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[stealthiskey]

There's a few cheaper ways of doing this, but if you have the motivation a blaster cabinet can be a great thing to have.  I decided to build rather than buy so I could add a few things, and make sure it would be large enough to suit my needs.  I just use a $15 husky siphon feed gun.

Here's a shot of the whole thing.  Important points:
1.  Trough like base to collect the media.
2.  Slanted roof to make viewing easier.
3.  Cut off sweat shirt sleeves stapled to the arm holes to keep keep media inside.
4.  The windows get dusty, but don't really scratch.  Glass is easier to wipe than plexi.


Added an attached water/oil separator.  Wet air will clog the gun, and this also provides an easy point to connect your air hose on the outside of the cabinet.


This is a dirt bike air filter boot I happened to have.  Conveniently it perfectly fits my shopvac.  Hooking a shopvac to the cabinet during operation keeps dust from blowing and allows dust to settle faster when you are ready to open it up.  If you're worried about your shop vac motor you can add some water to the bottom of the vac to help keep dust down.  Mine has been fine, although the vac filter does need periodic cleaning.


Inside shot showing the dirt bike air filter.  It's just a mesh screen, but it seems fine enough to block the media.  As the media breaks down it turns to a finer dust and passes through the mesh.  Also take a look at the edge where the door opens.  I added a line of foam weather stripping all around to form a better seal when the door closes.


Here's the inside.  Made a grate out of rebar and screening to set parts on.  Also has a length of air hose permanently installed for easy setup.  Also included a flourescent light inside the cabinet to increase visibility when the windows get dusty. 


Before:


After:

[onlyflash944]

nice

[patsmx5]

badass

[1slow91hf]

might have to build me one of those for when i start cleaning up all my parts so i dont waste any media

thats the dimentions of your cabinet?

[SloS13]

very nice.  I made one with plexi windows and just like somebody said..i cant see SHIT now.

[marcj]

badass.. i always thought these would be easy to make. hell it's just a box with an air compressor and gloves

props!

[monty007]

awesome job!!

[g_shok]

now put a cat in there and blast it

[seajay2525]

Sweet setup. This almost motivates me to start mine.

[Logan76]

What pressure are you running and what media? I know if you shoot glassoxide at anything above 70psi or so it seems to turn to a useless dust much faster, a pressure regulator is a good thing to have on blast cabinets.

[Emperor]

you could add a wiper inside to clear the window

thats how we do with our flavour mill ;D

but one thing scare me

did you ever read about ,,Dust explosion,, ?
NO?
Really?
just let you know
shitload of Dust + Electrical power = BOOM BOOM FAIL   

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dust_explosion

think about your light inside

I saw two brewerys that blown up cause this shit YEAHHHHHHH

[stealthiskey]

My air compressor can maintain ~ 60-70 psi with continuous use, and has a regulator on it.  Higher pressures degrade the media faster, but also clean faster and leave a different surface finish.

yea dust explosion is a threat with some stuff, but this is sand, it doesn't really burn, ever.

now put a cat in there and blast it

did you mean like a meow meow?

[onlyflash944]

the right mixture of combustable Dust + ignition source = BOOM BOOM FAIL   

fixed for accuracy






also, someone needs to do a diy parts washer bin

[Logan76]

at my work we do some media blasting, and guys always want to run the glass bead at 100psi because theyre in a hurry, but it turns it to useless dust so damn quickly.

[Whitey]

the right mixture of combustable Dust + ignition source = BOOM BOOM FAIL   

fixed for accuracy


also, someone needs to do a diy parts washer bin

Lol, good thing sandblasting doesn't cause a shitload of static electricity.     My cabinet at work wasn't grounded properly and it arcs like a motherfucker

[t_cel_t]

also a good thing that ROCK is not flamible, otherwise beaches and deserts would be on fire all the time

[patsmx5]

also a good thing that ROCK is not flamible, otherwise beaches and deserts would be on fire all the time

If you're blasting say, oh I dunno, a metal part, then there is some level of metal dust in the cabinet. Carry on.

[onlyflash944]

also a good thing that ROCK is not flamible, otherwise beaches and deserts would be on fire all the time

coal isn't a rock?

[t_cel_t]

also a good thing that ROCK is not flamible, otherwise beaches and deserts would be on fire all the time

coal isn't a rock?

no its hydrocarbons

and as for metal dust burning, steel-no, aluminum-no, titanium-no, sodium-yes, magnesium-yes.

flour mills and shit exploding is because its a hydrocarbon, sugar will burn. metal will readily oxidize if its super hot in a oxygen atmosphere (like a cutting torch nozzel)

as far as glass-no, silicon dioxide(sand)-no

[stealthiskey]

Lol, good thing sandblasting doesn't cause a shitload of static electricity.     My cabinet at work wasn't grounded properly and it arcs like a motherfucker

That's interesting about static electricity.  Wood is an electrical insulator, so it can build up with static on the surface, but it will never shock you as  it does not conduct.  I guess metal cabinets have to worry about that.

[patsmx5]

also a good thing that ROCK is not flamible, otherwise beaches and deserts would be on fire all the time

coal isn't a rock?

no its hydrocarbons

and as for metal dust burning, steel-no, aluminum-no, titanium-no, sodium-yes, magnesium-yes.

flour mills and shit exploding is because its a hydrocarbon, sugar will burn. metal will readily oxidize if its super hot in a oxygen atmosphere (like a cutting torch nozzel)

as far as glass-no, silicon dioxide(sand)-no

I've personally seen aluminum dust burn. Anything will burn if it's hot enough. That's the problem. And a spark is really high temp, hence if the conditions are right, you get an explosion.

[Whitey]

and as for metal dust burning, steel-no, aluminum-no, titanium-no, sodium-yes, magnesium-yes.

flour mills and shit exploding is because its a hydrocarbon, sugar will burn. metal will readily oxidize if its super hot in a oxygen atmosphere (like a cutting torch nozzel)

as far as glass-no, silicon dioxide(sand)-no

Lol do you know how many manufacturing facilities are no more becuase of aluminum dust?  Aluminum dust (along with many others) is like a bomb.

Don't spread misinformation that could kill people

[Emperor]

yeahhhh ;D

dust explosions and you
an awesome adventure

[/size]

[onlyflash944]

also a good thing that ROCK is not flamible, otherwise beaches and deserts would be on fire all the time

coal isn't a rock?

no its hydrocarbons

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coal

"Coal is a readily combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock. The harder forms, such as anthracite coal, can be regarded as metamorphic rock because of later exposure to elevated temperature and pressure."

Don't spread misinformation

[stealthiskey]

dude you guys.  The sand blaster does not explode, trust me.  I've used it for many hours.  There is NOT even enough dust to pose a risk, it's not flammable, and the fluorescent light is not an ignition source.  The motor in the shop vac would be a bigger concern IF it was flammable at all.

That's like, if you lit a cigarette, on a beach, while the wind was blowing... you could blow up.  preeetty unlikely

[seajay2525]

I just got back from harbor freight, and their cabinets run $199. I'm not sure a 15 inch rim could fit in those very well.

[onlyflash944]

kinda what i feel about their parts washers and an engine block or oil pan