Building a Sandblaster

Hey yall

Well, ive decided to sell my old smaller sandblaster, and aquire a bigger one. I somehow got it working and sandblasted some stuff to weld on last night, after putting it on craigslist. Figures.

Anyway, i still want to get rid of it. I kind of need something bigger. Id like to atleast get the seat frame, fenders, front nose cone, etc of my allis in there. My plan is to build a plywood box and caulk it closed, with a top that opens. Ill put a shelf in there, and just let the media collect in the bottom. Ill run my siphon hoses in it, and then shovel it out occasionally. Would regular sand work well??

What size of a box should i make?? Im really bad at math, but how big a box could i make with an 8 foot sheet of plywood??

Is this even a good idea??

Thanks in advance guys... I got the idea after reading the last thread. I could get a whole new siphon gun for $25 online with several tips, and that kinda beats keeping this thing.

Lanse, Try a search of the archives. I believe there was a thread about building one while you were away. If I remember right it was highly recommended to have a vacuum hooked to it to suck dust off the top, and minimize dust leaking out into the room.

Don"t know if you have access to all the materials you"d need, but instead of making it out of plywood, maybe this would be a good exercise for you and your welder. Be a good opportunity to get some practice.

Try TPTools. They have kits and plans to make a nice cabinet. Plus most of there stuff is US Made! I made cabinet a couple years ago from their plan and 3/4" plywood. Works really good. Just make sure you have a big enough air compressor and filters to remove moisture.

bob
TP Tools

I posted in your other sandblasting thread/ I will re-post here:

You need to replace the film on the inside of your viewing window occasionally or it will get all pitted and you won't be able to see what you are doing. Adding a light is also helpful to watch your progress.

Does it have provisions for dust collection? A few small occasional pieces won't probably hurt but if you start breathing that silica dust day after day you will be gone before your time, plus it makes it hard to see as the dust builds up in your enclosure. If you have no way to rig up dust collection, such as a cheap shop vac drawing the dust to outside your work area then blast outside your building on a windy day so the dust doesn't build up inside the shop and wind up in your lungs.

I will add, if you are planning on going though the trouble of building a cabinet get a regular pressure pot blaster and don't mess with the cheap siphon blaster for the amount you will have to do. For a few dollars more you will spend more time blasting and less time cussing. You don't need a cabinet for blasting outside on the large pieces, and regular sand will not be optimal. It can be used if dry but tends to fracture and wear out a lot faster then the proper media (turns to dust too darn quick) If you buy the good stuff you can collect it on a tarp and recycle it a few times by blowing the fines out by pouring it from one container to another in front of a fan or in a stiff breeze. Keep your back to the wind and don't breathe any of the dust!

I would suggest a old chest type deep freeze for a cheap cabnet.

I use old glass from old windows when I remodel houses.

For the window glass I put a foam tape around the edges, and some old over the center storm window latches. I can change out a window in less than one min., and no tools needed.

A screen system to carch larger chunks of rust and dirt is also a plus, that cost very little. I have two pressure blaster pots, but I prefer the siphon because I don't have to fill the pot ever.

DRY AIR AND SAND make good buddies when sandblasting.

Sorry for the need for another post. I just read your problems with your sand blaster. Probably a simple fix, faster than you can clap your hands.

You no doubt have rubber gloves on, so place the nozzle real tight on your gloved hand and pull the trigger. This will force the air pressure backwards down your siphon tube and clear any damp clog. Do it kinda carfull the first few times.

I live only a few miles from a silica sand mine, and when they used to haul the sand to JD tractor works in less than witer tight semi trailers the sand would leak out of the holes. They would simply spray the hole with a garden hose till the sand stopped running out.

And as a added bit of knowledge, death form breathing that sand is part of working around it. Numbers don't lie, only big profit companues do. We can only hope new saftey methods are a improvment for the workers health.

I don't think it's good idea to put the gun anywhere near your hand and pull the trigger! You have to use special sand for sand blasting that is put through a drier and packaged that way. It is also a uniform size. You can't just go the sand box and steal some sand to blast with. Dave

I don't mean to disagree, but if you have a blaster, and problems -- it isn't a big deal, and will clear a pluged tube in less than two seconds. I would hold it to my bare hand with out a problem. The issue is to hold it very very tight so it doesn't sting at all.

I would probably hold it against my ex-wives face to prove a point, but honestly I have done it at least five hundred times before. I always have rubber gloves on, because the cuff is mated to the holes in the blaster cabnet.

Try it sometime, I actualy would stop using my blaster if I didn't do that. I use silica sand made a couple miles down the road, at around 100 -125 lbs pressure. I use the same pressure on my bead blaaster cabnet as well, and also on my black beauty cabnet.

I would never try this on my pressure pots, because that would be a stinger for sure. I have never tried it on my pressure washer blaster either.