Media/bead/sand blaster

gharmon
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Valley, AL US
12/1/2017 8:05am Edited Date/Time 12/1/2017 11:10pm
Looking to get me a small'ish setup and figured some of you guys have them. For light personal projects is the ones sold at Harbor freight good enough for the job? As I have no experience with these type things will a normal home shop compressor work decent for these? Thanks in advance.
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12/1/2017 8:21am
I have one of these things from the Canadian Version of harbor freight. I shoot glass through it, and it works pretty decent for a cheap home job... I wouldn't do an entire car, but say a bike frame and things like that, sure.
https://www.harborfreight.com/portable-abrasive-blaster-kit-37025.html

I have a 5 horse 60 gal compressor that is just enough to keep this thing running good, With anything less you'll have to stop and let the tank fill up.
MR. X
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North Tonawanda, NY US
12/1/2017 8:22am
It will work for small home projects . What are you looking to do? I would recommend something like black beauty for media if you are just trying to clean up piant and rust off . It's really aggressive.
borg
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5714
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12/7/2009
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Long Beach, CA US
12/1/2017 8:25am
You need to find out the cfm rating of your compressor. Get a blaster that requires no more than your compressor puts out or you will be blasting in short intervals. That may work for you anyway. Pay no attention to the bullshit HP ratings they give compressors these days. All that matters is cfm @ the pressure you need.

The Shop

borg
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Long Beach, CA US
12/1/2017 9:53am
gharmon wrote:
Something like this is what i'm talking about. Mostly for like small items. engine cases, get rust off items, just small stuff like that.https://www.harborfreight.com/abrasive-blast-cabinet-68893.html
That's a 10 cfm unit. What is your compressor able to deliver. If you plug it into a 110v outlet it will probably be about 5 or 6 cfm max. Unless you are ok with blasting intermittently. To get 10 cfm, you will have to go to 220v.
newmann
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US
12/1/2017 12:02pm
gharmon wrote:
Something like this is what i'm talking about. Mostly for like small items. engine cases, get rust off items, just small stuff like that.https://www.harborfreight.com/abrasive-blast-cabinet-68893.html
The problem with that cabinet is that you will spend hours upon hours doing the simplest little jobs. The least little piece of debris will clog it up and render it useless until you clean it out. It will be a serious piece of frustration for you. How do I know? Because a good friend of mine gave me one after he hated it long enough. I fought with it doing small parts for my old Elsinore restorations until I just couldn't take it anymore. Ready to throw it in the dumpster I searched out a larger blasting gun, hose, air valve and vacuum system from Bad Boy blasters and upgraded mine. It works waaaayyyyy better but will eat a lot of air. I'm running a 15 hp screw through 3/4 inch airlines here in the shop so I never run low. You'll need a real 5 hp 80 gallon to run it, not a Sam's club special.

https://badboyblasters.com/product/gun-foot-control-and-pickup-tube/
Whymee
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563
Joined
12/17/2009
Location
WV US
12/1/2017 3:19pm Edited Date/Time 12/1/2017 3:31pm
gharmon wrote:
Something like this is what i'm talking about. Mostly for like small items. engine cases, get rust off items, just small stuff like that.https://www.harborfreight.com/abrasive-blast-cabinet-68893.html
I have one of these. Several years old. Unlike some posters above, mine have been relatively trouble free. Sure there is a learning curve as with any new toy/machine. You WILL need some way to clear the air while your blasting. I used a old shop vac. Worked for a long time until the grit got to the motor. Glass Mylar protectors are a must also. I did add another light in mine.

I used Speed Bead Abrasive. http://www.tptools.com/Speed-Bead-Abrasive,352.html?b=d*8019 Works like a charm for my sickle restos. Including alum and brass (carbs). I still would like to have a vapor blaster but for the hobbiest that is out of reach.

And yes, these things are CFM hogs! Although with the small tip in it isn't too bad.

Too bad you are not closer. Would fix you up proper. I upgraded to the Largest one HF sells. It is tits...

Rock on.

Edit: Dry air is a must. Do your homework. Air should be cooled & the moisture taken out. Pics in a minute.
gharmon
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Location
Valley, AL US
12/1/2017 9:29pm
gharmon wrote:
Something like this is what i'm talking about. Mostly for like small items. engine cases, get rust off items, just small stuff like that.https://www.harborfreight.com/abrasive-blast-cabinet-68893.html
newmann wrote:
The problem with that cabinet is that you will spend hours upon hours doing the simplest little jobs. The least little piece of debris will clog...
The problem with that cabinet is that you will spend hours upon hours doing the simplest little jobs. The least little piece of debris will clog it up and render it useless until you clean it out. It will be a serious piece of frustration for you. How do I know? Because a good friend of mine gave me one after he hated it long enough. I fought with it doing small parts for my old Elsinore restorations until I just couldn't take it anymore. Ready to throw it in the dumpster I searched out a larger blasting gun, hose, air valve and vacuum system from Bad Boy blasters and upgraded mine. It works waaaayyyyy better but will eat a lot of air. I'm running a 15 hp screw through 3/4 inch airlines here in the shop so I never run low. You'll need a real 5 hp 80 gallon to run it, not a Sam's club special.

https://badboyblasters.com/product/gun-foot-control-and-pickup-tube/
I'll show my ignorance here. What is that gauge setup there for? Removing moisture?
newmann
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24444
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Location
US
12/1/2017 11:06pm
Whymee wrote:
[img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2017/12/01/228806/s1200_IMG_2568.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2017/12/01/228808/s1200_IMG_2569.jpg[/img] [img]https://p.vitalmx.com/photos/forums/2017/12/01/228807/s1200_IMG_2570.jpg[/img]








Interesting setup, tell me more about those air coolers you have up top??? And T off the top, drain off the bottom...someone paid attention in class. Wink
newmann
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24444
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US
12/1/2017 11:10pm
gharmon wrote:
I'll show my ignorance here. What is that gauge setup there for? Removing moisture?
Guessing you meant to quote Whymee. The Sharpe setup is a moisture separator with a regulator assembly on it.
Whymee
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563
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12/17/2009
Location
WV US
12/2/2017 2:05am
newmann wrote:
Interesting setup, tell me more about those air coolers you have up top??? And T off the top, drain off the bottom...someone paid attention in class...
Interesting setup, tell me more about those air coolers you have up top??? And T off the top, drain off the bottom...someone paid attention in class. Wink
Since you asked nicely Newmann. Smile

I did do my homework on this system, many an hour was spent in research on the interwebs. I took what I had learned & adapted to the materials I had on hand. The Sharpe 606A was used as a last line of defense, instead of the only way to remove moisture. The cooling system is the most unique aspect of my design. More on that later.

My compressor is not bolted down. It is still on the small shipping pallet. It has not walked around. If you choose to bolt or not bolt, you still need a flexible hookup to the rest of your non flexible system. If not, the oscillations of the running compressor will cause failure, usually where the pipe connects to the compressor.

Right off the compressor there is a T. Up goes the air into a 1" hydraulic (flexible) hose and bottom for a water drain. Warm compressed air enters my unique cooler. The finned pipe was designed to heat a greenhouse in conjunction with a boiler. If you are using the compressor a lot, such as in a blasting cabinet, the air gets quite warm. This finned aluminum pipe is 2". Air slows down & cooled. As the air is cooled it drops most of its water. If you notice the finned pipe in the corner where the 90 is, this is the highest point in the cooling system. Water drains both ways. Back to the compressor to a drain and forward to another T, where the bottom of this T is another drain. The top of said T, air comes out (sans H2O) and is distributed to the rest of my system.

No matter if your using your air to paint (my original use), power air tools, a media blaster, or blow up a tire, you need dry air. Otherwise you WILL run into issues.

Class dismissed. Laughing

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