming pressurised. the extracta can pull more air out than the pot can produce causing a vaccum inside

 

[tedmagnum]

I've never thought of coupling compressors.

Makes sense I suppose. I've got a 14CFM, 150PSI, 150L Clark compressor. It's pretty big. Two of them will take up too much space.

What's more important, the large tank or the CFM..

What would be a good combination ??

Cheers, Ted

 

[brightspark]

I've never thought of coupling compressors.

Makes sense I suppose. I've got a 14CFM, 150PSI, 150L Clark compressor. It's pretty big. Two of them will take up too much space.

What's more important, the large tank or the CFM..

What would be a good combination ??

Cheers, Ted

2 x 14 cfm coupled. i run a twin unit and its well adequate

 

[rtbcomp]

I use 2 x 14 in a blast room. They do run continuously but in a cabinet doing small items you keep stopping to change workpieces so that should give them a chance to catch up and have a rest.

 

[Wallace]

I've never thought of coupling compressors.

Makes sense I suppose. I've got a 14CFM, 150PSI, 150L Clark compressor. It's pretty big. Two of them will take up too much space.

What's more important, the large tank or the CFM..

CFM is more important for blasting. There's this option in a few sizes that takes no more space.....

 

[tedmagnum]

CFM is more important for blasting. There's this option in a few sizes that takes no more space.....

Ahh yes. I was looking a this one. It's a while chunk of change isn't it. £1400 !!

Can someone break that news to my missus for me while I hide in the shed.. Hahaha

 

[Shox Dr]

I'd just be adding to what you have, I've a Clarke SE18/200 that struggled with a blast pot. Bought a smaller 12CFM unit, made up a Male-Male PCL, and just plug it into the system when I need more air.

Gives you a bit of flexibility as well

 

[500e]

http://www.hodgeclemco.co.uk/products/consumables-spares/blast-nozzles/
also

http://www.vapormatt.com/wet-blast-machines

 

[dannyp]

blasting blasts compressors

i learnt the long hard expensive trial and error way. the big problem is the more stuff you blast the more stuff you'll end up wanting to blast.

you baster will get bigger ad bigger then it'll be to big then you'll add a small one, then you'll need a smaller but still big electric compressor for minor blasting and shop air.

atm i run a 2x3 hp clarke for workshop air. a 130 cfm road compressor for blaster. sounds daft but i think thats about the right size to run small blaster as it'll keep up with a 6mm jet and run smaller ones standing on it's head so it's not overstressed as continus blasteing hammers compressors ever screw units.

tho after a while thats not enough . current pet project is repairing one powered by 6cyl cummins - compressed air is expensive and addictive as you can never have enough

 

[brightspark]

a 90cfm- screw comp runs a 6mm jet no problem. ive run one for -years

 

[lexi]

Sounds a right blast all this.
What a dirty old hassle. Sounds about as bad as spraying the old Monkey Dung inside ships.